Which Incubator to buy?

[claudiab]

I bought the Brinsea Octagon 20 with the cradle. I am, basically, new to incubating eggs. Since 10/13, I have hatched 4 batches of eggs, and am on my 5th. I
LOVE this incubator! I have averaged 22 out of 24 eggs hatching, each time. This thing has a great hatch rate, although a bit pricey, it has paid for itself already. I have no negatives/cons regarding this incubator.



i

 

[TattooedMama]

I bought the Brinsea Octagon 20 with the cradle. I am, basically, new to incubating eggs. Since 10/13, I have hatched 4 batches of eggs, and am on my 5th. I
LOVE this incubator! I have averaged 22 out of 24 eggs hatching, each time. This thing has a great hatch rate, although a bit pricey, it has paid for itself already. I have no negatives/cons regarding this incubator.



i

That's great news. My Brinsea should be here next Monday. Are you using shipped eggs or your own/local eggs?

 

[claudiab]

I am using our own eggs. And, I am getting VERY addicted to hatching chicks! I think my husband is beginning to worry!

 

[winteree]

I am using our own eggs. And, I am getting VERY addicted to hatching chicks! I think my husband is beginning to worry!

lols i've heard it fun this last hatch which was my first didn't work out. But i just order some duck eggs i hope things will be looking up this time

 

[TattooedMama]

I am using our own eggs. And, I am getting VERY addicted to hatching chicks! I think my husband is beginning to worry!

One of my selling points to my hubby of the Brinsea over the Hova-Bator was that it only fit 24 eggs

He knows how crazy I can get sometimes. It's a good day to keep me in check.

 

[TattooedMama]

lols i've heard it fun this last hatch which was my first didn't work out. But i just order some duck eggs i hope things will be looking up this time

Was it the incubator you think or did you have other problems?

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
As weird as that sounds, that's one of my considerations also. Do I really need more than 24 chicks at once? It could keep things manageable, or it could create limitations. Decisions,

, decisions,

decisions

.

 

[TattooedMama]

As weird as that sounds, that's one of my considerations also.  Do I really need more than 24 chicks at once?  It could keep things manageable, or it could create limitations.  Decisions, , decisions, decisions .

No you don't but you have to wieigh the prod and cons of those that aren't fertile or fail to progress. It limits your ability to start with more to offset your losses and end up with 24 chicks. With a brinsea I expect to get a high hatch rate with my own eggs but ordering shipped eggs it does present with a dilemma in wanting to order extra to account for those that may not hatch due to harsh shipping and handling. They say to order and set twice as many eggs as you wish to end up with in the end. Then again if I had a bigger bator I would be hard pressed not to fill it to the brim. I just plan to order from those with excellent reviews for hatching rates of shipped eggs by customers to get the best possible outcomes. There's always the unknown variable but some have better track records with packing eggs than others.

 

[TattooedMama]

The incubator arrived! I got it all set up, which took about 5 minutes! That was nice. I'm not overly impressed with auto-turn cradle. I wish for the $350 price tag it was a little more stout and stable. It doesn't even set totally level. That set my OCD off lol. Also the screws for the cradle are cheap junk. But that's no biggie! I was pretty much expecting to not be overly impressed with the cradle. That seemed to be a reoccurring theme in a lot of the reviews I read while researching the incubator. On a great note, I plugged it up and the temp stabilized at 99.5 in less than 15 minutes and has stayed that way for an hour! I checked this against two thermometers that I know to be accurate. I haven't checked the accuracy of the humidity reading yet. I'm hopeful that that good temp control and stable humidity will make up for the cradle! I will keep everyone updated when I set some eggs.

Any eggs in your new toy yet?! =)

 

[brandy00]

Any eggs in your new toy yet?! =)

Not yet! I had planned to move eggs over from the LG, but I'm on day 10 with those and they are doing great. All 22 of the shipped polish eggs had moving embryos last night. I got a new shipment of eggs in yesterday that will be going in the Brinsea tonight. It's going to be a nightmare though because every single air cell is mess!