Little Giant Incubator
Digital still-air and circulated-air incubators for hatching at home
A sensor hangs in the chamber and the controller cycles the heater against a 99.5°F preset. Humidity comes from six water channels in the base, set by how much water surface you leave exposed rather than how deep you fill them. Two 4 x 8-inch windows in the lid let you watch a hatch without dumping the heat.
- 4.5/5 from 3,500+ ratings
- Preset to 99.5°F
- 41 chicken or 120 quail eggs
Little Giant Incubators, Turners and Rails
Little Giant 11500 Deluxe Incubator
Circulated air and the 6300 turner in one carton, which is the shortest route to a chicken hatch you barely touch. The lid holds the controller and the fan, and the sensor hangs free in the chamber below. Water goes in the six channels molded into the floor.
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Little Giant 6300 Automatic Egg Turner
Six chicken-size rails carry up to 41 eggs and rotate so slowly that watching for a minute shows nothing. A full side-to-side cycle takes about four hours. It arrives assembled and drops into still-air and circulated-air Little Giant incubators.
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Little Giant 6302 Quail Rails
Twenty small cups per rail, six rails, 120 quail eggs in organized turning positions. They replace the chicken rails in a 6300 turner: back the two screws off the motor, slide the old rails out, slide these in. Removable and dishwasher safe.
Check availabilityStill Air or Circulated Air?
Little Giant still air incubator, the 9500
Warm air rises and stays risen. With no fan moving it around, the 9500 reads warmer near the top of the chamber than down at the floor, so where you take the temperature decides the number you see.
- Digital controller, no circulation fan
- Read a reference thermometer at the top of the eggs
- Wants a room that holds its own temperature
- Converts later with the fan and heater kit
Circulated air, the 10500, 11500 and 12500
A fan stirs the chamber the whole time it runs, which flattens the gap between an egg near the edge and one in the middle. This is the more forgiving setup in a room that swings, or when the incubator is loaded close to capacity.
- Built-in fan, smaller top-to-bottom spread
- The 11500 arrives with the 6300 turner
- The 12500 carries UL certification
- Turner stays optional on the 10500 and 12500
Neither configuration hatches eggs by itself. A Little Giant still air incubator has been hatching chicks for decades and costs less to get into. It only asks you to be deliberate about thermometer height, because raising an instrument three inches changes the reading with nothing wrong in the incubator.
How a Little Giant Incubator Holds Its Conditions
Both numbers on one display
Temperature and humidity read off the controller in the lid, fed by a sensor that hangs freely in the chamber. The figures move as the heater cycles on and off, and that is the machine working rather than failing. Judge the settled average over an hour instead of the reading in front of you right now.
Humidity is surface area, not depth
Six channels are molded into the incubator floor. Filling one more raises humidity because more water meets the air. Topping up a channel that is already covered does close to nothing. Start with one or two, let the reading settle, then add another if it sits low.
Two windows instead of an open lid
The 4 x 8-inch windows let you count pips at two in the morning without releasing the moisture the chicks are relying on. That matters more during hatch than at any other point, because humidity drops the moment the lid comes off.
Foam holds heat cheaply
Molded foam insulates the chamber without the weight or the price of a cabinet incubator. It also asks for a lighter hand than hard plastic. Wash the base with soap, water and no scrubbing. The plastic hatching screen goes in the dishwasher.
Which Little Giant Incubator
9500 Still Air
- Still air, no circulation fan
- Digital temperature and humidity
- Egg turner sold separately
- Fan and heater kit converts it later
The base digital model. Happiest in a room that holds a steady temperature on its own.
10500 Circulated Air
- Built-in circulation fan
- Digital temperature and humidity
- Egg turner sold separately
- More even air across the chamber
Circulated air without paying for the turner up front.
11500 Deluxe
- Built-in circulation fan
- 6300 automatic egg turner included
- Up to 41 chicken eggs turning
- Nothing else to order for a chicken hatch
The complete setup. The turner still comes out three days before hatch.
12500 Circulated Air
- Built-in circulation fan
- UL certified
- Digital temperature and humidity
- Egg turner sold separately
Circulated air where a UL listing is what you need on paper.
- All four share the same foam body, the same water channels and the same window layout. Airflow and what ships in the carton are what actually separate them.
- Little Giant builds this equipment for poultry hobbyists. Reptile eggs and exotic birds sit outside what these incubators are meant to do, and so does hatchery-scale production.
- Miller publishes no guaranteed hatch rate, and no honest manufacturer could. Fertility, breeder health, egg age and storage before setting all happen outside the machine.
Temperature, Humidity and Capacity
Temperature and humidity
- Factory preset
- 99.5°F
- Usual poultry average
- 99.5°F to 100°F
- Incubation humidity
- 45% to 55% RH
- Final three days
- 60% to 70% RH
- Room temperature
- 65°F to 72°F
- Stabilize before eggs
- 4 to 8 hours
Species requirements outrank every number in this table. These are the general poultry figures Little Giant publishes, and altitude, egg size and shell porosity all shift what a particular clutch needs. Candling tells you more than the display does. An air cell growing too slowly means the eggs are holding too much moisture, and a channel should come out.
Capacity by egg
- Chicken, no turner
- About 46
- Chicken, on the 6300 turner
- Up to 41
- Quail, no turner
- About 118
- Quail, on 6302 rails
- Up to 120
- Pheasant, no turner
- About 90
- Turkey, no turner
- About 40
- Chicken incubation
- About 21 days
- Coturnix quail incubation
- About 17 to 18 days
Capacity describes what the equipment holds, not what will hatch. Eggs also vary inside a single species, so avoid forcing an oversized egg into a cup, pressing one against the sensor, or crowding the screen to reach a published maximum. Turkey eggs make the point plainly: around 40 fit on the hatching screen, and none of them fit the standard 6300 rails.
- Run one species per hatch. Bobwhite quail need about 23 days, chukar 23 to 24, pheasant 23 to 28 and turkey around 28, and turning has to stop three days ahead of each of those dates rather than on one shared calendar.
- A second thermometer is a reference point, not a verdict. Two instruments at different heights can both be right, which happens most often in the 9500. Compare settled readings taken at the top of the eggs instead of moving an instrument around until one spot shows the number you expected.
- Condensation during hatch is normal. The first chick out releases a lot of moisture and humidity climbs on its own. Reach for the water channels and the vent plugs before you reach for the lid.
What Owners Report After a Hatch
I ordered these rails for Coturnix quail eggs. They fit my turner great and were pretty easy to change out from the chicken rails that my turner came with. They are made out of plastic so they're super easy to clean when you're done using them. I'd recommend keeping the box they come in for storing either the chicken rails you pull out of your turner or these quail rails when you're using the chicken rails. That will help you be able to keep up with them because they're really easy to misplace. Ask me how I know...lol Anywho, they work great for their intended use. All you need to do is slide the ends out of the rails on your turner and pop those out and then likewise, slide the ends of the quail rails back into the turner. Simple enough. Make sure you've got them all positioned correctly and also make sure that you check on them after 30 mins or so to ensure they are turning like they should be. If you've ever gone through the hassle of trying to turn 100 small eggs then I'm sure you'll be able to appreciate these just as much as I do because, well, that's a pain. Get the turner and this for your LG and it's as close to set it and forget it as you can get. Don't be scared to unscrew the motor there to change your rails out either. It's simple!
Ali P
Ive had the chicken size for years, super easy to clean and move about. Plan to test out the quail trays this weekend. Wish me luck!
Heather S.
Adding an egg turner is a time and worry saver. This nicely fits in most square Styrofoam incubators and possibly many I don't know exist out there - just compare the measurements. Also useful if you are gathering eggs for a few days and you still need them to be turned - set it on the counter and let it do its thing - I did this and it worked nicely.
Lilli
Great racks to hatch quail eggs. Turned out wonderful.
Shane Hughes
Successfully hatched out dozen of baby quail using these rails. So much nicer not having to hand turn a bazillion littleneggs every few hours. It was easy to install theae in my regular turner. Just undo the two little screws attaching your motor, take off the old rails and stick these in. Just a 5 minute turn over. Great investment if hatching multiple variety of birds.
Jme Andrew
When I first bought this machine, I kept opening and closing the incubator checking on the eggs. Apparently way too much because the temperature wasn’t staying accurate. Since then, I have left the eggs alone and just mark on the calendar the day they should be hatching. And I always get a good hat rate. Temperature always stay the same, and the humidity always stays the same. I would definitely buy it again.
Leah Miller
How to Use a Little Giant Incubator
- 1
Pick a spot that does not move
Hard, level surface, away from windows, direct sun, heating vents and exterior doors. Little Giant asks for a room sitting between 65°F and 72°F. A drafty hallway fights the controller for three straight weeks.
- 2
Run it empty for 4 to 8 hours
Let temperature and humidity settle before an egg goes anywhere near it. Confirm the sensor hangs free and is not resting on the heater, the turner or the wiring. This is also when you find out what your room does to the readings.
- 3
Bring the eggs up to room temperature
Hatching eggs keep best around 50°F to 60°F, never in the refrigerator, and they should warm gradually before you set them. Fresher eggs hatch better, so a shorter wait beats a bigger batch.
- 4
Set the eggs small end down
In the turner, every egg points small end down in its cup. Laying them straight on the hatching screen instead means marking opposite sides in pencil, so a glance tells you which ones you have already turned.
- 5
Turn until day 18
The 6300 moves too slowly to watch, taking roughly four hours to travel from one side to the other. Turning by hand means at least two or three rotations a day, every day, until lockdown.
- 6
Lock down three days out
Unplug and lift out the turner, lay the eggs on the plastic screen, bring humidity up toward 60% to 70% and set the vents for the species in front of you. Turning stops here for good.
- 7
Leave the lid alone
Every opening costs heat and moisture that pipping chicks are counting on. Drying takes about eight hours and a chick can spend all of it inside. Move them to a brooder with heat, feed and water once they are fluffy.
One disappointing hatch is a diagnosis, not a verdict on the incubator. Candle to find out whether the eggs were fertile at all, note the day development stopped, then work backward through temperature, humidity, turning and the quality of the eggs you set.
Clean between batches, not just before storage. Move the chicks out, unplug, and wash the hatching screen, which is dishwasher safe. The turner base and rails wash once the motor is off, and the motor gets wiped by hand and never goes near water.
Wash the foam base gently. Hard scrubbing or a harsh chemical damages the material, and a chewed-up foam base leaks heat for the rest of its working life.
A 41-egg turner holds 41 eggs. It promises nothing about 41 chicks, and no controller compensates for eggs that were infertile, cracked, stored too long or laid by a struggling flock.
Candle in short sessions. The Little Giant candler runs cool on a single AAA cell, which is what lets an egg leave the incubator for a few seconds and go straight back. Dark shells show less than white ones, so judge them against each other.
Little Giant Incubator Accessories
6300 Automatic Egg Turner
Rotates up to 41 chicken eggs continuously so the lid stays shut. Six standard rails, assembled out of the box, fitting still-air and circulated-air Little Giant incubators. It comes out three days before hatch, because it is an incubation accessory and not a hatching tray.
6302 Quail Rails
Six rails at 20 small cups each replace the chicken rails and take the turner to 120 quail eggs. Anyone who has hand-turned a hundred small eggs on a schedule understands what that removes from the day. Dishwasher safe.
Air Circulating Fan Kit
Converts a 9500 from still air to circulated air. Moving warm air through the chamber shrinks the warm-at-the-top, cool-near-the-floor spread that a still-air incubator has by nature.
Egg Candler
A cool-running LED on one AAA cell, cordless, so an egg leaves the incubator for a few seconds and goes straight back. It shows developing blood vessels and picks out the eggs that stayed clear.
Incubator Thermometer
Mercury-free and mounted on clear Mylar so it sits at egg level and stays readable through the window. Worth having for a new incubator or a hatch that went sideways, less worth chasing tenths of a degree with.
Check current availability
Rails, kits and candlers move in and out of stock separately from the incubators themselves.
Shop Little GiantLittle Giant: Poultry Equipment Since 1941
Little Giant started with a poultry watering fountain. Barney Miller developed an automatic version in 1941 and launched the brand around it through Miller Manufacturing Company of St. Paul, Minnesota.
The range grew outward from there into farm, ranch, livestock and beekeeping equipment. Incubation is one piece of a much larger Little Giant poultry system that runs from the fertile egg through brooding and on into everyday flock care.
Miller Manufacturing is owned and operated by Frandsen Corporation today and ships farm and animal-care products across the United States and more than 30 other countries. 2026 marks 85 years since the company began.
The incubators carry that history in their sizing. They suit a keeper hatching a few dozen eggs on a tabletop rather than a hatchery, and the parts that wear or get dirty are the parts you can pull out, wash and put back.
Frequently Asked Questions
Little Giant is a farm, poultry, livestock, and animal-care equipment brand from Miller Manufacturing Company. The brand dates to 1941, when Miller Manufacturing began with an automatic poultry watering fountain. Its current poultry range includes egg incubators, automatic egg turners, quail rails, brooders, feeders, waterers, and related flock-care equipment.
Little Giant incubators create a controlled environment for hatching fertile poultry and game-bird eggs. Depending on the model and setup, they can be used for chicken, quail, pheasant, chukar, turkey, and other compatible eggs. They are designed for poultry incubation rather than reptile eggs or commercial hatchery-scale production.
Choose primarily by airflow and whether automatic turning is needed. The 9500 is a digital still-air incubator. The 10500 and 12500 use circulated air, which helps keep temperatures more uniform throughout the chamber. The 11500 Deluxe combines circulated air with the 6300 Automatic Egg Turner, making it the most complete standard setup for chicken eggs.
A still-air incubator relies on natural convection, so warmer air collects higher in the chamber and temperature varies with height. A circulated-air model uses a fan to move warm air throughout the incubator, reducing temperature differences between the top and bottom. Still-air systems can hatch successfully, but thermometer placement and stable room conditions require more attention.
Capacity depends on egg size and whether an automatic turner is installed. Without the turner, the current incubator enclosure can hold approximately 46 chicken eggs, 118 quail eggs, 90 pheasant eggs, or 40 turkey eggs. The 6300 Automatic Egg Turner holds up to 41 chicken eggs. When fitted with 6302 Quail Rails, the turner accommodates up to 120 quail or similarly sized small eggs.
Not every model includes automatic turning. The 11500 Deluxe comes with the 6300 Automatic Egg Turner, while other compatible incubators can use the turner as an optional accessory. The mechanism rotates eggs slowly throughout incubation, completing its movement over several hours rather than visibly flipping each egg at once.
Eggs should be turned regularly through most of incubation to prevent the developing embryo from remaining in one position. When turning manually, Little Giant recommends rotating eggs at least two or three times per day. The automatic turner performs this gradually without requiring repeated lid openings. Turning stops approximately three days before the expected hatch.
Not correctly with the standard chicken-sized rails. The 6302 Quail Rails replace the original rails and provide smaller cups sized for quail and other small eggs. Six rails hold 20 eggs each, giving the turner a total capacity of 120 small eggs.
The incubator can accommodate turkey eggs when they are placed directly on the hatching screen, but standard turkey eggs are too large for the 6300 turner cups. They should not be forced into the rails. Manual turning is the appropriate setup unless a compatible large-egg turning system is specified.
Current Little Giant digital incubators are factory preset to 99.5°F. The correct operating temperature depends on the species and on whether the incubator uses circulated or still air. A circulated-air chicken incubator is commonly run around 99.5°F, while still-air incubation requires closer attention to temperature at the top of the eggs because warm air naturally rises.
Little Giant provides roughly 45% to 55% relative humidity as a general incubation range, with approximately 60% to 70% during the final three days. Humidity requirements can vary with species, climate, altitude, egg size, and moisture loss during incubation. The incubator’s water channels change humidity by increasing or decreasing the surface area of exposed water.
Small fluctuations are part of normal heater cycling. The controller switches the heater on and off to maintain an average temperature near the selected set point, so the display does not remain fixed at exactly one number every second. Large or persistent deviations should prompt a check of room temperature, drafts, sensor placement, lid fit, and thermometer accuracy.
Remove the turner approximately three days before the expected hatch. This period is commonly called lockdown. Eggs should be transferred to the flat hatching screen, turning should stop, and humidity is normally increased so the chicks can position themselves and hatch without being moved by the rails.
Disconnect power and remove shell fragments, down, and residue after the chicks have been transferred to the brooder. The removable plastic screen can be washed thoroughly, and the plastic components of the automatic turner can be cleaned after the motor is removed. Never immerse the turner motor. The foam incubator body should be washed gently rather than aggressively scrubbed or exposed to damaging chemicals.
Little Giant is a brand of Miller Manufacturing Company, a U.S. manufacturer and distributor of farm, ranch, poultry, livestock, pet, and animal-care equipment. Miller Manufacturing was founded in 1941 in Minnesota and is now part of Frandsen Corporation. Little Giant remains one of the company’s core brands, with products sold in the United States and international markets.
Match the Rails to the Egg Before You Order
Rail size is the mistake that costs a hatch. Standard 6300 rails are built around chicken eggs, quail need the 6302 rails, and turkey eggs fit neither and have to sit on the hatching screen. Settle that first and the rest of the job comes down to water, temperature and leaving the lid shut.
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