Brinsea OvaView and OvaScope: Kevin's Review

Brinsea OvaView & OvaScope

**Buying a Brinsea product? Enter the word "COOP" at checkout and save 10%!!

Brinsea has "taken" the market once again with their OvaView and OvaScope! Gone are the days of cupping fragile eggs between your thumb and forefinger, while trying to perfectly position it in front of a flashlight to check for chick development.  The Brinsea OvaView in itself, is a great egg candling lamp.  When paired with the OvaScope, there is nothing that can compare.

Brinsea OvaView

The OvaView's sturdy structure measures 5" long x 3.3" wide x 1.3"high and weighs only 3 oz. The high efficiency LED bulb is powered by 4 AA batteries which Brinsea supplies with the unit.  The beauty of being an LED bulb opposed to an incandescent, is the obvious longevity of the product, and little or no concerns about overheating the eggs during candling.  In the package you will also find, detailed instructions, and a flexible rubber ring which holds itself around the light bulb socket to insure you have a proper seal with the egg so there isn't any light leaking around, which can hinder your viewing.  This model has a very good quality push button switch to turn the light on or off. 

Brinsea OvaScope

If you are buying the Brinsea OvaView, *DO NOT FORGET to order the OvaScope.  The OvaScope is a great compliment to the candling light.  It simply fits over the OvaView and firmly snaps into place allowing the viewer to observe the egg in daylight and at a slight magnification. Simply remove a side cover and place your egg into the holder and its "in the dark". Brinsea again has listened to its customers and has strategically added 2 nubs, on the sides of the scope, in which a web cam can be placed over the viewing hole and held in place with a simple rubber band. The OvaScope also has a handy little wheel that allows you to rotate the egg without having to remove the side cover. 

Brinsea OvaScope firmly snaps over the OvaView

Brinsea OvaScope side "egg door".

Serama chicken egg-Day 5 as seen through the Brinsea OvaScope

In conclusion, there is not a better egg candling device on the market.  I will never juggle a flashlight or goofy cardboard box concoction again.
Cheers! ~ Kevin

Contact:
Brinsea Products Inc.
704 N. Dixie Avenue
Titusville
Florida
FL 32796
USA
Phone (888) 667 7009
Web http://www.brinsea.com

Brinsea Mini Advance Incubator: Kevin's Review

Brinsea Mini Advance incubator

**Buying a Brinsea product? Enter the word "COOP" at checkout and save 10%!!

When shopping for an incubator, look no further than the      

Brinsea Mini Advance.  This model is not intended for those looking to hatch large quantities of eggs at one single time.  Those folks looking to hatch a greater amount of eggs, should look into one of Brinsea's larger models. The total capacity for the Brinsea Mini Advance model is 7 Large eggs or 12 Quail eggs.  For me, I find the size a perfect fit for my needs.  Anything larger and I would quickly find myself over run with birds!

360 Degrees of viewing and included egg turner

 The Mini Advance was designed for optimal 360 degree viewing of your incubating and hatching eggs thus making it the perfect choice for photographers looking for the best angles to take pictures or classrooms where this incubator can take center stage!

Nicely Packaged

Upon arrival of your new Brinsea Mini Advance incubator, you will immediately see this company is truly proud of their products craftsmanship by how well packaged everything is and the literature that accompanies it.  The parts included are: (1) Incubator with the removable lid, (1) Egg disc, (1) Water Pot Guard, the 115volt power supply unit, a catalog, the user instruction pamphlet, a how to care for your chicks paper, and a free extend 2 year guarantee notice.

Digital Control System

Powered Fan

Simplicity has been achieved with the Mini Advanced's use of a digital control system and powered fan.  The control system is located on the very top of this model just over the heating element and fan, and utilizes three buttons to customize the settings to suit your needs.  The digital display "utilizes a highly accurate individually calibrated sensor for temperature" so no more need for multiple thermometers to confirm your temperature. You can adjust the temperature and have it displayed in either Celsius or Fahrenheit, and it reads to the tenth of a degree.



The digital display feature is loaded with a bunch of optional settings which include, Power Loss Display, High Temperature Alarm, Low Temperature Alarm, multiple turning adjustments, Cooling period feature ( used to simulate mother hen getting off of her eggs), a countdown to hatch calendar, and of course the option to save or cancel your settings.  I am totally impressed with the many turning adjustments which (briefly) include: "Auto" off on 2 days to hatch, turning interval timing, and turning angles which change the distance of the turn.

Brinsea Mini Advance Incubator

In my opinion, the "only" things that can make this digital control system any better, would be the use of a back light on the display screen, and a humidity gauge (available on the EX model only).  Almost all digital displays these days have some sort of backlight. The lack of a humidity gauge really isn't "needed" in this particular model though because of the two section water pot located in the center.  Up until "lock down" you fill only half of the pot with water and at the two days until hatch period, you fill the second half.  Many people confirm this will put you at the perfect humidity level for hatching most types of poultry.

In closing, if you are looking into hatching your own birds for the first time or are an experienced small scaled hatcher, the Brinsea Mini Advanced is not only the best value on the market but the overall best choice.  Cheers! ~ Kevin

**Update:  Almost 3 years later and after many successful hatches, I still find this to be one of the best and most convenient incubators I have ever used.  I especially appreciate how our kids are able to observe the entire hatching process and watch the wonderful miracle of birth! 
~ Kevin


Contact:
Brinsea Products Inc.
704 N. Dixie Avenue
Titusville
Florida
FL 32796
USA
Phone (888) 667 7009
Web http://www.brinsea.com

GIVEAWAY - Brinsea Eco Glow Brooder

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Happy Valentines Day!  We are excited to be giving away a Brinsea Eco Glow Brooder to one lucky winner!  Giveaway starts NOW (February 14th, 2015) and will be ending next Saturday, February 21st, 2015 at midnight.  The lucky winner will be announced and contacted Saturday!  

What is an Eco Glow Brooder?

Clean, safe, tough and extremely economical chick brooder the EcoGlow is ideal for up to 20 chicks or ducklings and suitable for any waterfowl or gamebird chicks. Great for classroom hatches. 

The EcoGlow only uses 18 Watts (a tenth of the electricity of typical suspended infrared lamps) because the chicks are in contact with its warm underneath surface. 

The brooder runs at 12v for safety from a mains transformer (supplied) and with the convenience of a generous (about 10 feet) power lead. 

Different sizes of chicks are accommodated by three adjustable height settings and an indicator light confirms the brooder is connected. 

The low cost of the EcoGlow makes it possible for larger numbers of chicks to be warmed by multiples of brooders. Please also see the larger EcoGlow 50 chick brooder. 

Dimensions: 12" long x 8" wide x 8" high.

Interested in finding out more about Brinsea products?  Visit their website at www.brinsea.com and use the code COOP at checkout for 10% off your entire purchase! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Quail for the urban farm

Quail for the urban farm

There are hundreds of different types of quail throughout the world.   Out of all these types, there are two which are commonly kept on the urban farm.  These two popular types are the Japanese Coturnix (Coturnix  Japonica) and the Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus). 

The Japanese Coturnix (Coturnix Japonica) also known as Pharoah, Jumbo, or Coturnix is an old breed of quail from Eastern Asia. They have been domesticated in Japan and the Orient since the beginning of the twelfth century and were initially bred for song.  There are some records dating back to early Egyptian times with hyroglyphics showing the trapping of these birds as they had migrated back onto the mainlands.  Today they are kept as and considered to be what is called a dual purpose bird.  This means they can be raised for both egg production as well as for their meat. 

Male Coturnix quail (Left) and Female (Right)

These birds prefer grasslands and cultivated fields as their preferred environment.  Both sexes of this bird have yellow- brown speckled plumage with the Males having  a reddish colored breast and the Females more molted with dark spots.  They will begin laying at only 6 weeks of age and will reach maturity at 10 weeks.  The females are slightly larger than their male counterparts and will grow between 7- 8  inches long and weigh between 6- to 7 ounces.  The chicks are easily recognized with their yellowish coloring and brown stripes beginning at the forehead stretching all the way back to the tail.  Since the Bobwhite quail only lay eggs from about March to October the Coturnix quail are the best choice of quail for the urban farm and homestead.

Just hatched Coturnix quail chicks

Care is very easy.  Just provide with fresh water and a quality high protein gamebird feed. Coturnix quail do just fine living in a medium sized cage with a wire floor sheltered from extreme heat and cold winds.


Cheers ~ Kevin

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Candling chicken egg day 7 with Brinsea OvaScope - Embryo blinks its eyes.

              Look close, the little black dot is its eye blinking!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today Day 7, I candled the Serama chicken eggs I received from my friend Charlie Trevino.  Here is a quick clip of what we saw. In an upcoming post I will demonstrate the candling procedure using the Brinsea OvaScope. 

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Candling chicken egg day 6 with Brinsea OvaScope

Today I candled the Serama eggs I received from my friend Charlie Trevino.  Here is a quick example of what we saw. In an upcoming post I will demonstrate the candling procedure using the Brinsea OvaScope. (That is our 2 year old son Devin in the background making that noise)

Cheers ~ Kevin

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