That sounds like their instructions to people who perhaps bought that incubator without the turner? Just my guess as you're right, if it's already doing it's job, you don't need to be doing it. Just make sure to shut that off three days before they are due to hatch.I just got an auto turning incubator and it suggests that I turn the eggs manually 3-4 times/day during the “setting” time. I’m confused as it is already turning the eggs(like a turn table) am I suppose to turn the eggs themselves in addition to them turning? I thought I wasn’t suppose to open the incubator to maintain the temp and humidity?
Thank you for the help
Thank you! We’ll see how everything turns out. I just remove the one piece 3 days prior to hatching. Hoping to candle the eggs soon to see if any of them are actually fertilized
for development without movement when I was checking, 
You're a little more thorough than I am in marking the eggs but I do put a question mark on the ones I think look suspiciously dead, but I'm not sure about. It's so fun when I hatch a question mark egg! The last two batches, I had a couple of those and the ones that hatched were runts. That makes me wonder if they're taking up half the egg space as the others so I'm just not seeing them as well.I agree w @Debbie292d - all of my incubators that have optional auto turners also give instructions for use without the turners.
Also. Remember that, even if the eggs were under momma, she would occasionally get up to eat, drink, etc.
Don’t be afraid to open the bator- just crack the lid, grab an egg to check it, replace it quickly and grab the next- rinse and repeat, and work quickly. The temp and humidity should bounce back once you are done. Just don’t pull the top off and leave it that way while you check them all
I don’t rotate my eggs in the turners, I just candle (w latex gloves on) :
- at setting (to check for small cracks that you can’t see without the light) -
- at 1 week to check for fertility/ development - and I don’t remove any at the 1 week check unless I find a crack that I’d missed before,
- at 2 weeks - to double check/ remove any infertile/ clear eggs, to verify progress on my turkey eggs (very hard to see anything at 1 week w a turkey egg)/ to verify development in any eggs that had good veining early on, but I wasn’t able to verify movement.
- at lockdown. I have a separate bator for lockdown, but, even if I didn’t, I’d still check them when I pulled the auto turner.
Also.
All with a pencil
- I write the date laid (small) on the top of all of my eggs when I pull them from the coops. It helps me keep track of what I’d like to set, what I want to sell to both incubation and “eating” clients, and what I might have gotten behind in in the shuffling, I eat or discard myself.
- every time I candle, I outline the size and locations of the air cell. I don’t weigh my eggs as they go through the incubation process... I monitor air cell size to adjust humidity if/ as needed
- I also mark the top of each egg when I candle them, with
. a + for movement,
. a
. a ? if something looks maybe not quite right, and
. an x for the ones that either didn’t start, or have stopped developing.
When I move them to lockdown, I add a + on the “top” side of the eggs- it makes it easier to tell who is wobbling, and who is close to zipping
....it also helps me re align the duck eggs if the turkeys hatch first and play roller derby with the other eggs in the bator before I can pull them lol
It’s helpful to also keep a notepad w your findings, dates candled, temp/ humidity at the different stages, any interruptions in either (power loss? Water tray ran dry?) and any other observations- if this is something you plan to do again.
Then be sure to add the final hatch results.
Some people like to number their eggs and keep track of them individually that way.... I tend to run 20-40 in a round sooo I just use tally marks...
Sorry for the info “dump” if you only plan to do this once
But it is helpful if you plan to do it often, to refine your process, and maybe even more so if you think you might give it a go every other year or so
I like the progression of the marks for my notes.... but it does really frustrate me when I have a +++ fail, and then I laugh when I have a ?
? hatch
Ahh, for prospective buyers. I just see how many they want, say if it's 12, then I set 16 and I throw in any extras above the 12. Usually there's 13, but never all 16.I
I like the progression of the marks for my notes.... but it does really frustrate me when I have a +++ fail, and then I laugh when I have a ?
I justify the time as trying to determine the odds of x% hatch rate given developmental notes to have a better idea of how many reservations to take along the way...
I don’t accept payment until pick up, but I also try hard to not over promise and under deliver :/
How crazy helpful was this?! You don’t even know me and it was so perfect. Thank you!!I agree w @Debbie292d - all of my incubators that have optional auto turners also give instructions for use without the turners.
Also. Remember that, even if the eggs were under momma, she would occasionally get up to eat, drink, etc.
Don’t be afraid to open the bator- just crack the lid, grab an egg to check it, replace it quickly and grab the next- rinse and repeat, and work quickly. The temp and humidity should bounce back once you are done. Just don’t pull the top off and leave it that way while you check them all
I don’t rotate my eggs in the turners, I just candle (w latex gloves on) :
- at setting (to check for small cracks that you can’t see without the light) -
- at 1 week to check for fertility/ development - and I don’t remove any at the 1 week check unless I find a crack that I’d missed before,
- at 2 weeks - to double check/ remove any infertile/ clear eggs, to verify progress on my turkey eggs (very hard to see anything at 1 week w a turkey egg)/ to verify development in any eggs that had good veining early on, but I wasn’t able to verify movement.
- at lockdown. I have a separate bator for lockdown, but, even if I didn’t, I’d still check them when I pulled the auto turner.
Also.
All with a pencil
- I write the date laid (small) on the top of all of my eggs when I pull them from the coops. It helps me keep track of what I’d like to set, what I want to sell to both incubation and “eating” clients, and what I might have gotten behind in in the shuffling, I eat or discard myself.
- every time I candle, I outline the size and locations of the air cell. I don’t weigh my eggs as they go through the incubation process... I monitor air cell size to adjust humidity if/ as needed
- I also mark the top of each egg when I candle them, with
. a + for movement,
. a
. a ? if something looks maybe not quite right, and
. an x for the ones that either didn’t start, or have stopped developing.
When I move them to lockdown, I add a + on the “top” side of the eggs- it makes it easier to tell who is wobbling, and who is close to zipping
....it also helps me re align the duck eggs if the turkeys hatch first and play roller derby with the other eggs in the bator before I can pull them lol
It’s helpful to also keep a notepad w your findings, dates candled, temp/ humidity at the different stages, any interruptions in either (power loss? Water tray ran dry?) and any other observations- if this is something you plan to do again.
Then be sure to add the final hatch results.
Some people like to number their eggs and keep track of them individually that way.... I tend to run 20-40 in a round sooo I just use tally marks...
Sorry for the info “dump” if you only plan to do this once
But it is helpful if you plan to do it often, to refine your process, and maybe even more so if you think you might give it a go every other year or so
