WHICH KIND OF INCUBATOR TO START WITH FOR A NEWBIE~

[dixieschicks]

I KNOW THIS TOPIC HAS PROBABLY COME UP ALREADY, BUT DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR A NEWBIE ON WHICH INCUBATOR TO BUY AND MAYBE WHO HAS THE BEST PRICE?

I AM CONFUSED, STILL AIR, FAN, EGG TURNER? WHICH IS IMPORTANT, WHAT DO YOU NEED?

I LOVE MISSPRISSY'S POST ABOUT HER HOMEMADES BUT I WILL HAVE TO BUILD ONE A LITTLE LATER~

HOVABATOR? LIL GIANT?

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP IN ADVANCE.

CINDY

 

[MissPrissy]

I had a hovabator years ago. I hated it. I knew when I got the itch to hatch again not long ago that I wanted to build my own. So I did. I had purchased eggs a while back in the summer but they came broken and mishandled by the PO. That hatch was 0%. I was afraid to try again but I gave in and asked speckledhen to put me on her egg list. I have 2 different sets of eggs in 2 incubators now. So far so good.

I can't give you any advise on a premade incubator. I can wish you good luck and say thank you for the compliment on my hommade incubators.

 

[dixieschicks]

YOU are welcome MissPrissy! I love looking at your posts and especially your homemade incubators. I guess I should just take some time and think about this! thanks again!

 

[jenichick]

I've spent three weeks researching incubators and reading comparisions. I've learned that if your going to buy one get the best you can afford. They range from $15 - $3,000. Most hobbyist pic the ones somewhere betwee $45 and $300.

I am a very busy person, can't turn them two or three times a day. Air circulation is a big factor on sucessful hatches. I don't have $300 to spend. So that left me with Little Giant forced air with turner (small windows but less than $200). It'
styrofoam and hard to clean. I wanted bigger windows.

So then I looked at Hova-bator, with turner and forced air. They have the plastic one (not stryofoam), with big picture window, and with turner new from $130 to $200 depending on if you get the electronic thermostat. I am going to buy and additional hygromter/thermometer and rig it to my hova-bator so I opted for the:

Hova-Bator with Circulated Air, large picture window and turner. The incubator around $100 just about everywhere and the turner is about $45 but I got them both for $110.

I'll let people know how it goes when I start my hatch.

 

[Crunchie]

I have a Hova-Bator with forced air, no turner. My first hatch I got a 50% hatch rate with eggs shipped to me from across the country in August. A few were definitely casualties of the post office (none broken, but a few loose air cells) and the long, hot trip cross-country, so, for my first hatch, I'd say my hatch rate was pretty good.

This is the one I bought: http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=2&mscssid=2S1KTAC9D6139G6WS3NS3CPP6N0GA9B0 Jeffers has free shipping for orders over $50, usually has very low prices, and they have great customer service (I bought a $300 pair of heavy duty clippers for my horses and they blew up on me the first time I used them--they had a new set on my steps in 3 days w/a call tag to send the old ones back free of charge--no questions asked. Plus, a real live person answers the phone when you call. Gotta love that!) so if you're like me and a little wary of shopping online from some company you don't know, I can recommend this company from personal experience.

I didn't have a lot of money to spend and I didn't need a big incubator. This one was $75. I could have spent $30 more and got the automatic turner (which I may do in the future) but at the time I was home a lot and could take the time to turn the eggs myself. It seemed to hold temperature very well. So far so good for me--it has met my needs.

 

[EweSheep]

Hovabator with auto temps and auto turner and fan....I had NO problems with it until now, which the parts are getting worn out and needed to be replaced. It paid itself many times over and you will have to learn and hatch as you go! Right now I am getting pretty good hatches with dry incubation method...works well for me and others. Been incubating for four years now.....

I had NO luck on Little Giant.....tossed that thing out in the garbage. not worth it to me.

 

[crysmom]

I purchased the hovabator with fan and auto turner as well as a flukers thermometer/ hydrometer. I"ve yet to hatch but I have a batch of shipped eggs in there and we are on day 14. I'm pretty happy with what I bought it was 109.00 on ebay for the set I kind of wish I had bought the brower top hatch instead because it has a clear window and easier cleaning the same place had it for 139.00 dblr supply on ebay

 

[jenichick]

Oh yeah, DIXIESCHICKS, please don't take any offense to this, I noticed you only had 6 posts so I thought I'd throw this out there. When you type in all caps on a forum, it's considered yelling. I know and everyone here know you weren't yelling, ha ha, but just in case you didn't know, I'd thought id bring it up. Unless of course you were yelling, then oops my bad!

 

[dixieschicks]

Thank you for the tip on caps! No, I did not know this was yelling! sorry~

Anything else I should know? It is so hard to be new! I did not mean to insult anyone and appreciate any and all help.

thanks..........cindy

 

[jenichick]

I'm sure no one was insulted at all. Most of us learned this the same way you did, ha ha including me!