Incubator Recommendations

[Tailfeathers]

First let me say thanks for the warm welcoming.  Look forward to meeting you in a few weeks Jean.  It\'s pretty cold here on the Westside too.  Both my ponds are froze over.  Btw, are you coming to the Cascade Show on March 15th?

Now, Michael said I could ask anything.  Be careful what you ask for Michael!!  I am a very inquisitive fella as it is defined by \"eager for knowledge\" and \"intellectually curious\".  Believe me, I conform to the philosophy that the only dumb question is one not asked!!  So here goes...

Well folks, it\'s time for me to take the next big plunge and buy an incubator.  Just as when I started out in the Fancier game and knew next to nothing about poultry, I know next to nothing about \"bators\" now.

Who\'s willing to educate an Ignoramus like me on the do\'s and don\'t of what to look for in an incubator?  Any and all information, advice, suggestions and/or recommendations are most appreciated!

[bantamhill]

How many eggs are you wanting to incubate and do you have a price range?

[John]

The \"search\" option on this forum is a great tool to use to search for information.  I typed in the word \"incubators\" and came up with a lot of good reading material...here is one topic to start with:
http://ameraucana.org/abcforum/index.php?a=topic&t=192

[John]

Speaking of incubators I came across a couple photos of one I built back around 1982.  Note I used an automatic turner and had a funnel on top to add water without opening the door.  From the inside you can see the heating element from an old clothes dryer and a squirrel cage fan in the corner to circulate the air.  The trays were Rainbow bread delivery trays.  Most of the eggs were pheasant eggs.  
I still have the wooden box and use it out back in a breeding pen for bantams.

[Jean]

Royce,

I have a gqf, it was spendy, but I had terrible results with the styrofoam ones.  I think the air is just too dry where I live.  I do recommend getting a digital thermo-hygrometer.  They are more accurate than anything that comes with an incubator.

Look into Dickey incubators also, they have a web site.

It really depends on how much you want to spend and how much incubating you are going to do.  Incubating is a skill that you will learn over time also.  Once the excitement of hatching wanes you will find your results will be much better as your patience grows.

Where can I find info on the Cascade show?  I may consider going if the weather is good and if I can vaccinate some birds before then.

Jean

[bantamhill]

I find that I have good luck with styrofoam in the spring (I have installed the circulation fans in all which really helped). I have a sportsman that I like and it does a really good job when full.

Michael

[Paul]

We use two GQF #1202 incubators that have been upgraded with the electronic thermostats.  They each hold 288 eggs.  The second incubator is set two weeks after the first one.  One week after the second one is set the first one hatches.  Then we have one week to clean it to get ready for setting the next one (third hatch).  The cycle is repeated (set one week-hatch the next week) through hatching season.

I highly recommend using a digital outdoor/indoor thermometer.  The probe is placed inside the incubator and the digital part of the thermometer on top of the incubator.  They are more accurate than the dial thermometers which come with the incubator.  We cooked two incubators of eggs last year, due to a thermometer which failed.  Circulated air incubators need to be set at 99.5ºF.  Still air incubators need to be set at 98ºF.

[Guest]

Does anyone have opinions on or experience with the Hovabators and other small incubators?
Do they hatch as well as a big cabinet type?
Are hatch rates significantly better as accessories like electronic thermostat, auto egg turner, fans are added?
Other than low capacity, what are the disadvantages?

I suspect that the higher egg mass in a big incubator would serve to moderate temp variations.
Finally, what hatch rate is considered satisfactory?

Thanks,
Andy in Maine

[bantamhill]

Andy,

I have had good results with the \"Little Giant\" styrofoam incubator which is similiar to the Hovabator. The key is to place the incubator in a room that does not have wild temperature swings (that would be a recommendation for all incubators, but especially small ones) and to only open the incubator when necessary. One suggestion I have used in the past was to wrap the styrofoam incubator in a towel or blanket to stabalize the temperature. I have also done this when we have lost power. Misting with distilled water is a good idea after opening the incubator. I would recommend highly the fan and the plastic liner. Styrofoam can be a real problem to clean. An alternative to the plastic liner is plastic wrap . . . use the widest size you can find. The auto turner is a convenience factor and actually reduces the number of eggs that can be incubated at one time, but it has the advantage of not opening the incubator and losing the humidity.

Hatch rate is dependent on many factors, but if all things are equal (fertility, egg quality, clean environment) you should have equal hatch rates.

I have found the clean environment to be one of the most important factors in incubating eggs. If I start seeing hatch rates go down the first thing I do is pull everything out of the incubator and give it a really good cleaning.

Michael

[Paul]

I started with a styrofoam hovabator and an egg turner about 14 years ago.  After a few hatches added a turbo fan.  One with a turbo fan and egg turner works fairly well.  About a 50% hatch rate would be considered good.  The worst problem is cleaning the styrofoam without harming it.  It\'s very important not to let a bacteria get in the incubator.  We use an oxine and water solution to clean our GQF\'s and the eggs before setting them.

[redfox]

Andy in Maine,
I\'m using a Hov-a-bator with fan and turner right now from Cutlersupply.com. I did a little modifying since the temp under the fan was a lot lower than under the heating element.  Not sure how your house is, but ours is very dry this time of year in MA. and it is hard to get the humidity up to even 40% in the incubator. With the turner you can still do 42 eggs. The temp stays pretty good, even though we let the fire go out on sunny days and it can drop to maybe 62 in here from 70. I have tried wrapping a towel around it and it does help stabilize things, when the room temps go up and down to much. I also tried putting cheese cloth in the bottom and around the edges for the last three days so the hatch is easier to clean up. It really helped with the cleaning and kept the unhatched eggs closer to the center were it\'s warmer, rather than over the air holes on the sides. I have heard of others putting their incubators in a larger box with a towel under it to help keep things stable, but it would still need fresh air. I want a cabinet- maybe next year if I save enough egg money.
Cindy

[redfox]

Andy,
I just realized why the incubator was holding it\'s temp so good this year. It\'s sitting on marble and the marble is warm.

[Guest]

Cindy,
It sounds like you\'re describing my house!
I have an alternate location that has a more steady temp.  That\'s where I\'ll do it.

I know that things (eggs) are not always equal but is a 50% hatch rate generally accepted as satisfactory by most people?

Presently I have one Rooster and 22 hens.  It seems that filling the incubator would keep a more constant temp and give better results.  I don\'t want to collect eggs for a week to get that many.  Should I borrow another rooster and seperate out some hens for him, to increase fertility?  I assume that my current 22:1 ratio will make for a few chicks and a lot of slow cooked eggs.

Thanks,
Andy