What incubator to choose?

[Chicken poppy]

I don’t hatch many eggs, and really don‘t sell my chickens, so $100+ dollars for a incubator is not possible.
I am, however, willing to pay something around the $60 range. It must be automatic turning. If anyone has suggestions, please let me know!

I’ve been looking for a while, here are some that caught my eye. Does anyone have experience with them, or know if they’re good?

HOWUXO mini automatic incubator
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFW9KH1...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Magicfly mini egg incubator
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KD75VH...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Jumbl clear egg incubator
https://www.amazon.com/Jumbl-Incuba...ni+chicken+egg+incubator,lawngarden,87&sr=1-3


TRIOCOTTAGE clear egg incubator
https://www.amazon.com/TRIOCOTTAGE-...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=









Then i would be buying this with it, correct? https://www.amazon.com/Goabroa-Hygr...8d-af0e-968d7dee1356&pd_rd_i=B07QC7JRDP&psc=1


Thank you in advance!

 

[Jada22]

I can’t really answer your question other than I bought the 3rd incubator and it is terrible- first time I used it it was fine after that the temps went crazy, it’s also very hard to regulate the humidity in it. I lost everything in this incubator because it could not keep stable temps.
I’d honestly advise against all the above unless you find people here with good reviews on any of them.
It’s worth paying the extra bit of money to get a reliable incubator.
After Amazon fails I bought the cheapest brinsea (manual) for not much more. It was way better and I had really good hatch rates even though I was hand turning.
I wanted a bigger and automatic turning incubator so I bought a borotto and there’s no real issues with it but I do regret not paying the extra money for another brinsea. They’re just very reliable and easier to use in my opinion.
It might be worth seeing if you can get a better brand incubator second hand if you really don’t want to pay the extra cash. Saying that buying them new means they come with a warranty.

 

[Chicken poppy]

I can’t really answer your question other than I bought the 3rd incubator and it is terrible- first time I used it it was fine after that the temps went crazy, it’s also very hard to regulate the humidity in it. I lost everything in this incubator because it could not keep stable temps.
I’d honestly advise against all the above unless you find people here with good reviews on any of them.
It’s worth paying the extra bit of money to get a reliable incubator.
After Amazon fails I bought the cheapest brinsea (manual) for not much more. It was way better and I had really good hatch rates even though I was hand turning.
I wanted a bigger and automatic turning incubator so I bought a borotto and there’s no real issues with it but I do regret not paying the extra money for another brinsea. They’re just very reliable and easier to use in my opinion.
It might be worth seeing if you can get a better brand incubator second hand if you really don’t want to pay the extra cash. Saying that buying them new means they come with a warranty.

Thank you. Its just i would never be making my money back for the eggs that get hatched, and i’ll only be hatching 4 eggs. No more for this year at least.

How many times did you turn the eggs daily? And i heard some people saying to turn them left and then right, did you do that, or turn them just one way?

Much appreciated!

 

[Jada22]

Thank you. Its just i would never be making my money back for the eggs that get hatched, and i’ll only be hatching 4 eggs. No more for this year at least.

How many times did you turn the eggs daily? And i heard some people saying to turn them left and then right, did you do that, or turn them just one way?

Much appreciated!

The 3rd linked incubator may suit you then if it’s a once off hatch. But I’m unsure if I just got lucky with it working first time around.
If you are going with this incubator (or similar) it’s best to use a small dish to hold water and control humidity. It might be worth trying a cheap incubator but It’s hit and miss and you may end up with nothing hatching.
Honestly I wasn’t always spot on with the turning- I’ve done 5 times a day and 3 times a day. I’ve done the perfect back and forth turning and I’ve also just gently rolled them. But I never just kept rolling one direction. each time I did mark one side x and one side o to make sure they were all getting moved.
I always had good hatch rates in the brinsea with both chicken and quail eggs.

 

[Chicken poppy]

The 3rd linked incubator may suit you then if it’s a once off hatch. But I’m unsure if I just got lucky with it working first time around.
If you are going with this incubator (or similar) it’s best to use a small dish to hold water and control humidity. It might be worth trying a cheap incubator but It’s hit and miss and you may end up with nothing hatching.
Honestly I wasn’t always spot on with the turning- I’ve done 5 times a day and 3 times a day. I’ve done the perfect back and forth turning and I’ve also just gently rolled them. But I never just kept rolling one direction. each time I did mark one side x and one side o to make sure they were all getting moved.
I always had good hatch rates in the brinsea with both chicken and quail eggs.

Ah okay! i’ll look into getting a non-automatic one then.

So when you do the X and the O, do you roll it to one side, then the other, back and fourth, or do you go one side a few times then go back to the other?

 

[Jada22]

Ah okay! i’ll look into getting a non-automatic one then.

So when you do the X and the O, do you roll it to one side, then the other, back and fourth, or do you go one side a few times then go back to the other?

Yes one side to other so if you start on X you’ll be turning them to the O then on the next turn they’ll be back to X then O again.
Wash your hands before turning eggs and turn an odd number of times- they’ll be on a different side then each night.
Let’s say you start in the morning and are turning 3 times you would start on X then middle of the day turn to O then that night you are turning to X so they are on x overnight. The next morning you are turning to O the middle of the day you are turning to X then that night they are on O overnight. The more times you can turn the better but keep to an odd number as you don’t want them to keep being on the same side overnight (as this is the longest time without being turned)
Hope this helps!

 

[Chicken poppy]

Yes one side to other so if you start on X you’ll be turning them to the O then on the next turn they’ll be back to X then O again.
Wash your hands before turning eggs and turn an odd number of times- they’ll be on a different side then each night.
Let’s say you start in the morning and are turning 3 times you would start on X then middle of the day turn to O then that night you are turning to X so they are on x overnight. The next morning you are turning to O the middle of the day you are turning to X then that night they are on O overnight. The more times you can turn the better but keep to an odd number as you don’t want them to keep being on the same side overnight (as this is the longest time without being turned)
Hope this helps!

Yes, this was so helpful! Thank you so much. Are non-automatic ones cheaper?

I haven’t been doing that method of turning, though i will now, i’ve been turning it for the past week on the same side (on the counter) will they still be alright?

 

[Chicken poppy]

I may wait til the start of March to incubate them so they end up hatching in spring. Would it be wasteful to put these aside and just wait for March?

 

[Ridgeback825]

We got the KEBONNIXS and love it. It's so silent that I have it on my nightstand. For our backyard flock it's been worth every penny!

 

[SilverBirds]

I may wait til the start of March to incubate them so they end up hatching in spring. Would it be wasteful to put these aside and just wait for March?

What are you wasting?