Recommend me an incubator, please!

[Honey Meadows]

I hatch weekly so ya it's doable. Ya incubate in one and hatch in another.
Every 7 days doesn't work out to move to hatcher and refill incubator on the same day.
Adding every 7 days and moving to hatcher on the same day would put you at moving on day 21. Not good.
You'll be moving that weeks eggs on day 18 then setting the new ones 3 days later. Now I'm setting on Fridays and moving on Tuesdays.
It gives you 7 days for the hatcher. That's easily enough time to hatch and then clean before the next batch. Or it has been for me.
Last year I ran everything every 6 days instead of 7. That gave me a few more hatches for the season and did work out to move to hatcher and refill on the same day. Every 6 days. When doing that there was a time or two I cut it close to getting the hatcher ready before the next batch was due but it wasnt a big deal. I made it work all season.

Since this will be my first hatching season (Spring), the goal I set for myself was to hatch 100 chicks. If all goes well, I can always try more, so I'd like the option to size up if need be.
What type of incubator(s) would you recommend for this type of setup?
I appreciate your time!

 

[Potatofluffycheeksforever]

I just got this incubator off of Amazon! I haven’t put eggs in it yet but it’s held the temperature 48 hours now zero problems with temp+Humidity and it’s amazing quality! Its beautiful I love already!

 

[The Moonshiner]

Since this will be my first hatching season (Spring), the goal I set for myself was to hatch 100 chicks. If all goes well, I can always try more, so I'd like the option to size up if need be.
What type of incubator(s) would you recommend for this type of setup?
I appreciate your time!

I'll jump back to that opening during lockdown stuff first. You'll always see people swearing both sides.
I've done both. I've been able to open mine often without issue and I've had eggs shrink wrap when just opening it for a limited time to add water or retrieve chicks.
For me it's come down to what the humidity was in the area I had the hatcher. We're usually at a pretty decent humidity in the house so I've gotten away with minimal issue. Couple years ago during really late fall and winter I noticed they'd shrink wrap in a hurry. I discovered since at the time I was heating by fireplace that the fire was bringing the humidity way way down. With hardly any humidity in the house I couldn't open it without issue.
Now I just need to watch the water level in the hatchers. I have to refill it about every day and a half. If I miss doing that I get chicks that can't hatch.
So keep on top of your humidity inside and outside and you'll get a feel for what you can get away with and when to be careful.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Since this will be my first hatching season (Spring), the goal I set for myself was to hatch 100 chicks. If all goes well, I can always try more, so I'd like the option to size up if need be.
What type of incubator(s) would you recommend for this type of setup?
I appreciate your time!

How many you looking to set each week?
I've never used one of the NR360s but everyone seems to love them and say they're great. They only hold I think 22 eggs so you'd only be able to set about 7 a week. You could always use 2 or 3 for the incubator part and one for the hatcher.
Personally I like the wafer thermostat Hovabator models. I've used them for years and for me once I've got them set up they've been set em and forget em. For a while I was using 3 for incubating. Filling one each week then I had a 4th for hatching. With the turner they hold 41 eggs so almost 14 per week per incubator.
Now I'm using a homemade incubator with 6 of those turners so I can set a max of 82 eggs per week. Last year I wasn't even running full capacity and still hatched over 1,100 so it don't take much to really add up over a season.
Last year I used 3 Hovabators as hatchers and this year I've been using 2.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Since this will be my first hatching season (Spring), the goal I set for myself was to hatch 100 chicks.

Set up a calendar starting when you want to start collecting eggs to hatch through each step. When to start collecting, when to set your first eggs, when to lockdown, when to clean the incubator and start the next eggs. When do you want the last chicks to hatch? Assume a 75% hatch rate, eggs in the incubator to chicks out. Decide if you are going with one incubator or two. Figure out how many eggs you need in the incubator at any one time to come up with a size. If you choose one you can get a hatch every month. With two incubators you can get a hatch every week but brooding may become a bottleneck.

I've tried to tell you what I'd look for in an incubator. There are too many makes and models out there for me to recommend any one, especially since I haven't tried them. The only one I've ever used is the old Hovabator 1588 with the dip switch controls, a pain in the rear. They changed those controls several years back, which I thought was a huge improvement. It took a few hatches to get it right but once I got it right it held temperature great. Adding water to the reservoirs to control humidity took some work as opposed to an outside reservoir and turning a dial but I did not consider that oppressive. Checking the incubator daily was part of my routine. I get the feeling you'd be happier with an incubator with a dial for humidity and an alarm when the reservoir is going dry. I did not feel I needed that.

I'll jump back to that opening during lockdown stuff first. You'll always see people swearing both sides.
I've done both. I've been able to open mine often without issue and I've had eggs shrink wrap when just opening it for a limited time to add water or retrieve chicks.
For me it's come down to what the humidity was in the area I had the hatcher. We're usually at a pretty decent humidity in the house so I've gotten away with minimal issue. Couple years ago during really late fall and winter I noticed they'd shrink wrap in a hurry. I discovered since at the time I was heating by fireplace that the fire was bringing the humidity way way down. With hardly any humidity in the house I couldn't open it without issue.
Now I just need to watch the water level in the hatchers. I have to refill it about every day and a half. If I miss doing that I get chicks that can't hatch.
So keep on top of your humidity inside and outside and you'll get a feel for what you can get away with and when to be careful.

I could not have said this as well.

 

[Honey Meadows]

How many you looking to set each week?
I've never used one of the NR360s but everyone seems to love them and say they're great. They only hold I think 22 eggs so you'd only be able to set about 7 a week. You could always use 2 or 3 for the incubator part and one for the hatcher.
Personally I like the wafer thermostat Hovabator models. I've used them for years and for me once I've got them set up they've been set em and forget em. For a while I was using 3 for incubating. Filling one each week then I had a 4th for hatching. With the turner they hold 41 eggs so almost 14 per week per incubator.
Now I'm using a homemade incubator with 6 of those turners so I can set a max of 82 eggs per week. Last year I wasn't even running full capacity and still hatched over 1,100 so it don't take much to really add up over a season.
Last year I used 3 Hovabators as hatchers and this year I've been using 2.

Personally I like the wafer thermostat Hovabator models. I've used them for years and for me once I've got them set up they've been set em and forget em. For a while I was using 3 for incubating. Filling one each week then I had a 4th for hatching. With the turner they hold 41 eggs so almost 14 per week per incubator.

This is kind of my idea. I can have a good amount incubating, then one dedicated for hatching.

I'm not sure if I'll get 3 (yet!) for incubation.

Since it's my first season, I thought just trying for 100 hatches would be manageable. Any input on that kind of number? Thanks you have been most helpful!

 

[Honey Meadows]

Set up a calendar starting when you want to start collecting eggs to hatch through each step. When to start collecting, when to set your first eggs, when to lockdown, when to clean the incubator and start the next eggs. When do you want the last chicks to hatch? Assume a 75% hatch rate, eggs in the incubator to chicks out. Decide if you are going with one incubator or two. Figure out how many eggs you need in the incubator at any one time to come up with a size. If you choose one you can get a hatch every month. With two incubators you can get a hatch every week but brooding may become a bottleneck.

I've tried to tell you what I'd look for in an incubator. There are too many makes and models out there for me to recommend any one, especially since I haven't tried them. The only one I've ever used is the old Hovabator 1588 with the dip switch controls, a pain in the rear. They changed those controls several years back, which I thought was a huge improvement. It took a few hatches to get it right but once I got it right it held temperature great. Adding water to the reservoirs to control humidity took some work as opposed to an outside reservoir and turning a dial but I did not consider that oppressive. Checking the incubator daily was part of my routine. I get the feeling you'd be happier with an incubator with a dial for humidity and an alarm when the reservoir is going dry. I did not feel I needed that.


I could not have said this as well.

This was sooo helpful to read: Set up a calendar starting when you want to start collecting eggs to hatch through each step. When to start collecting, when to set your first eggs, when to lockdown, when to clean the incubator and start the next eggs. When do you want the last chicks to hatch? Assume a 75% hatch rate, eggs in the incubator to chicks out. Decide if you are going with one incubator or two. Figure out how many eggs you need in the incubator at any one time to come up with a size. If you choose one you can get a hatch every month. With two incubators you can get a hatch every week but brooding may become a bottleneck.

>>>Thank you. This is why I thought 100 chicks for my first season would be a reasonable/achievable goal. Since I'm home I'd definitely be keeping an eye on these babies and add it to my daily chores.
I was thinking if I get a hatch every week, it could be good but I think until I get a second or larger (wanting to go big) brooder, I'd be ok with every other week.

 

[Honey Meadows]

How many you looking to set each week?
I've never used one of the NR360s but everyone seems to love them and say they're great. They only hold I think 22 eggs so you'd only be able to set about 7 a week. You could always use 2 or 3 for the incubator part and one for the hatcher.
Personally I like the wafer thermostat Hovabator models. I've used them for years and for me once I've got them set up they've been set em and forget em. For a while I was using 3 for incubating. Filling one each week then I had a 4th for hatching. With the turner they hold 41 eggs so almost 14 per week per incubator.
Now I'm using a homemade incubator with 6 of those turners so I can set a max of 82 eggs per week. Last year I wasn't even running full capacity and still hatched over 1,100 so it don't take much to really add up over a season.
Last year I used 3 Hovabators as hatchers and this year I've been using 2.

Forgot to mention that if I'm lucky, I'll be trying to hatch turkey eggs. Wondering if I should just get them their own incubator?