Types of Egg Incubators

Hatching eggs without a hen is easy with the use of an incubator. Incubators come in a variety of types; some emphasize precision while others are designed to hatch many eggs at once. Make sure to select the incubator that suits your needs.

  1. Basic incubator

    • Basic incubators will incubate about 50 chicken eggs, or more smaller eggs. They come equipped with a heating element, generally at about 24 watts. They also come with a plastic liner and thermometer to maintain a constant temperature. These incubators are perfect for schools and hobbyists.

    Cabinet incubators

    • Cabinet incubators are designed for people who want to hatch large numbers of eggs at once. They come equipped with the required thermostat, but also may feature mechanisms that rotate the eggs to ensure optimal heating. These cabinets are quite large and are targeted toward serious hobbyists or commercial hatcheries.

    Precision incubators

    • Precision incubators such as Brinsea bird egg incubator and the Turn-X and Roll-X incubators do not hatch many eggs at once. Unlike the basic incubators, these models feature a continuously running fan to promote the even maintenance of temperature and humidity; they also include automatic egg-turning. This type of incubator is popular with specialty breeders, serious hobbyists, research labs and zoos.