Thinking about getting an incubator!

[PaulScott]

Hello my hatching friends! I have been seriously pondering about getting a bator! I am a stay at home mom and think it would be fun for me and my daughter! What all do I need to know before getting one??!! What are the pros and cons?

here is my 2 cents worth
(IF) you can afford it , Go ahead and get a higher end incubator sturdy with all the bells and whistles skip the LG's etc etc
I cant count the people who wished they had just gotten a Better incubator to start with , that got the cheapest and ether got bad results an gave up or then had to go buy a better one and waisted there money buying 2

 

[ket806]

well I put 7 in the brinsea mini....we'll see how it goes :0)

Exciting good luck

 

[ket806]

here is my 2 cents worth
(IF) you can afford it , Go ahead and get a higher end incubator sturdy with all the bells and whistles  skip the LG's etc etc
I cant count the people who wished they had just gotten a Better incubator to start with , that got the cheapest and ether got bad results an gave up or then had to go buy a better one and waisted there money buying 2

Well thank you for that! In your opinion what is the best brand, type, ect.?

 

[FenDruadin]

IMO, the best incubator for you depends. How's that for a definitive answer?

In a nutshell, I wish I could afford $400 for a bells-and-whistles incy that only hatches 20 eggs at a time. If I were renting incubators out, or if I had plenty of disposable income and were just doing it for fun, then I'd go with a Brinsea with auto-everything.

But I'm not and I don't. I've been super happy with the Hovabator forced air incubator with auto turner. It holds 40 chicken eggs at a time, which is more than enough for my backyard farm (20 would not be enough), and with the auto turner still comes in under $200. It's been highly reliable for me until recently, and I think recently I've been having a fertility issue related to chemicals in my hose water, and that has nothing to do with the incubator. The incubator holds temp extremely well. My only real complaint is how difficult it is to clean. Styrofoam is a pain, and is the main reason I gaze longingly at the Brinseas whenever I see an ad for one.

I do NOT recommend the Little Giant for beginning incubators. They can be good as second bators, for lockdown while another partial batch runs in the Hova. During lockdown, stable temp is less important than during the early stages of incubation, so it doesn't matter as much that the temp fluctuates... which it WILL do in a LG.

So, to summarize:

If hatching is a pure hobby, you don't expect to need to hatch more than a few at a time, and you can afford it, go with Brinsea.
If you have a hobby farm and might some day want more than 10 or 12 eggs at a time, and/or you're on a budget, go with Hovabator.
If you are an experienced hatcher and just need a second incubator for finishing a batch while a second batch continues to run, then grab a cheap LG.

 

[FenDruadin]

Oops, forgot to add. For the serious hobbyist or professional hatcher, a cabinet incubator is a great choice and I would LOVE to have one. But then you're looking at $500+, so it's unrealistic and serious overkill for most beginning hatchers.

 

[KYTinpusher]

When you think about the affordability of an incubator, you have to factor in how much you plan on spending on the eggs you are going to hatch. If you are only going to hatch inexpensive eggs and don't mind if the the hatch rate is not that good, you can probably take a chance on an inexpensive incubator. But if you are planning on spending hundreds of dollars (even if not at once) on rare or specialty breed eggs, then you will do well to put the money into the incubator first. I don't know how many stories I have read on this site about people going through $100s and $100s of dollar of eggs and getting lousy hatch rates because they think they can't afford a good incubator. It would have cost them much less in the long run to buy a good incubator.

Another consideration is time. How much time do you have to keep an eye on temperature and humidity fluctuations? For me, the auto-everything is the way to go. We were gone for a few days over Christmas and I didn't even have to write out instructions for our farm-sitter about the incubator. It took care of itself. Plug it into a UPS, and even short term power outages won't affect your hatch.

 

[ket806]

IMO, the best incubator for you depends. How's that for a definitive answer?

In a nutshell, I wish I could afford $400 for a bells-and-whistles incy that only hatches 20 eggs at a time. If I were renting incubators out, or if I had plenty of disposable income and were just doing it for fun, then I'd go with a Brinsea with auto-everything.

But I'm not and I don't. I've been super happy with the Hovabator forced air incubator with auto turner. It holds 40 chicken eggs at a time, which is more than enough for my backyard farm (20 would not be enough), and with the auto turner still comes in under $200. It's been highly reliable for me until recently, and I think recently I've been having a fertility issue related to chemicals in my hose water, and that has nothing to do with the incubator. The incubator holds temp extremely well. My only real complaint is how difficult it is to clean. Styrofoam is a pain, and is the main reason I gaze longingly at the Brinseas whenever I see an ad for one.

I do NOT recommend the Little Giant for beginning incubators. They can be good as second bators, for lockdown while another partial batch runs in the Hova. During lockdown, stable temp is less important than during the early stages of incubation, so it doesn't matter as much that the temp fluctuates... which it WILL do in a LG.

So, to summarize:

If hatching is a pure hobby, you don't expect to need to hatch more than a few at a time, and you can afford it, go with Brinsea.
If you have a hobby farm and might some day want more than 10 or 12 eggs at a time, and/or you're on a budget, go with Hovabator.
If you are an experienced hatcher and just need a second incubator for finishing a batch while a second batch continues to run, then grab a cheap LG.

Oops, forgot to add. For the serious hobbyist or professional hatcher, a cabinet incubator is a great choice and I would LOVE to have one. But then you're looking at $500+, so it's unrealistic and serious overkill for most beginning hatchers.

Thank you for all your info!! I am wanting a hobby right now but would really like to work up to getting a farm going In the near future(if allowed lol)

 

[ket806]

When you think about the affordability of an incubator, you have to factor in how much you plan on spending on the eggs you are going to hatch. If you are only going to hatch inexpensive eggs and don't mind if the the hatch rate is not that good, you can probably take a chance on an inexpensive incubator. But if you are planning on spending hundreds of dollars (even if not at once) on rare or specialty breed eggs, then you will do well to put the money into the incubator first. I don't know how many stories I have read on this site about people going through $100s and $100s of dollar of eggs and getting lousy hatch rates because they think they can't afford a good incubator. It would have cost them much less in the long run to buy a good incubator.

Another consideration is time. How much time do you have to keep an eye on temperature and humidity fluctuations? For me, the auto-everything is the way to go. We were gone for a few days over Christmas and I didn't even have to write out instructions for our farm-sitter about the incubator. It took care of itself. Plug it into a UPS, and even short term power outages won't affect your hatch.

I have been wanting to get into showing chickens and ducks and breed, hatch, and sell them also maybe hatch for other people. I have been interesting in getting into ornamental birds as well(I have a lot of time on my hands and want to, in the near future, get a farm up and running with,hopefully, steady income).

 

[ket806]

Thank you so much for your reply!!(sorry pushed send too soon)

 

[FenDruadin]

Sounds like either a Hova (to get started) or a cabinet (if you've got moolah to spare) will be good choices for you. The Hovabator will give you room to grow while you get your feet wet. A cabinet incubator is AWESOME, but quite pricey if you never get beyond hobby status. On the other hand, they hold their resale value well and if you buy one used, you can probably resell it for close to the price you purchased it for.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide!