What incubator should I get?

[perrypogue]

I know there have been threads on this, I’ve been down the rabbit hole reading several of them and googling and left totally overwhelmed and confused!

I’m hatching 24 eggs early spring, so I have some time to figure this out but want to be prepared and learn as much as I can.

What I’m looking for:
Holds 24 eggs
Straight forward and easy to set up and use for a first timer
Reliable, I want these eggs to have a good chance to hatch and they are being shipped
Doesn’t cost a million dollars, I’d like to stay under $300


I’ve heard automatic turning and humidity are key.

I’d also appreciate a battery back up but I don’t know how common that is to find. I do not want to lose these eggs, I spent a lot of money on them and am super excited. So I’m willing to invest but so far the good ones I’ve seen either don’t fit 24 or they are $500 and debate about if they are worth that…

Hence starting a thread to look for something that checks all the boxes! Thanks in advance!

 

[perrypogue]

I would get the Smart Incubator from Amazon. Look at it on YouTube.

 

[Ilovechickens2525]

I would get the Smart Incubator from Amazon. Look at it on YouTube.

Do you have a link for this?

 

[AmericanDwarfChicken]

I know there have been threads on this, I’ve been down the rabbit hole reading several of them and googling and left totally overwhelmed and confused!

I’m hatching 24 eggs early spring, so I have some time to figure this out but want to be prepared and learn as much as I can.

What I’m looking for:
Holds 24 eggs
Straight forward and easy to set up and use for a first timer
Reliable, I want these eggs to have a good chance to hatch and they are being shipped
Doesn’t cost a million dollars, I’d like to stay under $300


I’ve heard automatic turning and humidity are key.

I’d also appreciate a battery back up but I don’t know how common that is to find. I do not want to lose these eggs, I spent a lot of money on them and am super excited. So I’m willing to invest but so far the good ones I’ve seen either don’t fit 24 or they are $500 and debate about if they are worth that…

Hence starting a thread to look for something that checks all the boxes! Thanks in advance!

I would avoid these. They always break, but I have heard some folks have hatched chicks with them, but they break within the first hatch.

 

[Tex452]

I have two NR 360 incubators and are very satisfied with results, so far I’ve had a 95% hatch rate, without having to adjust temperature in either one. They hold 22 eggs, but I double stacked in a batch I done that supposed to hatch this weekend, I put 24 in it.
I do the dry hatch method, and I don’t open the incubator until day 18, that’s the one and only time I candle, I add no water at any time.
I was amazed at how easy the chicks hatch, and how healthy and lively they are.