Small, affordable incubator suggestions?

[Zen Wildlife Rescuer]

All my previous posts have been about my 3 duck eggs and all my concerns and issues that I’ve had with them. I have tried countless times to make my own incubator but getting a constant temprature and humidity has always been an issue. So I am finally going to invest in a small incubator. I really need it to be small because I don’t get eggs that often. I also need it to be affordable because I really can’t afford a bigger or fancier make of incubator. I’ve considered one of those small dome shaped ones but they don’t seem to be too reliable. So, any suggestions??

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

@MGG

 

[MGG]

All my previous posts have been about my 3 duck eggs and all my concerns and issues that I’ve had with them. I have tried countless times to make my own incubator but getting a constant temprature and humidity has always been an issue. So I am finally going to invest in a small incubator. I really need it to be small because I don’t get eggs that often. I also need it to be affordable because I really can’t afford a bigger or fancier make of incubator. I’ve considered one of those small dome shaped ones but they don’t seem to be too reliable. So, any suggestions??

I would go with either a Brinsea Mini, or a MagicFly 12. The Brinsea is a bit more expensive, but it will be way more reliable. If you don't get eggs often, you'll want a more reliable incubator. The MagicFly is cheaper, but it will probably end up costing you eggs and time, because it needs almost constant monitoring, and you'll probably lose a lot of eggs trying to figure it out. Once you figure it out, it will be somewhat reliable for a while. But then will start to go downhill, and need recalibrating all the time. After a year, mine started having crazy spikes, despite the exact same set up. So, I would probably have to recommend saving up for a Brinsea. The heartache is not worth it, trust me. If you have a lot of invaluable eggs that you can test the Magicfly on, then it might be ok for a year or so once you figure it out. I used to swear by mine, anything I put in it once I figured it out would hatch. Then, just before lockdown, it spiked to 108. It fried all of my really valuable eggs. So I got a NR 360. I would suggest it, but it holds 22 eggs. It's more than you need, but about the same price as the Brinsea Mini. You don't have to fill it up.
So consider the Brinsea Mini and the Nurture Right 360. If you're located in Africa though, I don't know how easily you'll find either one.
Good luck. Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[MGG]

@MGG

Thanks for the tag.

 

[Sonya9]

Brinsea mini is really good. Not the cheapest but it works well, auto turns them etc...

DIY incubators can not only fail to produce live chicks, but they can also produce horribly deformed chicks that will die shortly after hatch. Chicken eggs will start to develop above 80 degrees but if the temp is a few degrees short of ideal the organs develop at different rates.

 

[Zen Wildlife Rescuer]

I would go with either a Brinsea Mini, or a MagicFly 12. The Brinsea is a bit more expensive, but it will be way more reliable. If you don't get eggs often, you'll want a more reliable incubator. The MagicFly is cheaper, but it will probably end up costing you eggs and time, because it needs almost constant monitoring, and you'll probably lose a lot of eggs trying to figure it out. Once you figure it out, it will be somewhat reliable for a while. But then will start to go downhill, and need recalibrating all the time. After a year, mine started having crazy spikes, despite the exact same set up. So, I would probably have to recommend saving up for a Brinsea. The heartache is not worth it, trust me. If you have a lot of invaluable eggs that you can test the Magicfly on, then it might be ok for a year or so once you figure it out. I used to swear by mine, anything I put in it once I figured it out would hatch. Then, just before lockdown, it spiked to 108. It fried all of my really valuable eggs. So I got a NR 360. I would suggest it, but it holds 22 eggs. It's more than you need, but about the same price as the Brinsea Mini. You don't have to fill it up.
So consider the Brinsea Mini and the Nurture Right 360. If you're located in Africa though, I don't know how easily you'll find either one.
Good luck. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks for all the info! I’ll definitely look into it. Like I said we get wild dove and songbird eggs in the wildlife rescue center on occasion, and I sometimes try hatching chicken or duck eggs to keep the babies for myself. I actually looked at some Brinsea incubators last night. The smallest they had was a 38 egg one! I’ll keep looking though. I do have one question! What do you think about these incubators:

 

[Zen Wildlife Rescuer]

Brinsea mini is really good. Not the cheapest but it works well, auto turns them etc...

DIY incubators can not only fail to produce live chicks, but they can also produce horribly deformed chicks that will die shortly after hatch. Chicken eggs will start to develop above 80 degrees but if the temp is a few degrees short of ideal the organs develop at different rates.

I know!I’ve read so many bad things about DIY incubators. I really fear that the spike my homemade one had last Saturday when I just put my duck eggs in killed them instantly. We’ll see on Saturday though

 

[Zen Wildlife Rescuer]

Thanks for your help everyone. I think getting a proper incubator is the only way to go from here!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I am very happy with my Brinsea Mini II with auto turn. Have hatched many chicks without problems. Good luck!

 

[Zen Wildlife Rescuer]

I am very happy with my Brinsea Mini II with auto turn. Have hatched many chicks without problems. Good luck!

Thanks!