Turners?

[hd_darcy]

How iportant is it to have a turner w/ y our incubator if you won't be hatching that many eggs? Is it a pain to turn them yourself? And does anyone else have any reccomendations on what to purchase besides the hova bator 1588. It sounds like that is the best one for the money? I won't be hatching very often, but I want somethign that's reliable too. Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

The number of eggs you are hatching does not matter as far as turning, though the more you have to turn the more inconvenient it is. A hen taking her daily constitutional will probably be off the nest longer than you will take to turn the eggs. What is important is that you turn them regularly. Are you organized enough that you will remember to turn them a few times a day every day? To me that is the key question.

Another benefit to a turner is that you do not have to touch the eggs very often. Every time you touch the eggs you take a chance of infecting them with bacteria, so it is important you have clean hands when you turn them. Also, when I am storing eggs for incubation, I take the turner out of the incubator, plug it in, and store the eggs in the turner while waiting to get enough to start a batch.

I also chose the 1588 as the best for me since I only hatch 2 batches a year. I just could not justify the Brinsea. I did have trouble the first time I used it, although 17 out of the 23 that started to develop was OK. I e-mailed the manufacturer and got quick responses that showed they actually read my e-mails.

Good luck!

 

[Kedreeva]

I use a hovabator and it's been pretty reliable. It's small, cheap, and it holds its temp and humidity really well providing I keep it in a temp/humidity stable place.

I'm in LOVE with my auto-turner. I took it out for a staggered hatch for about 2 days and I hated my life having to turn the eggs by hand - and there were only 4 of them. Some people feel turning eggs by hand brings you 'closer' to the experience of hatching. In my opinion, closer hurts more when you lose some because you have 1 more condition that was under your control to blame yourself for maybe not doing right. A turner will do it right, easing that worry. It also makes it easier to be gone for periods of time during a hatch; like work, or going away for a weekend. If you have the spare change to invest in a turner, I'd do it. You can get a hovabator + turner + electronic thermometer/hygrometer for <$90 on ebay. Can add in a fan for the inside for like $10 too. Mine even came with an extra thermometer to check the electronic one against!

 

[hd_darcy]

Hmm.. so what does your the 1588 hova bator have that yours doesn't? Or why is the 1588 more expensive? Do you know the model number you have? There seem to be a lot of hova bators to choose from?! Thanks so much!

 

[sonjab314]

I have the 1588 also. It has an electronic thermostat which is more accurate and reliable as opposed to the wafer thermostat. The 1588 comes preset to the correct temp from the factory so it takes all the guess work out of setting it up. It is truly a "set it and forget it" bator as long as you have the turner. The only time you have to open it is to add water every few days. I also have a Little Giant that I bought used from Craigslist. It is reliable but more touchy than my 1588. I incubate in my 1588 and hatch out in my LG. Good luck to you.

 

[toto65]

I am just finishing a batch of eggs without a turner and ahd a 50% hatch rate. Next week I am going to try another batch with a turner, hopefully I will get a better rate of hatch even though the eggs were free!

 

[Ridgerunner]

With my Genesis Hovabator 1588 incubator, I got the 1611 model turner, good for chicken eggs and some others. The 1610 has additional racks that are good for quail eggs. I don't hatch quail so the 1611 is good enough for me. I did not need to spend the extra money for the quail egg racks.