Which incubator?

[wikdwich]

We tried hatching 14 bantam eggs in a borrowed incubator but none of them hatched. We think the temp and humidity got off and they just couldn't develop correctly. We'd like to buy an incubator of our own. Which ones have you had the best success with?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

We tried hatching 14 bantam eggs in a borrowed incubator but none of them hatched. We think the temp and humidity got off and they just couldn't develop correctly. We'd like to buy an incubator of our own. Which ones have you had the best success with?

If you can afford them, the Brinsea line is one of the best- but they are pricey. If you can't go that route and you look at the styro bators, look at the Hovabator line, especially the 1588. Steer away from the Little Giant 9300 if possible, the majority of people that have gone that direction have regreted it. You can get good hatches but there's more trial and error with them than any other bator that I know of.

If you get a still air make sure your temps are 101-102 taken near the tops of the eggs and make sure you have checked accurate thermometers. That's the important thing. Never trust a bator's read outs unless you've checked for accuracy. If you are not in a high elevation consider a low humidity incubation or "dry", such as this: http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity

 

[wikdwich]

What's the humidity supposed to be? I read 60-65 for the first 18 days and then I read 30. I don't want to mess up any more babies.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

What's the humidity supposed to be? I read 60-65 for the first 18 days and then I read 30. I don't want to mess up any more babies.

60-65% is way too high for the average environment. The best thing you can do, is read the link I gave you. It explains about humidity and a couple options of finding the humidity that works for you and monitoring air cells. I myself incubate at 30% and monitor my air cells to know if I need to adjust. (Usually I don't.) Humidity is not a set number. There is no magic number because everyone has different variables (IE: environment, habits, egg quality). The best thing is to find what works for you. You can adjust humidity over the course of the incubation to provide the results you need if you are monitoring. I up my humidity to 75% at lockdown.

 

[Metolious]

I'm new to incubating but I spent weeks researching incubators and based off of that and Jack Spirko's recommendation I bought the Incuview. Nine days into incubating the power supply burned out and I ran to the store and bought Farm Innovator's 4200, which is a terrible product because it doesn't maintain temperature/humidity and the thermometer/hygrometer are inaccurate (and the machine leaks water everywhere). I'd still recommend the Incuview. The company sent out a new power supply and I have 44 quail eggs in it now.