Reviews by ReiMiraa

I have a GQF Sportsman with the wafer regulator.... 3 autoturner trays and a hatching level. With the forced air i can open the door and close it and the temperature and humidity return to proper levels fast.
I started mine up in may and finally turned it off in September. I had it running constantly and had 85%+ hatch rates. 95% for my own eggs 60-70% on shipped (unless scrambled, not its fault)

Its water resirvor need refilling often and i have thought about investing in the add on water thing... but then i would totally forget about the incubator if i didn't have a reason to check.

This was my first time incubator... i went all in after hearing how people buy the foam ones... then need more room.... i figured go big. I run a 3 week rotation on the incubator and still have great hatches. The top level is the newest, second is the second week, the bottom turning tray is the 3rd week. then in the very bottom is the hatcher area.
Only time i had inconsistent temperatures (and this took me a while to figure out).... mom had opened the window in the laundry room.... the window is next to the incubator's intake.... so my bator was taking in 40* often... so if somethings is weird check the intake area.

Cleaning it is tricky, i just use lysol wipes.... though i did have one egg explode (my fault)

This is on my to get list... i see toulouse advertised in many places but i want the Dewlap Toulouse version. Couldn't find any eggs last year to buy. Hoping to get some this year

I love mine. I have 7. 2 hens and the rest drakes. These guys love water but are also pretty good on land. They are very winter hardy and are happy. Its fun to watch them in 15 weather swim in a tub (3 can fit) and then they walk out and the water freezes and icicles drop off. Its fun to watch them "swim" through fresh deep powder... didn't know you could 'swim' through snow... ducks go figure.
Like all ducks their messiness is understated. I am still waiting for my black eggs... my ducks are about 9 pounds. the makes make a funny sound and the females are very social.... And when the water or feed is put out they make themselves know... they can adjust their volume levels....
Also my camera struggles to capture their shine.... The are not outlined in their chest feathers but its how the light is hitting them. They are black.

This was a good beginner breed for me. The problem was I would only get egg production till the age of one year and then they would drop dead from heart failure. Because of this breed I have gained interest into the heritage breeds. They have a longer life span and lay eggs for more years. They lay themselves to death.

This breed is a great example of how to learn genetics. I have had fun doing different crosses and the blue type i have are very pretty, for a turken. Another cross i made started laying eggs at 4 months. This one looks like the myth of the Transylvanian Naked Neck. I have also found that within this naked gene is the level of nakedness. Some can have the "bowtie" on the neck or can be completely naked on the crop and the belly. They are very hardy, lay well in the winter, do not go broody. The roosters really do look like turkeys when they fluff and dance. I get large brown eggs. They free range really well. The Naked Gene is dominant. The gene also affects the levels of Vitamin A which inhibits protein. Google it, like i said its a great genetic experiment.

Update:
This is the scientific article that first mentions the connection: http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001029

This one is even more scientific about the gene location and the functions:
http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001028
Hopefully you guys can access these sites, I am a college student so I sometimes get access to scientific articles that are not open to the public. When in doubt use google scholar and type "naked neck gene" they have articles that show the naked gene has a larger breast than production meat birds.

I had a cream colored one. I almost thought it was a type of banty. It loved being high up in the trees. It was almost impossible to catch. It lived long enough to prove that the eggs were small. This breed did not pass the test of surviving free ranging and was not useful.

I had 4. They slowly disappeared. I had the gold version. Mine were flighty and could really fly. Often they would be in the trees. They didn't survive the test of not becoming predator chow, and because they are so small any predator could of taken them. Mine didn't get along with the rest of the flock.
It was cute while it lasted.

I was finally able to obtain Marans this past year. The chocolate eggs are amazing. The roosters are Gentle Giants. They come in many colors. The large combs can be a problem for frostbite. There are some with leg feathering and some without. It is frustrating that there are different versions of standards. For me as long as they keep laying darker and darker eggs I don't see how looks matter as much if the color of the egg is what originally defined the breed.
The roosters are gentle with the hens and the hens are dedicated layers. Haven't had a problem with any going broody (yet).

Buddy the Birchen Marans says Hello. (he currently lost his tail in a coyote attack he escaped from, 3 other birds were not as lucky)

I had black giants. The rooster was impressive 14 pounds... but he was so big and mean that he even scared my Dad. we called him Black Devil. the hens were nice and quiet but their eggs were small and they broke eggs in the nesting box often.
Close to the age of 9 months something happened that caused this breed to drop like flies. They would limp or have a bad leg... some would just sit. I was able to keep my rooster alive for 3 weeks but once i left back for college my parents had to put him down... it was too sad seeing the head rooster go from 14 to 7 and be stuck in a cage because he couldn't walk. I don't have giants any more, I think all of them died off. It wasn't a disease because I paid for the vet to test the rooster to see why he went bad. All tests came back negative. I assumed it was a genetic problem or a joint problem because i felt inflammation in the hip joints of many of them.
This breed was a disappointment for me.

This is my favorite breed. I have a 4 year old Buff Columbian Brahma rooster, Lionel. 11 pounds. he is the oldest but also a coward... I have forced him in an enclosed pen with my other Light Brahma hen Pidgin because for the past few months he has been a lone batchlor on the tree and outside the flock. the "lawn ornament" roosters even boss him around. I have never had bad temperment from these guys. Crossing them with other breeds has created very strong hybrid vigor.
I have a smaller buff brahma hen called BB. she follows me around, likes pets, scratches and is happy to sit next to me and jumps on my lap.... sometimes if i am ignoring her she makes a light 'dig peck' for attention. Mine tend to lay Pink eggs.
They might be very slow to mature, but roosters are easy to pick out because they are super slow. Lionel finally stopped growing last year and at 3 years of age he finally went through his first molt.

I love this breed. There is no standard to it. They come in many colors and crested or not. Mine fend for themselves often. They are a bit flighty, love trees and to fly out of the pens.... They are really good fliers.
I would like to think their egg productivity is average... but mine tend to hide the eggs very well. I do know they are medium cream/white.

I love my Blue Andalusians. Despite having a large comb they have not gotten frostbite. These guys lay in the winter and are some of my most dedicated layers. They never go broody. They are flighty and fast. I love their eyecolor.

My dad likes how this breed looks. I think it is interesting. It does well in our colder climate. The small comb and the beard help minimize frostbite. I plan to get more of this breed. Mine is more red with the speckles on it. It does talk alot, so it is not the best choice for urban coops. The hen has done well free ranging.

I have 2 hens left of this breed. I started out with 5 and a rooster, some didn't survive free ranging as well as I hoped.
Oddly I could tell who was a rooster by 2 weeks. It was the ugly one with the enlarged comb, funny looking wings... and it crowed. The males of this breed mature very fast.
The hens lay white eggs and are more dedicated to the job than rode island reds. The only drawback about having them in colder climates is that they get frostbite on their large combs. They also choose to sleep in the trees instead of a warm coop. It is also a threatened breed. I do love the speckledness.