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

The Best "Bug Out" or "Get Out" Bag.

At a later date, I will be posting a step by step on assembling a "Go Bag" so stay tuned. This article will be an introduction to the topic which will hopefully give you a little bit better understanding if you are a new or even a seasoned prepper.

A Go bag is intended to support you for three days incase you are forced to leave your home. Think of its contents in the same manner as you are going hiking for a few days and may not have a home to return to. 72 hours has been chosen in addition to what FEMA recommends because a human being can only live that long without water, and since there are infinite possibilities when it comes to survival, limitations must be made. Limitations are made simply based on functionality, size/ weight, and reasonable duration.

Since the pack itself will be the framework for your Go bag, there are certain things which must be taken into consideration. Time and time again I hear or see folks running out and dropping $200.00 or more on a streamlined, fancy, all the bells 'n whistles pack. I for one am totally against that for two simple reasons:

#1 That is money better well spent on other preps.

#2 If the time comes where you need to bug out, you are making yourself a target to looters and criminals. You want to think cover and concealment when it comes to your gear no matter how good or basic it may be. Do not advertise "I have the best gear in my fancy pack!" or it will quickly become someone else's.

Medium ALICE Pack is a great foundation for a "Bug out" or "Go Bag".

Medium ALICE Pack outfitted with  frame and straps for easy carry. 

For that reason, I recommend the Medium Alice pack. It can be found very cheap ($30.00) online or in military surplus stores. It has been made from heavy duty materials meant to stand the tests of time, are very comfortable to carry when fitted onto an Alice pack frame, and I have personally had several years experience outfitting and carrying one. It just works. Weight is simply not a problem with this pack as it may be for some with the "Mountain" or Large Alice pack, and it is spacious enough to organize and conceal all of your gear.

Cheers ~ Kevin

For the Love of Chickens & Children

Our son with one of our backyard chickens.

                                                               Our son with one of our backyard chickens.

Backyard chickens are great fun

DIY "Scentsy" Bars

A few months back my husband's aunt turned me on to Scentsy, a candle warming system that claims to "never release the harmful chemicals that you can find in regular jarred candles."  I have really enjoyed using the Scentsy warmer but had one dilemma:  I couldn't smell the scents before buying them.  I'm sure I could have found a Scentsy rep closer or could have asked her to send me samples, but I am really hung up on a few scents over at Bath and Body Works and some that I found over at www.jbcandles.etsy.com, a small company that  hand pours their candles and uses American grown soy beans and cotton wicks.  I really wanted to see if I could make my own "Scentsy" bars,  so I waited until Bath and Body Works had their 2 for $20 sale and started my experiment!  I used an old candle to start with in case the it was a FAIL but I'm happy to report that this was a huge success!
Here is what I did:

Place the candle of your choice in a double boiler and heat on LOW heat. This might take awhile so be patient.   

Once the wax has melted, carefully remove the candle with an oven mitt, the glass may be hot.

Pour melted candle wax into your tray(s)....

and allow the wax to harden.

Use as you would a normal bar!


The cost of what I did:

Candles: (2) 14.5oz for $20.00 at Bath and Body Works = $24.43 (includes shipping, tax, and coupon code)

Scentsy Bars: (1) 2.6oz package for $5.00

2 candles = approx. 11 packages of Scentsy Bars



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Organic vs. Processed chicken layer feed.

Organic vs. Non-organic chicken layer feed

*Let me start this post out by clarifying that I am not trying to start a debate or lecture about an already "beat to a pulp" topic.  My intentions are just to visually show the difference when it comes to organic chicken feed verses non-organic processed chicken feed.  When it comes to our birds, I believe you can only get out what you put in, so why not put in the best?  

Organic feed is just what it says it is, organic.  It has been developed without the use of pesticides and fertilizers.  It is fact that when an animal eats a feed that contains fertilizer and pesticides, it stores in the body and it consumed by the end user.  What I find most interesting about organic feed is that I can visually see what it contains.  There is a mixture of cracked corn, barley, oats, etc.  It smells delicious, to say the least.  The protein content is about 16% which is comparable to non-organic layer feed.

Organic chicken layer feed

Non-organic chicken layer feed has a totally different texture and smells a little weird (in my opinion).  It is clear and without question processed and contains some sort of fillers.  I have read on other sites, some or the processed feeds actually may contain a plastic coating or filler.  This feed is more readily available and also costs about $16.00 for a 50 pound bag opposed to $24.00 for a 40 pound bag of the organic feed.  This works out to almost double the cost and may not be in your budget, escpecially if you have a lot of birds.  

Non-organic chicken layer feed

At Our Little Coop, we feed our laying hens the organic feed and the quail non-organic.  I choose to do this mainly because they are my pets and I love to spoil them, but more importantly, the whole reason we keep chickens for eggs is so WE KNOW WHAT IS "IN THEM". Cheers! ~ Kevin

Organic chicken feed label. Natures Grown Organics

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