Which incubator is the best? 7 Choice with comparasion table. Brinsea,Bobmail,MATICOOPX...

[Ricky Jehen]

Moonshiner has been testing off brand incubators for a while, I'd read through that thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...eg-incubator-reviews-and-discussions.1586872/

This will definitely help me make a better decision!

 

[The Good Grumble]

This will definitely help me make a better decision!

Ugh! All the Brinsea hate over there. I just bought the 28EX wondering if I sure return it now……..

 

[Ricky Jehen]

Ugh! All the Brinsea hate over there. I just bought the 28EX wondering if I sure return it now……..

Brinsea 28EX? Why?

 

[SweetieChicken234]

What was the price range when you got it on sale?

I think about $108. I was so happy.

 

[SweetieChicken234]

Oh wow, 80%+ success rate sounds amazing! I'm really curious about this dry hatch method you mentioned - I'm new to this and haven't heard about it before.

I do all mine dry incubation too. Better hatch rates. I live in FL and we have higher humidity so that method works great for me.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I have used several brands over the years and while some of the random off brands are garbage I think the biggest factor is the person running the incubator. I have heard people say an incubator is trash because of poor hatch rates and yet they obviously had no clue what they were doing with the hatch. I use a pre-calibrated analog thermometer and pre-calibrated analog cigar hygrometer inside the incubator. No digital. I also fully sterilize between each hatch and only use eggs from healthy parents. I don’t use dirty eggs, I don’t wash the eggs and only use eggs that at most require a quick dry brush. Here is the kicker…whether I dry hatch or not depends on the time of the year and the ambient humidity in the room I am hatching. That means if it’s been a rainy humid spring I dry hatch, but if it’s been a very dry spring I add humidity. It’s like baking nothing is 100% given 100% of the time. When I am baking I do the same thing. Certain times of year you will have to adjust your recipe for more moisture and other times less moisture which most people do not even think about.

 

[Slothinc]

Thanks for sharing your Brinsea experience! As a beginner, I'm wondering - is 24 eggs too ambitious for a first-time hatcher? What would you recommend as an ideal batch size for someone just starting out? I'm a bit nervous about managing too many eggs at once!

Get bigger than you think you’ll ever need…. Hahaha trust me once you start, you can’t stop

 

[Slothinc]

I hadn't even considered looking at used ones. It sounds like they're pretty durable. Would you mind sharing what kind of prices you found for used 7-egg models?

The first two I purchased from the same lady on eBay and got so lucky - I don’t think she had a clue what they were worth as she was just selling off her mother’s old belongings. I believe I paid about $50 each for them (this was 4-5 years ago.)

Then I recently got one from a local lady who was a teacher and had used it for a class hatch. I think I got it for $75. I don’t think it’s a bad route to go. Stay away from the chickcozy incubator, it has been nothing but problems for me, especially with shipped eggs!

 

[Eggs_Over_EZ]

I live in FL as well. When I dry hatch we do not put any water in the Maticcoopx the first 18 days. (We found the humidity stays around 25 - 30% without water and that is Spring and Summer hatching) At lock down we put a little water in but keep the humidity around 40% or lower. As the chicks hatch it will raise the humidity automatically. Have seen it go up as high as 70% but goes down once the chicks start to dry. In my opinion it is cleaner. I watched a guy in southern CA use dry hatch successfully. As you know that is a dryer climate. That being said we have not tried hatching in winter. Will not be trying it this year.

 

[paintedChix]

WELL, I'm back. This is one of my "books" - maybe because our daughter's rewritten YA fantasy book was published today (kindle). Get a cuppa (whatever u enjoy) - this is long...

**********
A fellow chicken hatcher recommended both the Brinsea (any) & Harris (NR360) ones in 2018. Recently, she had to scale down her breeding programs - she got good prices for those. She had gotten the Maticoopx & its 30 egg capacity fit her & she LOVES it. I didn't ask specifics.

Me, I couldn't justify the price of the Brinsea when I wanted to start. I got the Hovabator w/ turners, but forgot the fan. I did not have good hatches - struggled w/ candling too. I think part of the problem was too much humidity & spiking too hot when our AC struggling to cool our house. Had 12 eggs was saving to put into the incubator in a cardboard carton w/ one end raised - that I swapped ends w/ another egg carton - those eggs developed & 6 of 12 HATCHED ( i did not realize I'd kept them long enough to hatch) !! Sitting on a chair in the same room that incubator in, where 3 of 41 eggs hatched. The eggs in incubator - a couple not fertile, a couple of blood rings, most made it to lockdown but didn't hatch - fully developed. Some were pipped, most not. Drowned? I dunno...

I bought 2 NR 360s in 2021. Mine are finicky. Really glad I got hygrometer for each one. Have had family & health issues, cleaned up & stored in boxes...

To hold the temp @ 99.5°, one is set @ 100.5 & the other @ 102.0. Currently. It was same/similar 2 yrs ago. I'm waiting for GoVee hygrometers - will have on Friday. Currently started a dry hatch (my 1st time, was recommended), but didn't take into account the lower humidity right now. Eggs set on Sunday noon, debating adding water tonight... AND today our heat struggling to keep house warm. I've wrapped a minky blanket around the one & a big bath towel around base of other. They should hatch 12/22.

Want to get fans for the 2 Hovabators & set them up for hatching. Will do that later this spring? My personal goal is a cabinet incubator... I've heard good things about Brinsea, GQF's Sportsman 1500 series & Hatching Times.

I bought chicks from a guy 2 years ago that was hatching them in a Styrofoam cooler he built into incubator. It was fascinating talking w/ him but also frustrating after my 2 separate attempts w/ the Hovabators. He did purchase a digital "motor/readout" & a fan. Turned eggs by hand. Had a bowl of water in center of box. He was getting 85-95% hatch w/ barred rock chicks in that box.

**********
As to # of eggs - depends on 2 things. What you can afford & how many chicks you can brood/take care of.

Personally, 50% is low when hatching shipped eggs BUT my bad ones were my own eggs, no shipping... I can't imagine purchasing 6 shipped eggs & only having 3 hatch. However, it just hit me - i currently have 30 eggs in 2 incubators. If all hatch, w/ the cold/wet weather in Jan/Feb, I may be hardpressed to brood all of them. Am working on that, so HOPING I'll be fine. Not the way I should have done it though, LOL.