Starting a Hobby

[The_Coop]

Hello,
My chickens are still not laying yet, (will be in the next few days/weeks) but I would like to get into hatching eggs from an incubator. I've got 4 roosters but of course hens wont just go broody and sit on eggs (and even so, they may not stay on them).
I was wondering if anyone knew of a cheap but reliable incubator that I could get.

Thanks

 

[chub_the_chick]

I got an incubator called Flexzion egg Incubator, and had 100% success with it. Every egg I have put into it has hatched! I would definitely recommend it. Also it has a fully automatic turning system!

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

I started off with an older Little Giant. I do NOT recommend it. I know others have gotten them to work, but I don't recommend it for a beginner. It killed more chicks than it hatched. I now use a Brinsea. Definitely not cheap, but it works so good it has already paid for it's self. Good luck finding an incubator!

 

[SueT]

This spring I got the Janoel 12, and hatched all the eggs I put in except one, which never developed. It is my first incubator, I like it a lot.
I think I paid $69 for it. It auto-turns the eggs, and kept the temp steady, even with fluctuating ambient room temp. btw, it doesn't really hold 12 chicken eggs unless they are tiny bantam eggs.

 

[The_Coop]

Ok thanks for the feedback

 

[The_Coop]

This spring I got the Janoel 12, and hatched all the eggs I put in except one, which never developed. It is my first incubator, I like it a lot.
I think I paid $69 for it. It auto-turns the eggs, and kept the temp steady, even with fluctuating ambient room temp. btw, it doesn't really hold 12 chicken eggs unless they are tiny bantam eggs.
View attachment 2263180

Thanks

 

[SueT]

In the Janoel, the eggs lay on their sides like they would under the hen. This tray very slowly moves side to side, rotating the eggs. The tray can be adjusted for different sized eggs.

ETA--it has a fan and it is pretty quiet. I bought an incutherm thermometer-hygrometer and kept that in there too.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Cheap and reliable are at opposite ends of the spectrum in my experience.

Something like a foam hovabator or little giant will get the job done. I have an incutherm hatch monitor for temp/humidity which helped a lot. They're inexpensive, but they take some real trial and error. I learned that mine is really sensitive to outside temperature changes for example and will spike in the mornings if I don't catch it in time.

Something like a Brinsea Advanced will take a lot less effort and be much more stable but also cost you a lot more. It'll turn the eggs for you and use a fan and some sensors to keep the eggs at just the right temperature.

Home made incubators can be as simple as a good heating pad with a temperature regulator in a foam cooler, but they are the least reliable and take a lot of work and know how to get right.

 

[MGG]

I have to reccomend the NR 360. I just got one back in April and have had 100% hatch rates on 6 8 egg batches, and a 95% hatch rate on 1 other batch. It's very reliable and worth every penny. I also love the clear viewing window. It auto turns up to 22 eggs. It stays very stable, all I do is add water every couple days and candle. Check the temp with a calibrated thermometer before setting any eggs though. I set mine at 100.5 to get the desired 99.5 temp. The digital readout was 1 degree low ln mine. I got it at TSC for $130.