Recommend me an incubator, please!

[RuffIedFeathers]

I'm looking to purchase my first incubator. I'd like it to be as self sufficient as possible. I don't want to have to personally rotate eggs, etc. I want to do as little as possible. I know these tend to be much more expensive. Which one(s) are worth the money? Does anyone have experience with any of these nicer ones or possibly experience with multiple different ones that they can compare? I don't really have a budget, but this is mainly for my hobby at this time that I hope to turn into a small business in the future, so I'd like it to last quite a while. Please be as specific with brands and models as possible. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I quite like the Nature Right 360

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I have this one, automatic turner and fan-circulated air, always great hatch rate:
https://www.amazon.com/KEBONNIXS-In...mzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840

I've also used this one, withOUT a fan and withOUT automatic turner, had trouble with humidity levels and even heat, poor hatch rate, and hated it:
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant...mzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840

 

[Cawagula]

I just bought a Brinsea Maxi and so far I love it. Goes through water pretty quick so have to keep an eye on it but otherwise it's been holding temp really well, humidity has only changed when opening to candle (or water got real low) I paired it with a Govee humidifier/thermometer combo. Don't forget to use a calibrated thermometer/hydrometer - I trusted the incubator on my first ever hatch. Got 1 out of 12. After adding a Govee same incubator was near 90% hatching rate - and it was a cheap incubator. Even the Brinsea is about 1° off and it cost almost 5x the cheap one.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I'm looking to purchase my first incubator. I'd like it to be as self sufficient as possible. I don't want to have to personally rotate eggs, etc. I want to do as little as possible. I know these tend to be much more expensive. Which one(s) are worth the money? Does anyone have experience with any of these nicer ones or possibly experience with multiple different ones that they can compare? I don't really have a budget, but this is mainly for my hobby at this time that I hope to turn into a small business in the future, so I'd like it to last quite a while. Please be as specific with brands and models as possible. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I quite like the Nature Right 360

Agree. Can’t go wrong with the NR360. You will find that many folks here on BYC recommend it. About $150 and holds 22 eggs with the turner in place. Turns the eggs every hour. I just bought a second one.

Edited for spelling.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There have been a lot of incubators come on the market in the past very few years. I'm not familiar with most of them. In the US you used to basically have a choice between the fairly inexpensive Little Giants, the more expensive but still not bad Genesis Hovabators, and the expensive Brinsea for our use at home. Now there are a lot of cheap ones and some really expensive ones on the market. A lot of chicks were hatched in the Little Giants but they typically took more work. I used a Genesis Hovabator 1588. It took a bit to get the settings right but once I did it worked great and held those settings.

Instead of recommending a specific make or model I'll mention the characteristics I'd look for.

You mentioned possibly having a small business. How many eggs might you want to hatch at one time? To me that is the first question, it defines your size. There are two ways to go about this. You can just use one incubator and get a hatch about once a month. Or you can get two incubators and use one to incubate and one to hatch. This way you can get a hatch about once a week. So maybe get one now and get used to it before you decide what to buy when you go into business.

I also would want an automatic turner. There are two basic types. One rocks the eggs back and forth, usually standing on end with pointy side down. With the other type you lay the eggs flat and they roll over to turn them. Both work fine, I don't recommend one type over another. But when the eggs hatch they make a mess. The chicks poop and they drag hatching slime all over the place until they dry. I would want the type of turner that you can remove at lockdown to make cleanup easier.

I want a forced air. That is one that has a fan to mix the air so you should get the same temperature everywhere in the incubator. If you don't have a fan you have a still air or thermal air. Warm air rises so you can get a big difference in temperature depending on what elevation you take that temperature. That makes it harder to manage and control.

There are different ways to control humidity. Many use reservoirs in the bottom of the incubator to fill with water. Before you start you need to experiment with filling different reservoirs to see what effect that reservoir or a certain group of reservoirs has on humidity. It is harder to fine tune the humidity with these reservoirs and all the moisture has to evaporate from a reservoir before the humidity changes. I use this type and am OK with it but there was a learning curve. It is much easier to adjust the humidity by turning a dial.

Never trust the factory setting on any incubator, even the most expensive. Never trust the accuracy of any thermometer or hygrometer that comes with an incubator or that you buy separately. Always calibrate your instruments before you trust them. Always.

How easy is it to add water to the incubator? Some are a lot easier than others. I mainly use my hygrometer to tell me when the reservoir is empty, some may come with an alarm.

I want a nice window so I can see what is going on inside. All of them should come with some type of window but some are easier to see inside than others.

How easy are they to clean? You need to sterilize them after each use. That means how hard is it to get to each part. What material is it made from. My 1588 is easy to take apart so that worked well but it is styrofoam. I cleaned it outside with a bleach solution and had to be careful in the wind so it did not blow away. I was OK with that but hard plastic might be more durable and easier to clean.

How often are you going to use it? I only used it two or three times a year, used broody hens as much as I could but I still occasionally needed an incubator. I was OK with spending less money for one that required a bit more work. If I were going to hatch more often I'd be willing to spend more money to make that process easier. That means cleaning as well as incubating and hatching.

 

[Honey Meadows]

I am looking into hatching this Spring and I want to keep a steady flow of (hopefully!) weekly hatches - Would you recommend getting two to start them in, then take out the ones which are about to hatch and place them in their own (2nd incubator) to hatch and brood a bit, while adding a fresh week's worth of eggs to incubator #1. I am thinking I can place the ready eggs in number 2 for hatching, then I can clean it when they are done, and pop in another set on repeat. Does this make sense? Thank you!

 

[BrandonsBirbs]

I like the Borottos, lots of different sizes, automatic turning and can get SIRIO automatic humidity pump too. Really love the build quality of them and find them to be much more reasonably priced than the Brinseas. Though not that cheap compared to some options.. Kebonnix is great..

 

[Ridgerunner]

Does this make sense? Thank you!

I think so if I read it right. One incubator is purely for incubation. Every seven days start a batch if eggs in it. Always start them the same day of the week. At lockdown move that week's eggs to the hatcher. After they hatch clean the hatcher and get ready for the next week's worth of eggs.

 

[Honey Meadows]

I think so if I read it right. One incubator is purely for incubation. Every seven days start a batch if eggs in it. Always start them the same day of the week. At lockdown move that week's eggs to the hatcher. After they hatch clean the hatcher and get ready for the next week's worth of eggs.

YES! Is this doable? I mean it makes sense in my brain but is it safe? Do people do it this way? Thank you