eggs and incubators

crookedoak · #1 07/06/12, 04:06 PM

I can't find what I want nearby, so what are the best places to buy fertile eggs and chicks. And what are the best and most reasonable priced incubators?
erin

Jennifer L. · #2 07/06/12, 04:36 PM

Ebay is not bad for eggs, if you are looking for something in particular and can't find them anywhere else. Shipped eggs are always a gamble, however. You can get good hatches, and you can get bad hatches. There are also some Yahoo groups for eggs. Can't think of the name of them right off the bat, but if you seach Yahoo groups I think you'll find them.

As for incubators, it really depends on how many eggs you expect to set, and how much money you want to spend. If you are going to do no more than a few dozen eggs every year, the styrofoam models will probably do the trick for chickens. I don't recommend them for larger eggs like turkey and goose, but even those will hatch in them. If you are going to do a LOT of eggs, then I would step up to the cabinet incubators. A new Sportsman from GQF will run you more $600, but they work well and will retain their value around the $250-300 level just about forever. It's pretty hard to totally trash them because parts are available.

Jennifer

Chaty · #3 07/06/12, 04:37 PM

I got my incubator at the feed store and as for eggs surely there is someone nearby that has hens and roos. Hope this helps some.

amwitched · #4 07/07/12, 12:44 PM

Put your location in your profile and maybe someone here will be close enough to sell you some fertile eggs. If you buy some from one of your neighbors, ask them NOT to refridgerate them.

Dusky Beauty · #5 07/07/12, 02:06 PM

Hovabators are generally the best bang for a small buck in incubators. An incubator is a very precise piece of equipment and its generally not worth the hassle (and failure rates) of the really cheap ones.
Brinsea Eco is also popular and reliable.

As far as hatching eggs, there are a lot of poultry enthusiasts over on the backyard chickens board-- I'm sure you could find any kind of hatching eggs you might want over there.

crookedoak · #6 07/07/12, 04:02 PM

I am in northwest Alabama.

jaredI · #7 07/07/12, 09:40 PM

I refused to pay 600 bucks for an incubator so I built one for about 30 bucks. I had most the materials laying around. Do a little research and you can find plans, if you are at all handy at building things. I can hatch about 200 eggs at a time, perhaps more.