The Incubator Thread

[Audio51]

I want to try & hatch eggs in may...researching incubators & think I want a Brinsea 20...whats the difference between the eco with auto turning tray & the advance other than price if I get the eco & auto turner isn't it the same as getting the advance at a much lower price?
Also is it better to use an auto turner or turn them by hand? Does one have a higher hatch rate than the other?

The Advance has a digital temperature/humidity readout. You can program them and it will maintain them is a very easy way. I bought the advance and I love it so far. I just moved my first clutch to the hatching incubator (this was recommended because the chick fluff can get up into the fan if you hatch in there. It can be cleaned but I have a Farm Innovators foam-type one so I am hatching in there). I am about mid way thru the hatch and have another set of 9 eggs that are still incubating. They are about 2 weeks behind. I would recommend also ordering the foam tray liner and divider covers if you do get the Brinsea. The 20 does not come with them, but the 40 does.

 

[kristin07035]

Ok so I think im going to hand turn the eggs & I'm going to get my own temp/humidity guage so I should go with the less expensive eco model?
Does anyone have a gently used one for sale?

 

[Renee97038]

I want to try & hatch eggs in may...researching incubators & think I want a Brinsea 20...whats the difference between the eco with auto turning tray & the advance other than price if I get the eco & auto turner isn't it the same as getting the advance at a much lower price?
Also is it better to use an auto turner or turn them by hand? Does one have a higher hatch rate than the other?

I have the Octagon 20 Advance EX. The difference with the Eco is that you cannot later decide to add the automatic Humidity pump that goes in thru a hole in the lid of the Advance models. With the Advance you can try your hatches without the humidity pump and see how you do. I personally have the humidity pump but with the 2 large water channels in the bottom I think it would be a good hatch with one.

The auto turner turns them once an hour which is way more often than you would probably be doing this by hand. It is really nice and quiet. But, I can see that the auto turner needs lubricated with silicone grease at each end for longevity since after only 1 hatch with mine I can see shredded plastic from rubbing already.

Either model will give you a good hatch rate if you have good eggs.

 

[gimmie birdies]

putting these in in a couple days

 

[gimmie birdies]

Black copper maran dry hatch. this morning.

 

[Audio51]

Black copper maran dry hatch. this morning.

Nice!

 

[gimmie birdies]

next day

 

[IncubatorWarehouse.com]

Here's a video of Kip who made an incubator for under $20. It's the first of three parts. Hope it helps.

 

[Madforchickn]

Hello chicken lovers! I am going to be hatching my first set of eggs! I'm very excited ! I'm coming to day 4 of the proses, but there is one thing on my mind at the moment, I hear a lot of people saying that the incubator should be in the house, but I have mine in my outdoor shed made of brick not just a wooden shed at the end of the garden, the temp in my house is not much different it's about 15.5 DEGREES I live in South UK, do you think this is going to be a problem?

Thanks any help would be great i am
A starter and always open to advise

 

[WVMHP]

Hi. This is my first year incubating and so far it isn't going well. I read all the glowing recommendations for Brinsea incubators and purchased both a Mini Advance and a Eco 20. The Eco 20 arrived with a bad thermometer. The ink was all broken up. I contacted Brinsea and they said no problem just to put the thermometer in a bowl of hot water until the ink all came back together. Done. I read the instruction manual beginning to end and ran the Eco 20 for 24-hours to be sure I had the temperature set correctly. About 48 hours after I set the eggs, I noticed the temp was too high so I adjusted it down slightly according to directions. (The room thermostat is at a constant 77F and there is no direct sunlight so there is very little fluctuation in the room temperature.) I did this several times but the incubator would not hold a constant temp and on a couple of occasions, it registered 101F. Needless to say, all of the embryos that had begun to develop died. I contacted Brinsea and, their office manager said,
Quote: I explained that I no longer had the original box because I hadn't intended on needing to return it, to which she responded,
Quote: The company advertises a two year warranty--for which I am registered. It was a defective product, under warranty. How would I know the temperature regulator was defective without having used it? Why does it require some special exception to policy to allow me to return it. Why would any company who wants to remain in business want to charge a repeat customer a 20% restock fee for a defective item that can't--or shouldn't--be resold?? Perhaps they resold a defective product to me after charging the last unlucky customer a 20% restock fee to return it?

Has anyone else had problems with Brinsea customer support and defective incubators? How did you resolve the problem? Also, what other brands/models of small incubators can you recommend?