Manually Turning Eggs...

[KMoKoop]

I’ve used this incubator with success. My results improved a lot with the addition of the fan unit sold for this incubator. I purchased from incubator warehouse. However, with or without the fan, I hand turned up to approx 40 eggs (I think it holds 44?). I placed stable cups of water in the corners (using the glass yogurt containers from Yoplait Oui) to keep eggs out of the coldest spots and for the water to hold temp briefly. When turning, I did remove the lid and quickly turn all. In fact, I would remove the outer ring of eggs, turn the rest of the eggs and move them outwards, and put the removed eggs in the center. Lid back on. Another thing that helped with temps and fluctuations, were draft shields. One time the incubator fit right into a cardboard box that was as tall as the incubator. Other times, I would use large pieces of cardboard to shield the incubator from drafts so it would not see as many or big temp fluctuations.

In another homemade incubator I used for quail I used some cleaned and sterilized (baked in oven and cooked in oven overnight) rocks as heat sinks at the bottom. The thought being that they would provide heat once lid replaced as it was a still air incubator.

Thank you! I will definitely look into the fan and will definitely add small cups of water and rotating the eggs towards the middle is a great idea.

 

[Crazy Guinea Lady]

Hello, fellow chicken tenders I am pretty new to hatching chicks. I hatched a couple late last fall, had a small group hatch about 4 weeks ago and just went into lockdown with another batch. My hatch rate isn't great and I know that there are a lot of factors in play... I am hoping to get some insight to help improve results going forward.

I am using a Little Giant Still Air Incubator and am turning my eggs manually. When I turn them- about 3x a day, I take the cover completely off and turn as quickly as I can before putting the cover back on. Temp and humidity always drop, but it doesn't seem to take too long to get back to where I have it set. (100° and 60% humidity)
Is this the best way to manually turn eggs? I would love an automatic turner, but have not yet decided if is worth the investment for this incubator or if I want to just wait and get a better incubator.

Another question I have is about during hatching... my most recent hatch, I had 2 eggs that had pipped and had fairly large openings; I was sure they'd be next to emerge from their shell. But the chicks that had already hatched knocked them around to where I could no longer see the hole and they ended up not hatching. I've read that I should not be opening the incubator and that hatched chicks should be left in the incubator to dry. So how do I stop this from happening again?!

I have 20 eggs in the incubator now that just went into lockdown with a hatch date of 4/24. 12 of them are shipped eggs and I am really wanting the best hatch rate possible, so please- all suggestions are welcome!

Hatch 1 (11/29/21) 2 of 5 hatched
Hatch 2 (3/25/22) 9 of 16 hatched, 3 pipped but did not zip.

 

[pinewoodacres]

I ended up getting a second incubator with a turner after my first hatch but for that first one, I had them in egg cartons and just put something under the end and switched sides when I got up in the morning and again before bed. No issues.

When you open it during incubation, it’s not a huge deal if it’s not super fast because inside the egg doesn’t cool off that quickly. I would say 60% is too high for incubation but could be alright for hatching. That’s borderline high IMO for hatching. If it’s always 60% (going by at least one additional device inside the incubator) from start to finish, the air cell might not be big enough at hatch.

You can use a spray bottle and mist water into the incubator before closing it up if it’s been open awhile. I try not to open it when one is zipping but a pip seems to be fine. I remove chicks in batches to try to avoid this still.

The ones that start zipping and make a huge hole in one spot are usually shrink wrapped in there and can’t turn properly to complete the zip. By hatching in egg cartons, you can better keep an eye on this and they don’t get knocked around by hatchlings.

 

[KMoKoop]

Just wanted to update you all! 16 of 20 hatched! I guess I'm doing something right
Also, looked back at my log and humidity was not as high I originally indicated. That was at lockdown. Guess I shouldn't post before coffee