AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Hi everyone
Just wondereded if anyone can give me advice on which incubator I should buy. I have been looking at the R-com king suru and the r-com 20 standard, one rocks the eggs back and forth and the other turns them. The other I have been looking at is Belsouth 100 auto. Not sure whether to go for digital or not. Just wondered if anyone has used these incubators and what your hatching sucess was like. I have a Belsouth 100 manual incubator and have used it once with a good hatching however looking for another option.

newbie,

I would stick to your current 100 Manual Bellsouth, as Bellsouth can upgrade your existing incubator as they are manufactured in Australia!!!

http://eshop.bellsouth.com.au/epages/be ... cts/B100TA
http://eshop.bellsouth.com.au/epages/be ... ts/B100TUG

"One of the best things of being an Australian manufacturer, is being able to continue with the manufacture of components to suit our machines."
http://eshop.bellsouth.com.au

Support Australian industry and buy Australian made

Thank you for your reply much appreciated, someone mentioned that the Belsouth 100 does not work too well in the hotter months

So very confused

I don't have an incubator as we have lot's of problems with our power going off in the middle of nowhere, but I know people who do own the Bellsouth incubators with no problems rain, hail or shine...

Bellsouth have thermometers
http://eshop.bellsouth.com.au/epages/be ... cts/B100TH

and electronic thermostats
http://eshop.bellsouth.com.au/epages/be ... ucts/B100E

Thankyou for your reply helps out heaps

Hi there,

I have a suro20 and the hatch rate is very high. In fact I get over 95% hatch rate (based on fertile eggs). This is the one that rocks from side to side and has auto everything.

I have found that my hatch rate increased by pushing up the humidity a little bit and then gently edging it up in the last week so that it is at about 65% humidity 3 days before the hatch. The only issue is that the fan can dry out the chicks before they fully hatch out the shell (the reason I pushed the humidity to 70% during hatching)

There are plenty of options out there and the options can be confusing! Good luck with your purchase or sticking with your 100.

Cheers Shooter.

Thanks Shorter, do you have the water pump that attaches to the king suru? Also any problems with the amount of space chicks in this model once they are hatched? i.e Do you leave them in the incubator for 24 hrs after they have hatched. Why did you choose this model?

Hi Newbie,

I don't have much trouble with the size of the unit during hatching however it is really tight andthe first few chicks out do seem to scramble all over the eggs. I generally clear out the egg shells as soon as I can. I muck around a bit and do it in a "steamy" bathroom to keep humidity high. Your hatch can really suffer if you open the incubator in the last days however I find the steamy bathroom works to minimise loss of humidity.

Why the Suro - researched lots and lots of incubators and it seemed to have the best control, was compact and reasonably priced. I actually import incubators myself now (from China) and have the factory set them as I describe. They work well too but they are not Aussie made but do support my family (which are all Australian made) lol. My units also are fully automatic but are much bigger than the suro units.

The key will be to get good instruction. I would have to say the instructions with the Suro were not bad but not good either. I find it difficult to believe that importers and manufacturers dont spend much time with good instructions and support as this is often the difference for new breeders and enthusiasts having a good or bad hatch.

The other minor issue with the Suro is that you have to have a seperate water container (I use an empty 3litre milk bottle) I drilled a 3mm hole in the top and put the tube through the lid... it works well BUT if you have a cat that interferes or kids it can get pulled out or the bottle knocked over.

GOOD POINTS - WORKS REALLY WELL, FULLY AUTOMATIC AND ADJUSTABLE, GREAT VIEWING AREA, FULLY ADJUSTABLE EGG HOLDERS, EASY EASY TO USE and CLEAN, GREAT HATCH RATES POSSIBLE.

BAD POINTS - OUTSIDE WATER CONTAINER, NOT GREAT INSTRUCTIONS, CAN BE TIGHT FOR HATCHING CHICKS, A BIT EXPENSIVE

You can find me in the breeders listing I think as I can't advertise my site in the forums it's against the rules! I think my personal contact details are listed too!

Good luck whatever you end up getting make sure you follow the instructions and don't be afraid to experiment with humidity. Make sure you test that the unit is calibrated and operate it for a week before setting eggs to make sure it all works as expectd.

Cheers Shooter.

Thankyou shooter, that information gas really helped cheers