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Post by Fred Kokke on Dec 16, 2011 18:13:45 GMT -5
Hello. I was wondering what type of incubator to buy. Right now I am looking at 2 different ones. a Hovabator 1602n with fan and turner, or a Brinsea mini advanced with turner and fan, only 7 eggs at a time in this one. Which would be alright for me since I live in town. (can only have 30 chickens). Have to let Mrs Claus know.
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Post by bamachicken on Dec 16, 2011 18:47:24 GMT -5
I have the Hovabator with the preset temp. It works well. I finally wore out a old Hovabator with turbo fan. I use a dicki to incubate the first 18 days most of the time though and only hatch in the Hovabator.
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Post by d12chandler on Dec 16, 2011 19:19:08 GMT -5
I started with a Hovabator with a fan and turner and it worked great. I went to a Sportsman from GQF cause I needed to hatch a larger number. 7 isn't very many, I guess it work help keep the number of babies down. Maybe I need one of those.
Don
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Post by Fred Kokke on Dec 16, 2011 20:39:02 GMT -5
I guess 7 eggs at a time would probably not be enough to make sure I got enough chicks for 3 kids cold show in 4H. Since some would probably not hatch
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kathyinmo
New Member
Nothing in Moderation
Posts: 39
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Post by kathyinmo on Dec 17, 2011 0:21:04 GMT -5
I have several incubators, including a Sportsman, HovaBators, and Brinseas. I will just tell you my experience..... I HATE the Brinseas. They have lousy customer service, too. I know alot of folks like their Brinseas, but I use them only when I run out of room.
I have the HovaBator Genesis, and I just love that thing for hatching in. It keeps the temp and humidity well, and the picture window is a bonus.
Good luck with your incubating and hatching!
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Post by bamachicken on Dec 17, 2011 1:38:57 GMT -5
yeah it is the Genesis that I have. I like hatching in it also cause of the big window you can see what its happening.
I wish someone would invent or make a cabinet size bator that would hold about 80 eggs and half the depth of a Sportsman/ Dicki cabinet. It needs to open on both ends for easy cleaning. I think they would sell like hotcakes. I would easily pay 250 for such a bator.. I have seen a few cabinet bators at shows that were for raffle that were the same size as Sportsman that had dual ends to make it easy access for cleaning. One side had the acrylic door to see in. Very nice.
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Post by lildinkem on Dec 17, 2011 10:53:58 GMT -5
I can fit about 85 eggs in my HovaBators when I stack them side by side standing up on their pointy ends. I have to be the auto turner and once in the morning I put a Coke can under one side then remove it that nite and the next day put the can under the other side. Cause here in Indiana I never have to add water, and I seem to have decent hatches.
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Post by Fred Kokke on Dec 26, 2011 12:00:43 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. I am getting a Hovabator Genesis 1588 with turner. Sould have by this week end. Ordered online.
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Post by korfuskluckers on Dec 26, 2011 13:02:26 GMT -5
For the price Hovabators are the way to go. I have owned LGs, Hovabators, brinsea and sportsman. I love my brinseas the cabient style is the best IMO.
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Post by Fred Kokke on Jan 20, 2012 15:08:18 GMT -5
My first try at incubating was a winner. I had 7 eggs and 4 have hatched already, still more to come. I doubled My Buff's in one hatch.
Fred
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Post by d12chandler on Jan 20, 2012 18:26:21 GMT -5
Sounds like the new incubator was a sucess. Double your number and double the feed bill. With your little ones it's all worth it.
don
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Post by cowboygourmet on Jan 22, 2012 15:18:07 GMT -5
the Hova is nice but we need to hatch 300 plus eggs at a time so a larger bator is in order.
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Post by d12chandler on Jan 22, 2012 17:25:40 GMT -5
I like to hatch alot fast. I would be better off if I had a small bator, wouldn't have so many babies at a time.
don
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Post by jobele on Feb 3, 2012 1:06:16 GMT -5
I have several different incubators: GQF 2362, Genesis, Sportsman and also a Reptipro 5000(which is actually for reptiles, but I find it is really good with chicken eggs too) Julie.....you would probably like the Reptipro because it is a cabinet type and easy to clean out after the hatch. I've had good luck with all the bators that I have used.
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Post by Heaven Sent Ranch on Mar 4, 2012 18:03:47 GMT -5
Hi All, I started out with a styro foam incubator. Yuck! Then someone gave me another one, double yuck! After drowning chick after chick I broke down and bought a GQF Sportsman cabinet, holds 250 eggs. It was much better but I still had issues with temps in the winter months. One day I was surfing Craigs List and saw an ad for a Redwood incubator. OMG, bought two of them for $300. Completely restored them top to bottom. One holds 650 eggs the other 300. Now that's how I got into all this trouble!! Seriously though, if you are handy with tools and love to fiddle with things like I do, you can find them very reasonable. I have fairly detailed instructions on my web site for restoring them and many links to suppliers who carry all the necessary parts. These are absolutely the BEST incubators ever made. It's sad that today we as Americans are willing to settle for cheap merchandise. No offense to anyone, I was one of those people. Debi www.heavensentranch.comIf you happen to find one to restore and you need help, please don't hesitate to ask. I can work on them in my sleep! :-) |
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