My first incubator was just a foam box and a light bulb and I would swap a brick from one side to the other every 3-5 hours as a turner. Still managed to get 95% or better hatch rates. Next was a HovaBator I modified by adding a fan and different temp controller and got equally good hatch rates, also happy to have a turner at that point. Honestly, for under $100 you could make an amazing incubator. The cheap one you have I just purchased knowing it needs tinkering but it's a good base to start with if you go into it knowing it's a rough start. You can do a lot to make big improvements to that one. Honestly, I get just filling some of those voids with aquarium gravel would do A LOT to stabilize temps and keep chicks from getting stuck. But you're right, it's not ready as it sits.
Daniel, thank you for such a great review of pros and cons. I won't waste my time nor money on buying cheap to start and have disappointment and way more work in cleaning up after. Really appreciate the time and energy to make the vid. Cheers
The first thing I noticed was the "turner" on the River systems is RIGHT IN FRONT for trouble shooting. There seem to be two/three Achilles Heels with ALL the incubators under 300 and a number more expensive: the turner doesn't work, the humidity doesn't work, and/or it's just a bad design, repeated over and over under various "names".
Just about to purchase the Italian one you demonstrated. Had all the problems mentioned with the cheap Chinese one. We only decided tonight and listening to your report has clinched it. Thank you.
We also bought one of those cheap incubators off ebay You are right! We had to go out for the day on hatch day unfortunately and when we returned home some had hatched, then wriggled around and fell down the gap between the incubator and the tray. A couple were jammed half way down. Stuck upside down! One drowned it was stuck jammed in there upside down but its head was in the water underneath so couldn't breathe. There was another chick running around underneath around the fan it could also have been killed too
I noticed the same design flaw with my cheap ebay incubator as well. Luckily I cut some foam into the right sizes to stuff into the gaps as I was worried my hatched chicks would do the same. I considered buying the Borotto Lumia 16 but decided in the end to go with the cheap ebay one for my first hatch. I won't make that mistake again.
the humidity function didnt move from 35% on mine - despite the plastic having condensation. lots of chicks stuck in their shells. 8/34 candled eggs hatched :-(
I had this cheap incubator, one hatch of duck eggs got 19 ducklings hatch from 30 eggs. I had to rescue all but 2 from under the hatching plate & it was an absolute pain to clean, Second time I only got 2 eggs hatch & at the end of the hatch the circuit board short circuited as moisture seems to have built up in the compartment behind the display, This review is very good - I would never buy a cheap incubator again,
Hi & I totally agree with you!... Being new to the incubating game 2 to 3 yrs ago I naively got one of these incubators & also got two of those yellow Chinese incubators that you commonly see for sale on ebay... Absolutely terrible in keeping a stable temperature/humidity levels and my hatching rates was not good... It's just better to spend the $$$$ & get a good brand make, iv got a english make 'brinsea' a 56 capacity fully automatic & so far I'm Very impressed! But I have to say that Italian makes are very good also... Good luck... R 🇦🇺.
Thank you so much! I was considering the cheaper one but I'm so glad I checked reviews like this one before making the purchase. I'll wait and get the better brand.
Thanks, but it great if you (and everyone else in the GALAXY) would identify WHAT COUNTRY you are in the world. River systems, the 700 dollar one here, doesn't appear to be distributed in N. America (700 British pounds? 700 Australian dollars?/ 700 HONG KONG dollars) I'm left wondering, and wondering, and........
Dang, I did the dollar conversion and here in the states it's $315 for the incubator and in Australia it's $432. (Currently $649 Australian dollar.) I'm really excited to get my Real24 tomorrow so I can start hatching eggs.
I had a cheap ebay one which failed on day 18. Only got 7/24 to hatch. It failed by the computer freezing so it looked like it was holding the right temp on the outside but inside the heat was off
I got the same HHD incubator during the 15-18 day it looks like the chicks died inside the egg and did not hatch. I didnt put too much water but the the humidity is still ranging to 60-70%.
I have had 2 HHD incubators (2 different models) and hatch rates were extremely bad, they all die in their egg. I’m switching to an Borotto or Brinsea and hope those are better.
I am new to egg incubation and I have HHD 56s incubator. I put in 10 turkey and after a week, added 30 chicken eggs. Followed all instructions and got only four chicks. An additional one was defective and expired. The space towards front of incubator is too much and one chick did fall into that space.
Chinese incubator was terrible, pretty much everything everyone said in comments happened, plus lid seemed to have shrunk and twisted from heat , heat was inconsistent and humidity was very hard to monitor, in the bin it’s going, ordering borreto , thanks for your review was great 👍
Being new to the incubating game 3mths ago not knowing any better I got the cheap one off ebay & I have to say my hatching rate was poor & I aggree that I've had chicks getting got stuck in the gaps ... All this time I thought it was me!... I hate to think that if I had the borotto/covina my hatching rate will be much better... Moral of the story is... Take it from me, don't go cheap! Spend a little more money & get a good one... R.
Yeah mate I should have got the better one first up but this was a first for our family. Kids still loved it. Our first hatching was a disaster but 2nd one was much better we got a bit over 50% hatch rate, lost a few more along the way and 20 are coming along nicely What's that old saying? Tightass pays twice.....or something like that
If anyone could please share a link to where I can buy the borotto real 49 incubator in Australia, I would be much obliged. Everywhere I’ve found is sold out 😞
I’m living in Jamaica. I’m really excited about hatching chickens and pegions, but I don’t have any experience about what kind of incubator to purchase.Please inform me the best one I can purchase online.
The FANS on the cheap incubators are just "kitbashed" fans off computer monitors. You could ADD a small fan /or two in a corner with no problem, and modify a lot of the electronics as they're all low voltage. But WHY you would have to basically "re-design" for the manuf. misses me completely. Why don't THEY design it?? Obviously whoever manuf. the cheap stuff has NEVER USED IT themselves!!!!
I've just ordered the Borotto 16 from my Canadian supplier. Even the USA supplier Premier 1 is now backordered on the 49. Canada, with it's low population doesn't even GET the two larger units in the supply chain. I'm STUNNED that the consumer anywhere would "save" maybe at best fifty bucks, but LOSE an entire hatch once, and some eggs cost up to ten dollars EACH, so going cheap on this tech. simply doesn't work, and never has worked. Resolve in 2021 to ramp back up to quality, and be prepared to pay a little bit more.
Brinsea brand is another great product... A 56 fully automatic cost around $ 1000 aussie dollars Moral of the story is get quality not cheap. Tight ass pays twice!
Canadian Heritage breed farms get SIX TO EIGHT Cdn. dollars PER EGG. Thats' just for starters. Half are roosters, and another half are lost in transit, won't hatch, so you BETTER be using a good incubator.
The first thing I noticed was the "turner" on the Borrato Italinan is RIGHT IN FRONT for trouble shooting. There seem to be two/three Achilles Heels with ALL the incubators under 300 and a number more expensive: the turner doesn't work, the humidity doesn't work, and/or it's just a bad design, repeated over and over under various "names".
My first incubator was just a foam box and a light bulb and I would swap a brick from one side to the other every 3-5 hours as a turner. Still managed to get 95% or better hatch rates. Next was a HovaBator I modified by adding a fan and different temp controller and got equally good hatch rates, also happy to have a turner at that point. Honestly, for under $100 you could make an amazing incubator. The cheap one you have I just purchased knowing it needs tinkering but it's a good base to start with if you go into it knowing it's a rough start. You can do a lot to make big improvements to that one. Honestly, I get just filling some of those voids with aquarium gravel would do A LOT to stabilize temps and keep chicks from getting stuck. But you're right, it's not ready as it sits.
Daniel, thank you for such a great review of pros and cons. I won't waste my time nor money on buying cheap to start and have disappointment and way more work in cleaning up after. Really appreciate the time and energy to make the vid. Cheers
The first thing I noticed was the "turner" on the River systems is RIGHT IN FRONT for trouble shooting. There seem to be two/three Achilles Heels with ALL the incubators under 300 and a number more expensive: the turner doesn't work, the humidity doesn't work, and/or it's just a bad design, repeated over and over under various "names".
Just about to purchase the Italian one you demonstrated. Had all the problems mentioned with the cheap Chinese one. We only decided tonight and listening to your report has clinched it. Thank you.
We also bought one of those cheap incubators off ebay
You are right!
We had to go out for the day on hatch day unfortunately and when we returned home some had hatched, then wriggled around and fell down the gap between the incubator and the tray. A couple were jammed half way down. Stuck upside down!
One drowned it was stuck jammed in there upside down but its head was in the water underneath so couldn't breathe.
There was another chick running around underneath around the fan it could also have been killed too
Yes!!... Same here... Bloody terrible...
I noticed the same design flaw with my cheap ebay incubator as well. Luckily I cut some foam into the right sizes to stuff into the gaps as I was worried my hatched chicks would do the same. I considered buying the Borotto Lumia 16 but decided in the end to go with the cheap ebay one for my first hatch. I won't make that mistake again.
i have the same experience
the humidity function didnt move from 35% on mine - despite the plastic having condensation. lots of chicks stuck in their shells. 8/34 candled eggs hatched :-(
I had this cheap incubator, one hatch of duck eggs got 19 ducklings hatch from 30 eggs. I had to rescue all but 2 from under the hatching plate & it was an absolute pain to clean,
Second time I only got 2 eggs hatch & at the end of the hatch the circuit board short circuited as moisture seems to have built up in the compartment behind the display,
This review is very good - I would never buy a cheap incubator again,
Hi & I totally agree with you!... Being new to the incubating game 2 to 3 yrs ago I naively got one of these incubators & also got two of those yellow Chinese incubators that you commonly see for sale on ebay... Absolutely terrible in keeping a stable temperature/humidity levels and my hatching rates was not good...
It's just better to spend the $$$$ & get a good brand make, iv got a english make 'brinsea' a 56 capacity fully automatic & so far I'm Very impressed! But I have to say that Italian makes are very good also...
Good luck... R 🇦🇺.
Thank you so much! I was considering the cheaper one but I'm so glad I checked reviews like this one before making the purchase. I'll wait and get the better brand.
I am planning to get one, as I want not sure exactly which one to go for. Your review is fantastic and help me to choose one. Cheers mate
The bator I recommend overall that's slightly cheaper is the bellsouth 100 :) my regular hatch out of mine (around 5-6 years old) is 90-95% success
Thanks, but it great if you (and everyone else in the GALAXY) would identify WHAT COUNTRY you are in the world. River systems, the 700 dollar one here, doesn't appear to be distributed in N. America (700 British pounds? 700 Australian dollars?/ 700 HONG KONG dollars) I'm left wondering, and wondering, and........
Borotto is carried by Premier 1 in the states.
Excellent review, very clear and easy to understand. I have the “good” one on order- in the UK it’s called River Systems- exactly the same though.
just viewed "River Systems" on Utube and their Indian site won't open, and the Amazon in N. America doesn't seem to inventory.
India must have done a "knock off" of the Italian Borrato design. Let's hope they kept true to clean plastic and not recycled chemical plastic.
Sold by Premier 1 in the states.
Dang, I did the dollar conversion and here in the states it's $315 for the incubator and in Australia it's $432. (Currently $649 Australian dollar.) I'm really excited to get my Real24 tomorrow so I can start hatching eggs.
I had a cheap ebay one which failed on day 18. Only got 7/24 to hatch. It failed by the computer freezing so it looked like it was holding the right temp on the outside but inside the heat was off
I got the same HHD incubator during the 15-18 day it looks like the chicks died inside the egg and did not hatch. I didnt put too much water but the the humidity is still ranging to 60-70%.
how many ml of water to maintain humidity at 60-70%?
I have had 2 HHD incubators (2 different models) and hatch rates were extremely bad, they all die in their egg. I’m switching to an Borotto or Brinsea and hope those are better.
Italian design isn't just for suits and helicopters. Kudos to Italy.
Whats up with the yellow box on the front? It's got its own plug.
This is a great video and have inspired me. Great review, very thorough.
What's the most quiet or silent incubator do you own ?
Thank you for sharing your experience
I am new to egg incubation and I have HHD 56s incubator. I put in 10 turkey and after a week, added 30 chicken eggs. Followed all instructions and got only four chicks. An additional one was defective and expired. The space towards front of incubator is too much and one chick did fall into that space.
Do you have to undo screws to clean it…is it pretty easy to clean overall?
Chinese incubator was terrible, pretty much everything everyone said in comments happened, plus lid seemed to have shrunk and twisted from heat , heat was inconsistent and humidity was very hard to monitor, in the bin it’s going, ordering borreto , thanks for your review was great 👍
Would it be ok to use 2 of the 60 dollar machines to get more eggs hatched instead of spending 700 dollars for the expensive one? 🤔
What’s the hatch rate and do you recommend the incubator
Thank you sir for the details
Being new to the incubating game 3mths ago not knowing any better I got the cheap one off ebay & I have to say my hatching rate was poor & I aggree that I've had chicks getting got stuck in the gaps ... All this time I thought it was me!... I hate to think that if I had the borotto/covina my hatching rate will be much better...
Moral of the story is... Take it from me, don't go cheap! Spend a little more money & get a good one... R.
Yeah mate I should have got the better one first up but this was a first for our family. Kids still loved it. Our first hatching was a disaster but 2nd one was much better we got a bit over 50% hatch rate, lost a few more along the way and 20 are coming along nicely
What's that old saying? Tightass pays twice.....or something like that
Am in uganda how can i order for one of 200 egs
If anyone could please share a link to where I can buy the borotto real 49 incubator in Australia, I would be much obliged. Everywhere I’ve found is sold out 😞
I’m living in Jamaica. I’m really excited about hatching chickens and pegions, but I don’t have any experience about what kind of incubator to purchase.Please inform me the best one I can purchase online.
R-Com MX-20 Plastic/Metal Model Max 20 Automatic Digital Auto-Turning Egg Incubator, the one I bought see reviews on Amazon. Made in Korea
very good review. now i will not buy this off brand model. thank you.
Hello mate, how do you check the humidity? As they don’t display it
It regulates itself or you can put a gauge inside and see it through the window. I've heard it doesn't need a gauge, so it's not included.
the cheap one fill from the out side also
The FANS on the cheap incubators are just "kitbashed" fans off computer monitors. You could ADD a small fan /or two in a corner with no problem, and modify a lot of the electronics as they're all low voltage. But WHY you would have to basically "re-design" for the manuf. misses me completely. Why don't THEY design it?? Obviously whoever manuf. the cheap stuff has NEVER USED IT themselves!!!!
Factory reset how?
I've just ordered the Borotto 16 from my Canadian supplier. Even the USA supplier Premier 1 is now backordered on the 49. Canada, with it's low population doesn't even GET the two larger units in the supply chain. I'm STUNNED that the consumer anywhere would "save" maybe at best fifty bucks, but LOSE an entire hatch once, and some eggs cost up to ten dollars EACH, so going cheap on this tech. simply doesn't work, and never has worked. Resolve in 2021 to ramp back up to quality, and be prepared to pay a little bit more.
Do not buy the Chinese incubator plug shorts out!
Love the vid
love this
Eggcellent review!
Brinsea brand is another great product...
A 56 fully automatic cost around $ 1000 aussie dollars
Moral of the story is get quality not cheap.
Tight ass pays twice!
Canadian Heritage breed farms get SIX TO EIGHT Cdn. dollars PER EGG. Thats' just for starters. Half are roosters, and another half are lost in transit, won't hatch, so you BETTER be using a good incubator.
Thanks
A poor man pays twice!. Dont buy cheep crap. Reasurch and buy something that is gareenteed to do the job. Love my borroto
These cheap ones are now $139 .
Geese ya goose
Its a Intbuying incubator
$700 fccking for an incubator? Lmao. Thats about the same price as a used car. Wtf. Ill stick to an $60 incubator and hatch 20 chicks.
The first thing I noticed was the "turner" on the Borrato Italinan is RIGHT IN FRONT for trouble shooting. There seem to be two/three Achilles Heels with ALL the incubators under 300 and a number more expensive: the turner doesn't work, the humidity doesn't work, and/or it's just a bad design, repeated over and over under various "names".