Which incubator should I get

[MarkJr]

My uncle just asked if we would start chicks for him next spring. I’m pondering incubator size. He’s wanting 15-16 pullets. That’s 30-35 eggs in a perfect world. 75% hatch rate puts me starting with 40-45 eggs.

Is there an affordable incubator that will work well in the 40-60 egg size? I’m lazy, auto turn is a must.

Also.... are my numbers optimistic?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

It depends. Where will your hatching eggs come from? Local or shipped?

 

[MarkJr]

He’s just wanting eggs, nothing fancy. Figured my bar rock roo and sapphire gem, dominant coppers, and silver lace Wyandotte will be decent producers as mutts. So..... 15 layers can give me say, 8-12 eggs per day?? So 50 eggs in a week?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Yes your numbers seem right. If you are setting these for next spring, you also need to take in account that lower levels of sunlight make egg production plummet. A couple weeks before you want to collect eggs you may want to give your chickens additional light.

 

[MarkJr]

I was going to incubate starting mid March. First week April hatch.

Other question...... is this the start of ‘chicken math’?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

You might add the maximum price you'd want to pay for an incubator too. Because I could recommend an RCOM 50. That will hold 50 chicken eggs and is fully automatic but will set you back $750+.

 

[britesidefarm]

I have an incubator that lets you hatch at least two dozen eggs at once, and has given me a good 95% hatch rate. It has an automatic turner as well to help people like us who have a hard time doing it ourselves.
https://www.amazon.com/Magicfly-Digital-Automatic-Incubator-Chickens/dp/B06XX5P6VX
Hope this helped!

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Definitely chicken math. Maybe every single one will hatch!

 

[MarkJr]

You might add the maximum price you'd want to pay for an incubator too. Because I could recommend an RCOM 50. That will hold 50 chicken eggs and is fully automatic but will set you back $750+.

I’d say under $200. Ideally $100-150.

 

[MarkJr]

I have an incubator that lets you hatch at least two dozen eggs at once, and has given me a good 95% hatch rate. It has an automatic turner as well to help people like us who have a hard time doing it ourselves.
https://www.amazon.com/Magicfly-Digital-Automatic-Incubator-Chickens/dp/B06XX5P6VX
Hope this helped!

This looks promising. Wish it were 8-10 eggs larger! Thank you for the idea. I added it to my amazon list.