Auto turner vs turning by hand hatch success

[Tatuana]

I just got an Email from the lady I ordered some fertile eggs from. I bought six, as that's all my incubator can support. She got my order mixed up with one exactly the same, but theirs is 13+ eggs. Clearly returning the eggs isn't an option, and since it was her mistake she's letting me have them as freebies anyway. (On the plus side, I have the possibility for *more babies!!!*)
But, uh, I can only support 6 in the auto turner. 13 will fit if I take that out, but I'd have to turn by hand, I think. It would be a bit tight, which I don't think is good for the egg? (I THINK you need lots of airflow between eggs. Can someone comment on that?) I should be able to manage the timings of egg turning. In your experience has hatch rate gone down with had turning/auto turning?
The eggs were mailed Monday morning and are due to be here on the 4th. I know they have to sit for 24 hours to settle, making them five or six days old when they are ready to be tucked in. That's already a tight timeline for them. I don't want to have them out longer while I find a mama chicken to sit for me. I feel bad just killing the eggs!

(PS if I only get one chick I'll be thrilled! Since it's my 'learning' batch I expect lots of problems)

 

[ShannonR]

Feasibility of hand turning depends largely on how much extra time you have on your hands. It's up to you, but I always much preferred the turner. Things happen, sometimes you forget to turn the eggs, life gets in the way at times.

 

[happy duck]

I think this is a very great thread! I was soon going to order a auto turner(as I will be hoping to hatch some of my ducks eggs this spring) but would love to hear what people say. I feel that I personally would not have time to turn every day(as I am in and out of the house) but would love to hear about success with certain incubators! I will be following this thread!

 

[muddy75]

wait and see how large the eggs are before making that decision. this is my last group of 9 and many of them were pretty large eggs. with a little rearranging I may have been able to squeeze in a couple more. that or you can hand turn for first few days and check for any that may need to be removed. (i had 1 dud (clear) in this hatch. my current hatch is 30 quail eggs (only supposed to fit 25)

 

[aliciaplus3]

There are some folks that swear by hand turning and get better hatch rates that way..... I have had a few successful hatches turning by hand when the eggs were too big for my turner.....the other possibility is that you turn for the first 7-10 days and when you candle to remove the clears the remaining eggs may fit in the turner for the remaining time..
.. just a thought.

 

[Tatuana]

this is my last group of 9 and many of them were pretty large eggs

I'm curious, what did you mark them with? Mine are coming blank and I'd like to keep track of what goes where. I won't even know breed until hatching.

Thanks everyone! If I have to I'll hand turn. I work out of my home so I can set an alarm. If I end up doing that - I always like having a doomsday plan in place, call me paranoid - is there a best way to turn them? Like should I turn them 1/4th of the way, then the other 4th, etc? Or is it okay to flip from Side A to Side B? (I'd mark them, of course) I'm unsure how gentle/gradual the turning is.

Thanks again for putting up with all my questions. I'm excited!

 

[ShannonR]

Side A to side B is what I always did. Just a 180 degree turn, few times a day.

Alternately, I have seen one fellow who had eggs in a carton (inside an incubator), flip them end to end!! That alarmed me a little, lol

 

[BYC910]

Don't worry you have to get through shipping first .You should be regulating your incubator now . Temperature and humidity .I have stacked eggs on eggs until the first candling .Not the best thing to do but consider this eggs in cartons or auto turners, will have surface area that is touching the turner with almost no air on that area . Move the eggs around in the incubator .You will of course candle on receiving the eggs . Look for detached air cells and cracks . Remembering the air cell stays put no matter which way the egg is pointed .Any that move or have little bubbles have had a rough ride and most likely will not hatch. Size is also important . Under normal conditions ,air cells will remain small for seven to ten days and grow rapidly after that . Gives you a ideal of true age of the egg. Standard marking is Xs and Os . #2 pencil my choice , just to insure they get turned . If you get 13 hatch able shipped eggs you are lucky. Enjoy hatching . Worlds of knowledge here at your fingertips . Number one rule .Temperature first humidity second. Better to go a little dry on humidity than two wet .

 

[Rose Quartz]

I started out hand turning. My hatch rates were pretty good in my opinion, but i noticed a lot of malpositions, i was trying to turn them 5x a day but sometimes it was only 3.

So i got a turner, and since it wouldnt work with my homemade incu. I got the incu that matched.

Hatchrate dropped quite a bit, but no malpositions. I think the hatchrate is due to an airflow problem with my incubator, not the turner.

Overall either way works pretty decently. But if you're finding you dont have time to be home to turn them then the turner would be better.

 

[Tatuana]

emperature first humidity second. Better to go a little dry on humidity than two wet .

That's what I've been working on. It's tricky to get it right, especially where so little of a change can cause problems.

Don't worry you have to get through shipping first

That's what I keep telling myself, but I like to be over prepared. With all my cat rescues something always goes wonky, so I'm a tad paranoid.

I have stacked eggs on eggs until the first candling .Not the best thing to do but

Can they actually move around like that? I would think that the weight would keep them from rolling.

Alternately, I have seen one fellow who had eggs in a carton (inside an incubator), flip them end to end!! That alarmed me a little, lol

For some reason I find that very funny. Mine are coming in bubble wrap (each egg individually) that are then wrapped in more padding before being stuffed into a very hard box. I told my sister I needed egg cartons to stick the eggs on while they rest. Luckily for me she *loves* baking. She's been making cakes, brownies, cookies, pies, etc. She's thrilled to have an excuse to make more sweets. I didn't know they were safe to put in the incubator. If they are I may end up using those.

Finding out my package was more than double the size I can hold was a bit of a shock. I feel calmer knowing it can be done, though. I live in a city where not a lot of people have chickens around me. I was a bit worried thinking I'd have to find someone to sit on the eggs.

I'm still trying to figure out the correct humidity for the little guys. I have the heat set right via two lizard temp gauges I borrowed from my gecko cage. One is off by 10 degrees, so I drew a little black line where it SHOULD be if things go right. The other one is what I need to test. My loving sister used up all our salt earlier...

I know this is off topic a bit, but I don't want to spam the forum with many different posts. Is it true that a one degree change in heat can kill the babies? just how exact do I need to be? And everyone says you have kind of figure out what humidity you need based on your area. Is that true? I'm not positive what level I'm aiming for. But I know how to change it higher/lower now.