[Prod]

I am thinking of trying to incubate a few chicken/call duck eggs but it is a minefield out there (as usual) and easy to get tempted into buying something more expensive than I really need.  Can anyone advise/suggest what might be a good starter one?  Many thanks

[splash101]

I've got a Brinsea Octagon fully auto.

Not the cheapest but it has been very reliable. It is very simple to use as well and doesn't take up much space.

You dont really need to buy the cradle that turns the unit (to turn the eggs). Because it is octagon shaped, you can manually roll the whole unit which turns all the eggs in one go. It literally takes a second to turn all of them at once manually. The eggs are held in place so they dont fall out.

Its going to be down to personal choice and budget.

Think about how many eggs you want to set each time and go from there.

I know when i bought mine brand new, they were about the same price as the 2nd hand ones on ebay so it made sense to me at the time to buy new.

A self made one from a polystyrene box was out of my zone. I have no patience 

[ANHBUC]

I have never used one but have just ordered a Brinsea Octagon 20 Advance EX Incubator.  I had some money from selling my first coop and some other bits so thought I would treat myself.  I wanted something that did it all for you with not using one before.  Hopefully I will be impressed with it!    

Shop around though as the retail price is around £80 over what you can get it for.   

[Squibbs]

I have a RCOM King Suro - its fully automatic with a detachable turning cradle (which they call the egg van!) and a humidity system that seems quite good. I've had it for about 4 years and its done about 3 hatches a year for me. It stopped working in March - easily fixed by P&T poultry as it just needed a new sensor. It is a little pricey - I think about £180 is the cheapest I've seen

It holds 24 chickens eggs which is a good number I think. When you decide how many eggs you want to incubate it - increase by 50% - remember they won't all hatch and at least half will be boys!

[Prod]

Thanks for the replies.  As much as I would like an Ocatgon or a R-Com  they are way out of my price range at the moment, even 2nd hand and really I don't want anything that big.  I only have 6 hens  but I was interested in just hatching a few to see what the cross between a Welsummer cockerel and the various hens I have, maybe keep one or two.  There is one on Preloved that holds 12 eggs  made by 'Nappole'  anyone heard of this make? and of course there are the Brinsea and similar ones.

[pepsi100]

If you are buying eggs from ebay, be prepared for a few disappointments,

But they do have a few incubators on there up for auction and BIN's (Buy it Now), some pretty good ones I bought mine on there years ago (still going strong)

You could knock one up pretty quickly with a polystyrene box with a few additions to it (heat lamp, a fan) I think someone posted the plans for something like it here, cheap and they got some good results from it as I remember

Just depends how much you want to spend and how much you want hens I guess

[splash101]

Might be cheaper to buy a broody hen 

[pepsi100]

Might be cheaper to buy a broody hen 

Thats a good option, save checking temperatures and turning the eggs every few hours, just get the eggs from a reliable source 

[Prod]

I meant  I would hatch eggs from my own girls, I have 6 different ones and a Welsummer Cockerel.  My ducks  have gone broody and are sat on a clutch of 12/13  but none of my hens has gone broody yet!!!

[pepsi100]

Thats quite a lot for a duck to sit on, I'd take a couple out and put a couple of the hens eggs under her,

(But that's just my opinion)

[ANHBUC]

It depends on the breed how many eggs they can cover.

The problem with mixing hen and duck eggs will be the development time.  Once the duck eggs have hatched she might abandon the hens eggs.  If she does stay on the nest until the others have hatched that would be when she should be teaching her ducklings how to eat and drink.  You would need to put the hens eggs under after around 6 days for it to possibly work.