Which cheap incubator would you choose?

[peepers93]

i don't know how many birds u have..but inevitably..u will eventually have a hen go broody.however..its still nice to have a bator on hand..cuz if u raise chicks..there will come a time when u need one!

I have 10 pullets around 5 months old and 5 three week old chicks right now. I'm sure eventually someone will go broody, but we don't want to wait lol.

 

[BaJa]

that one from amazon, please don't buy it. its junk. I made the mistake to buy it and it never arrived.

 

[peepers93]

that one from amazon, please don't buy it. its junk. I made the mistake to buy it and it never arrived.

That sucks! Yeah I looked into it a little more and realized it would be a bad idea. The price is definitely tempting though lol.

 

[abraga]

I got a farm innovator from tractor supply i liked the plastic on outside, styro on INSIDE...HORRIBLE HORRIBLE..IT HAS CRAZY TEMP FLUCTUATIONS...DONT BUT IT EITHER

 

[peepers93]

I got a farm innovator from tractor supply i liked the plastic on outside, styro on INSIDE...HORRIBLE HORRIBLE..IT HAS CRAZY TEMP FLUCTUATIONS...DONT BUT IT EITHER

Okay, good to know! I'll definitely look for something else

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

I have the Farm Innovators 4250. I bought it at Tractor Supply last month for $109. I like it very much. My first hatch that has been completely done in the Farm Innovators is due next weekend. It's a mix of my own eggs and some cheap barnyard mixes I got from ebay to try my hand at shipped eggs. Before this I used it as a hatcher during lock down for a couple of eggs I tried incubating in a food dehydrator (that's a story for a different post). I keep the incubator in a finished basement in a fully interior room with very little temperature fluctuation. It took me 2-3 days to get the temperature adjusted when I first fired it up. It's not a set it and forget it unit. You'll still need to be hands on and double check temp as often as possible.

I'm very new to incubating in general and the learning curve has been very steep. Read everything you can about humidity, air cells, weight loss, shell temperature, turning, candling and more. After my terrible first hatch (1 out of 20) I now weigh each egg every 4 days and take shell temps as needed. I also run 2 extra thermometers. One floating on the eggs and one measuring air temp. Realistically it's going to take me 3-4 hatches to get things really dialed in and achieve satisfactory hatch rates. That's learning how to run ,fine tune, the incubator and reduce human error as much as possible.

Happy hatching!

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Oops. I also meant to add something on the Farm Innovators 4250. The temperature sensor is a little tricky to lay where it's need to be. It comes with a plastic square attached and it's mean to lay on top of the eggs. Closing the lid and keeping the sensor in place take some time to figure out. At first it seemed like it was constantly dropping between the eggs and down into the turner. With a little practice I can now easily keep it where it need to be. Once the lid is closed the sensor does not shift even with the turner on.

 

[peepers93]

I have the Farm Innovators 4250. I bought it at Tractor Supply last month for $109. I like it very much. My first hatch that has been completely done in the Farm Innovators is due next weekend. It's a mix of my own eggs and some cheap barnyard mixes I got from ebay to try my hand at shipped eggs. Before this I used it as a hatcher during lock down for a couple of eggs I tried incubating in a food dehydrator (that's a story for a different post). I keep the incubator in a finished basement in a fully interior room with very little temperature fluctuation. It took me 2-3 days to get the temperature adjusted when I first fired it up. It's not a set it and forget it unit. You'll still need to be hands on and double check temp as often as possible.

I'm very new to incubating in general and the learning curve has been very steep. Read everything you can about humidity, air cells, weight loss, shell temperature, turning, candling and more. After my terrible first hatch (1 out of 20) I now weigh each egg every 4 days and take shell temps as needed. I also run 2 extra thermometers. One floating on the eggs and one measuring air temp. Realistically it's going to take me 3-4 hatches to get things really dialed in and achieve satisfactory hatch rates. That's learning how to run ,fine tune, the incubator and reduce human error as much as possible.

Happy hatching!

Thank you, I appreciate all the info!

 

[peepers93]

For anyone with experience with Hovabators - the 1602n model with circulated air fan kit is about $60 cheaper than the Genesis. Is there a big difference between the two to make the Genesis worth $60 more? I'm still doing a lot of googling to see if I can find any info, but I'd love to hear from people with actual experience with them! If the Genesis is worth it, I'll get it (husband told me go ahead and get a decent one, he's supporting me in my newfound chicken obsession lol) I just want to make sure it's worth it.

 

[feedman77]

It should be the heating elements and the thermostat controls.

1602 is a wafer thermostat.

1588 is all digital.

For a tabletop incubator the genesis is one of the best you can get. In a styro.

I have 2 and can avg. 80 plus hatch rate.