totally frustrated with my LG so getting a new incubator

[Lil'ChickFarm]

I just lost 70.00 worth of SQ silkie eggs. I have had serama hatches, but not tops, maybe 50 percent.
I am not sure what went wrong with the silkies, but it broke my very heart to loose them.
So today I am searching a better incubator. I have read some stuff on here about better incubators and just have a couple questions.
Brinsea Octagon 20. Please rate that one for me. It is the one that has my heart with the turner as I want to set and rest.
Genisis? But I am not fond of styrofoam. My Lg's are both styrofoam and they kind of concern me that they could break easily.
I have an egg turner for it though and am wondering if I got the genisis, if I could just use my egg turner.

Is either of these better then the other? It would be cheaper if I could use my LG egg turner, but if not, then I think the Brinsea is better.

Thanks for your advice.

Terry

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FARM-INNOVA...815?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53f1a01d07

How good is this one???

 

[LilyD]

I just lost 70.00 worth of SQ silkie eggs. I have had serama hatches, but not tops, maybe 50 percent.
I am not sure what went wrong with the silkies, but it broke my very heart to loose them.
So today I am searching a better incubator. I have read some stuff on here about better incubators and just have a couple questions.
Brinsea Octagon 20. Please rate that one for me. It is the one that has my heart with the turner as I want to set and rest.
Genisis? But I am not fond of styrofoam. My Lg's are both styrofoam and they kind of concern me that they could break easily.
I have an egg turner for it though and am wondering if I got the genisis, if I could just use my egg turner.

Is either of these better then the other? It would be cheaper if I could use my LG egg turner, but if not, then I think the Brinsea is better.

Thanks for your advice.

Terry

I have both the LG and Genesis and the new Hovabator Genesis is amazing. It has a digital readout and is very much set it and forget it for temp. The turner from the LG fits right in and I was able to use aquarium tubing to set it up so I can add water without lifting the lid and disturbing the eggs. Hatched all last season with it and it did great. That being said if you are ordering shipped eggs there are many different things that can affect the. I got one batch a few years back that had been xrayed and all the eggs died on day 5 or 6. None hatched. I have also have boxes that looked like someone played basketball with them. Even if they look okay when you get them if they were jostled enough the eggs might not hatch. It is definitely like gambling if you are shipping eggs to you.

Good luck!!

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

I read that it can change temp if the room changes temp. So it isn't so fully set and forget. You know how in the winter the room cools off at night? Do you have to watch that?
I think the biggest problem that I have with my LG is that they don't have fans. So the temps are probably variable through out the incubator.
I have seen people put fans in them, computer fans. So I have thought about that too.
I don't want to waste money unless I am getting something that is going to work tons better.
I Love the look of the Brinsea as it is a nice plastic machine.
But the two are pretty comparible in hatching?

 

[Pele]

I am permenantly turned off of Hovabator after the disaster of a hatch last week. I lost more than 50.00 worth of Marans, and had one baby hatch with a horrific injury that made me put her down out of mercy. They don't hold temp worth a darn, and I hates them precious. Probably not fair, but I will forever scorn the brand.

I did TONS of research on brands, and eventually asked my husband for a Brinsea for Xmas. He got me the Octo 20 (probably so he could make sure I didn't have crazy large hatches lol). They have a built in fan, and the turner is optional (and pricey, we skipped it). However, the design is such that the entire unit can be rocked onto it's side at varying degrees to turn the eggs. You don't have to open it up and compromise humidity and temp, nor expose them to bacteria. LOVE IT!

It's been holding rock-steady temp without all the stupid tricks I had to try with my Hovabator. No towels, no stupid heat sinks, just faithful steady temp. *le sigh*.

You won't be able to use any other brand of turners with it, the design is very trim and there is a heat distribution plate inside that is just above the eggs. But again, you don't really need one. Just rock it to a different side several times a day. No muss no fuss.

 

[Spangled]

Lil'ChickFarm, I am sorry for your loss and understand. It's not just about the money either.

I still have my styrobators with turners and fans and use them, but I absolutely unequivocally in love with my Brinsea Octogon 20. Really, there is no comparison ... at least not in my estimation. It's like night and day. It's like a breath of fresh air. I turn on my Brinsea and it hatches the chicks. Sure I have to add a wet paper towel in a jar lid at the end to up to humidity. I still keep a hygrometer in there and watch that. But the temp holds really well. I have even managed to hatch shipped eggs with detached air cells. Not many, but it can be done.

I would throw out my styrobators, but I can't justify that since they still work well enough for non-shipped eggs.

Also have you studied up on the dry hatch method? It's not actually dry -- water is put in the water reservoirs -- but it's a little less and it gives the eggs a chance to lose more of the fluid in the egg and allows for an easier hatch. It works better in certain climates with different humidity levels and even in different rooms of the house. It works well for some folks, but I think you have to experiment to see if it works in your home.

But, yeah, the Brinsea Octogon 20 is worth the investment if you ask me.

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

Also have you studied up on the dry hatch method? It's not actually dry -- water is put in the water reservoirs -- but it's a little less and it gives the eggs a chance to lose more of the fluid in the egg and allows for an easier hatch. It works better in certain climates with different humidity levels and even in different rooms of the house. It works well for some folks, but I think you have to experiment to see if it works in your home.

But, yeah, the Brinsea Octogon 20 is worth the investment if you ask me.

Hi, yes, that is how I hatched my serama's.
When I was hatching the silkies though, the humidity was 47 percent. My house is that much. So I couldn't get it any lower. I am not sure if that is why I lost them or not.

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

OH and no it was not just about the money. The money was the least of my pain. I want good SQ Buff silkies so bad that I am about to drive to someone's farm and pick them up. Of course I can't do that as no one near me in Ohio has them.
I have quite a story of silkies losses and I WANT some so bad.
My dog killed some, I got some more, rats got them, I killed all the rats. Haven't gotten good ones since and these eggs were to be IT! I cried. I felt like I had a misscarriage and had empty arms. I just wanted to hold a nice soft bearded buff silkie so freakin bad.
One day I will. One day I will have a barn full of those beauties.
I am keeping my eye on the prize.

 

[LilyD]

I read that it can change temp if the room changes temp. So it isn't so fully set and forget. You know how in the winter the room cools off at night? Do you have to watch that?
I think the biggest problem that I have with my LG is that they don't have fans. So the temps are probably variable through out the incubator.
I have seen people put fans in them, computer fans. So I have thought about that too.
I don't want to waste money unless I am getting something that is going to work tons better.
I Love the look of the Brinsea as it is a nice plastic machine.
But the two are pretty comparible in hatching?

The one I have is this one: http://incubatorwarehouse.com/hova-bator-genesis-1588-egg-incubator.html. It already has a fan in it and has a digital thermostat for keeping the temperature stable. I have mine sitting in the living room right now and have a front and back door that open frequently. The most variance that I have in my temp is from 100.0 to 100.3 which I feel is acceptable since it is less than a degree. I don't watch the temp unless I have to open the top. then it will drop down to 99 but it recovers quickly. That's why I added the aquarium tubing to add water with a syringe rather than opening the lid so I only have to open it to candle the eggs or take out chicks.

I have never owned a Brinsea so I can't tell you about those but others have said they are very good machines. I know the cost is quite a bit more though than the Genesis. It depends on what you are looking for.

 

[LilyD]

I am permenantly turned off of Hovabator after the disaster of a hatch last week. I lost more than 50.00 worth of Marans, and had one baby hatch with a horrific injury that made me put her down out of mercy. They don't hold temp worth a darn, and I hates them precious. Probably not fair, but I will forever scorn the brand.

I did TONS of research on brands, and eventually asked my husband for a Brinsea for Xmas. He got me the Octo 20 (probably so he could make sure I didn't have crazy large hatches lol). They have a built in fan, and the turner is optional (and pricey, we skipped it). However, the design is such that the entire unit can be rocked onto it's side at varying degrees to turn the eggs. You don't have to open it up and compromise humidity and temp, nor expose them to bacteria. LOVE IT!

It's been holding rock-steady temp without all the stupid tricks I had to try with my Hovabator. No towels, no stupid heat sinks, just faithful steady temp. *le sigh*.

You won't be able to use any other brand of turners with it, the design is very trim and there is a heat distribution plate inside that is just above the eggs. But again, you don't really need one. Just rock it to a different side several times a day. No muss no fuss.

I am sorry to hear about your bad hatch. It is never good to have those. You can however get bad hatches with any incubator even the ones that are almost $600 if you are using shipped eggs. The one I have from Hovabator holds steady temp. ( Not sure what you mean about towels or heat sinks but I don't use any of those). It has a built in fan and I can use it with a turner or tip it one way or the other if I don't want to use the turner and hatch a larger batch.

Honestly if I could afford it I would have a cabinet incubator because I had over 100 chicks ordered before I started hatching last spring. The hovabator 1588 is the next best for me for the price. Like I said before to each his own.