[waddy]

Hi


Before I raid the piggy bank has anyone used one of these and what were your experiences of the temperature and humidity control? Does it do what it says on the tin?


Many thanks


Helen

[HesterF]

I've got the Brinsea Octagon 40 advance ex and have just bought a Octagon 20 eco in their knock-down sale of ex-show models. The ex it great - easy to read temp and humidity and all automatically controlled. Having said that, I hatched ducks in it last year and had some problems because I think the humidity had been too high for them so they needed help out but the hatch rate (with my help) was great. This year I'm going to be more diligent with weighing eggs and calculating weight loss rates but that's partly because I think the waterfowl are a bit more complex and I'm hoping to hatch geese too. That's why I thought the eco would be OK too because I won't be quite as reliant on the automatic humidity control and will run dry with spraying.

Anyhow, Brinsea is the top brand for incubators, I've found their customer service great and they do know what they're talking about. But I do only have one season experience with it so hopefully others can add more.

[jaykay]

I have two of the 20s and have found them very good  I've hatched hens, ducks and geese successfully in them for a number of years.

[waddy]

Thanks for the replies, I will order one today. We are only just about to start with chickens and really want to hatch our own and see them start to finish. Buying in may be the more sensible option but all the stories of Mareks and other diseases has scared me. I know wild birds can bring stuff in, but we will do our best to have a closed flock to reduce the chances.


 
Helen

[benkt]

We've got an octagon 20 that we use for our 'hatching in schools' programme and its been very reliable even with it being looked after by previously inexperienced primary school teachers! Big clear lid also helps for the kids to see what's going on without being tempted to open it!

[ScribbleUk]

I have the 20 and 40, both with auto-turn cradles and humidity pump.  They were used pretty much non-stop last year.  I had two problems.  First with the internal electronics which seemed to give up the ghost quite quickly on the 20.  Brinsea were absolutely no use in helping - even though the incubator was only 6 weeks old because I hadn't sent them the registration card within 30 days of purchase they were totally uninterested in helping.  Left a very bad taste as a customer experience.  In the end, I was able to return it to the seller for a replacement. 

With the 40, the mechanism on the auto-turn cradle seemed to jam and caused the motor to fail.  Couldn't be bothered with the hassle of Brinsea customer service again, so just bough a replacement motor and everything is back to normal again.

Apart from the two experiences above, the incubators have been very reliable and in almost non-stop use last year.  I think the advantage of Brinsea is that you can easily buy spare parts or interchange parts between incubators, although the spares are very expensive as is their postage costs. 

Our success rates rose significantly when we used the humidity pump - worth the extra cost. 

[Marches Farmer]

We've used the Octagon 20 as one of our incubators for the last few years with no problems.

[waddy]

Just ordered one! Now got to source some hatching eggs. I know they are scarce, but I liked the look of the Norfolk greys in the Country Smallholding magazine last month (or month before - can't remember). We need a dual purpose bird. Although we don't need masses of eggs we do eat a lot of chicken.


Helen

[HesterF]

Just ask on here for hatching eggs - there's probably some one who has the breed you want. I've got Orpingtons which are a good dual purpose breed (although slow for meat) but one pen has yet to start laying for the year and I'm going to wait a couple of weeks before testing the other pen for fertility. I know others have had more joy though so you should be able to get some fertile eggs from somewhere now.

H

[jaykay]

Practical Poultry forum is a good source of specialist breed eggs too.

[waddy]

Thanks guys for the help. Looking at hatching eggs now (have to restrain myself until the incubator comes). I'm getting eggcited!


 
Helen

[chrismahon]

I found Brinsea very helpful. I was considering fitting one of their control circuit boards into a Spanish semi-auto incubator which had a burned out board and no available spares. They gave me all the circuit and size info I needed. In the end I decided to try a repair(which worked) for reasons of hassle and of course cost.


Scribble is the first report of problems I've heard. Perhaps that's why they have a comprehensive spares backup?

[waddy]

The incubator has arrived! Very good service from the incubator shop - next day in spite of the storm and having opted for economy delivery. Need some hatching eggs now!


 
Helen

[mowhaugh]

I got an Octogon 20 for a surprise Christmas present, looking forward to trying it out.