Question Not sure which Brinsea incubator to get?

[Mark]

I'm trying to decide which Brinsea incubator I should buy: the Octagon 40 Advance EX digital egg incubator package or the Ova-Easy 190 Advance EX cabinet incubator.

Both models are quite expensive but after years of using cheaper units like my famous 48 Poultry Egg Automatic Electronic Incubator (JN8-48) I've decided to bite the bullet and try one of the top brands.

Besides the big price difference between the larger cabinet and the octagon my main concern is will I need the bigger cabinet or would it be an overkill for my situation? The cabinet has a hatching tray which is appealing because it means I can be incubating eggs at the same time as hatching out. And with chickens, quail, and ducks I'm thinking it would be handy to have the option to incubate different species at the same time all hatching out at different times... if you know what I mean.

On the other hand, the Ova-Easy can hold upto 190 chicken eggs and I'm never going to use that full capacity even with ducks, quail eggs at the same time - it's a pity Brinsea don't make a cabinet incubator half this size but they don't.

So if I got the Octagon, it would mean I could only do one species at a time but I would save $800 for that lack of convenience.

Any ideas or thoughts on what choice I should make is welcome

 

[Jenni]

Tough one.. and hard to give opinion on but a few questions might help you answer your own question.

1. Do you now get disappointed /frustrated now that you can't incubate your different species and does it cause you issues or is not a big deal?
2. Is your decision just on the money saving aspect. Meaning if you could spend what ever you wanted would you still be looking at the smaller incubator?
3. If you got the smaller one would you be always wondering what if... you had purchased the bigger one.
4. What if your situation changed.. Which incubator would be better? Are you more likely to grow or decrease production? (possibility of selling stock down the track?)
5. What space do you have to store the incubator?
6. Does the larger incubator use way more power that you pay for yet not maximizing.
7. Are there any extra servicing costs.
8. Anyone up for chipping in for a birthday, fathers day, chrissy pressie for you..

Good luck with your decision. Keep us posted which one you choose.

 

[Mark]

1. Do you now get disappointed /frustrated now that you can't incubate your different species and does it cause you issues or is not a big deal?

There are times when I do cross over and wish I could incubate two species at once especially in spring/summer when the quail start laying again. I have tried incubating different eggs in the same small incubator with some success but it's not optimal. I guess it's a want and probably not a need...

2. Is your decision just on the money saving aspect. Meaning if you could spend what ever you wanted would you still be looking at the smaller incubator?

Well, I don't want to just waste money and get the large one for the sake of it.

3. If you got the smaller one would you be always wondering what if... you had purchased the bigger one.

I don't know

4. What if your situation changed.. Which incubator would be better? Are you more likely to grow or decrease production? (possibility of selling stock down the track?)

I've never been keen to go down the breeding for profit track and start selling poultry and there's only so much space we have here on our property so I can't see any expansion in the near future anyway. I breed poultry for our own use and to give away to family and friends. That's a good question because I probably wouldn't operate my incubator every month all year anyway.

5. What space do you have to store the incubator?

Yeah, space isn't an issue.

6. Does the larger incubator use way more power that you pay for yet not maximizing.

Yes, it would use more power and yes it might be a waste to run an appliance only half or quarter full so that's another good point. It's best to use fertile eggs no more than 7 days old; therefore, with the amount of stock I have it will never be possible to fill the incubator with eggs anyway.

7. Are there any extra servicing costs.

No, not really.

8. Anyone up for chipping in for a birthday, fathers day, chrissy pressie for you..

I've already asked for a GoPro Hero for Xmas

After all those questions, it looks like I'm leaning towards getting the Octagon simply because my own justifications to get the larger cabinet just for convenience is looking a little weak to argue. I do like the separate hatching tray in the large cabinet because it's less messy and easier to clean than having them all hatch out in the unit but again I'm talking convenience over practical need.

I'll have a bit more of a think about it but thanks Jenni for helping with the thought process