Mkulima today several farmers are getting into poultry farming as a way to earn a living. Just like avocado farming poultry farming is becoming one of the major sources of income to farmers due to the low barrier to entry. 9 factors to consider when buying an egg incubator.

What to look out for when buying an egg incubator.

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      Egg capacity

An incubator produces better results when operating at an optimum capacity

  1. Lifespan

An incubator’s lifespan is how long the incubator will last and the maintenance cost of all the parts. This will help you clearly understand the estimated or exact cost of your project and viability.

  1. Maintenance

The viability of any appliance just like any car is the ease of maintenance in case of any issues. Most of the time the purchase cost doesn’t determine the value of an item but the recurring costs.

Ensure the seller understand the operations of the incubator and ease of availability of parts and the after-sales services offered by the seller.

  1. Accuracy of controls

With unreliable temperature readings on your incubator be sure that you will have more losses than profits. With the exact temperatures during incubation the viability of the eggs are guaranteed.

Purchase an incubator with the most accurate incubator controls to keep the temperature and humidity fluctuations to a minimum.

  1. Labour demand

To help reduce your operating cost and have a positive impact on your businesses bottom line the incubator  should be ease to operate and with minimum effort.

The amount of labor involved in operating the machine and carrying out thorough sanitation is a key success factor.

  1. Warranty

For ease of management and support buy an incubator with a long service period.

  1. Hatching space

The hatching space of an incubator is one of the main parts of the incubator. When sourcing for an incubator buy one with a hatching space of at least 1/3 of the egg capacity to ensure  better control of the hatching durations .

  1. Power retention

In Kenya some regions experience frequent blackouts. So to be safe ask for an incubator that has proper power retention during blackouts.

The incubator should be able to retain heat for long to avoid warm and cold spots during the eggs incubation period.

  1. Backup power.

This is a very key component in the management and operations of the incubation journey and process.

Ensure the incubator is plugged in to a reliable power source with adequate back up power before setting eggs in the incubator for incubation.

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