Review: Harris Farms Nurture Right 360° Egg Incubator
While the Farm Innovators 4250 Pro Series Circulated Air Incubator was the first incubator we ever bought, we received a Harris Farms Nurture Right 360° Egg Incubator as a gift, along with nearly 60 eggs, to incubate between the two. At a price of around $150 (it’s been as low as $120), and a 22 egg capacity, this is a great (and spoiler alert: currently my favorite) small scale, hobby incubator.
First and foremost, what sets this unit apart from many other incubators is the visibility inside the unit. It is so much fun being able to watch your eggs, from all angles, getting their first pip, cracking, then fully hatching. It’s also really easy to clean with only four major parts — a top half, a bottom half, a plastic egg turner, and a plastic platform the eggs sit on.
Usually having multiple incubators going at once, one of the things I really appreciate about this unit is that it only uses a single power outlet. Unlike other incubators that have separate power cords for the egg turner and the heating element, the egg turner plugs into the top half which then has a single cord to power everything. Speaking of the egg turner, if you forget to disconnect the power, it automatically turns off with 3 days left on the counter. It’s still advisable to remove the turner from inside the unit before your eggs start to hatch. Lastly, with both an “A” and a “B” reservoir with fill holes outside the unit, it’s incredibly easy to increase humidity without taking the top off and letting heat escape.
I really only have two complaints about this unit, both of which are minor. First, the built-in candler is nearly unusable. The top moulding that the candler is built into is white plastic. Because of this, when the candler is turned-on, light dissipates throughout the entire top of the unit rather than being directed entirely at the egg. I feel that having another candler solution is a requirement. Second, the top half of the unit has these small notches that must line up perfectly with notches on the bottom half in order to make a good seal. This is both a good and bad design choice. On one hand, the seal allows the unit to maintain heat and humidity really well. On the other, with such a small vent on top of the unit, it’s hard to decrease humidity if it happens to get too high without removing the top half of the unit momentarily. Again, this is a minor complaint and as long as you increase humidity slowly or double check the alignment before walking away, you won’t be surprised by unexpected heat or humidity loss.
In summary, this is hands down my favorite incubator at the time of writing and the one I will continue buying as I need to expand — at least until we get to the stage of needing serious cabinet incubators. We’ve had great success with ours so far and the best part is watching all our chicks hatch with full visibility.
Pros
Hatching visibility is awesome!
Automatic egg turner
Automatically stops turning eggs with 3 days left
Only uses one power outlet
Easy to add water
Tight seal maintains heat and humidity
Price is comparable to units with similar features
Cons
Hard to decrease humidity with such a small opening
Built-in egg candler is bad
Have to be careful with seating the lid
Note: This is not a sponsored review. This unit was gifted to us by family.