Can I leave eggs in the turner up until hatching?

[jamarti7]

I've had a couple eggs hatch just fine while still in the turner. It was an accident, and I just took them out as soon as they hatched so they didn't get hurt. But is this okay? I know the last 3 days you're supposed to change the humidity and stop turning them, but is this essential for a good hatch? Were those little guys that hatched in the turner just an anomaly?
I'm asking because I want to keep put more eggs in my incubator and don't want to buy a second incubator just yet. Thoughts??

 

[SunHwaKwon]

My neighbor does this. He staggers hatches without a separate hatcher. His hatch rates are okay, not excellent. I don't think he knows what he's doing, though, lol.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Personally I would not hatch out in turners because there is an increased chance of leg problems/injuries resulting from legs getting caught in the turners or slipping on the surfaces causing splayed legs/slipped tendons.

I don't like staggered hatches, period. BUT if I was going to do that, I'd take out the turner and hand turn the newer eggs until the hatch was finished and then put the turner back in.

What is essential is that the eggs loose enough moisture. We keep the humidity lower for the first 17 days so that this can happen and up it for hatch time so that the membranes after pip stay moist and don't dry out, causing the membrane to become sticky, dry around the chick keeping it from progressing, or in worst case senerio, totally shrinkwrapping the chick.

If the eggs loose enough moisture over the period of incubation, you're fine, but if you constantly have to keep the humidity up for hatchers the eggs behind are not going to loose enough moisture. So you need to make sure you have enough time between hatches so the environment is condusive to moisture loss.

 

[cyriuskee]

I have one auto turner incubator and staggered hatches. I put a clean, folded hand towel at one end of one side of the rails kept moist and put my hatching eggs on it. I add 1-3 duck eggs daily and have about a 66% hatch rate so far this year. (Last couple of years I didn't incubate any eggs). This seems to give the hatching eggs the increased moisture and avoids having the eggs turned for the last days. Good luck!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I have one auto turner incubator and staggered hatches. I put a clean, folded hand towel at one end of one side of the rails kept moist and put my hatching eggs on it. I add 1-3 duck eggs daily and have about a 66% hatch rate so far this year. (Last couple of years I didn't incubate any eggs). This seems to give the hatching eggs the increased moisture and avoids having the eggs turned for the last days. Good luck!

Have you ever not done a staggered hatch and collected one week's worth of eggs at a time and hatched a single batch?

 

[cyriuskee]

Yes my first hatch out was eggs I had gathered and kept aside for a week or so, my hatch rate was actually lower, more like <

Have you ever not done a staggered hatch and collected one week's worth of eggs at a time and hatched a single batch?

50%, which is how I decided to go ahead and add and hatch daily.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Yes my first hatch out was eggs I had gathered and kept aside for a week or so, my hatch rate was actually lower, more like <
50%, which is how I decided to go ahead and add and hatch daily.

I do single hatches, in an old LG9200. I use the low incubation method and monitor the air cells and usually have between 80-100% hatch rates. I've only ever done shipped eggs once and even that I ended up with 12/14 that went into lockdown hatch. (But the seller was excellent in collecting/storing/shipping and was only like 6 hours away, so they only had a couple days in transit.)

My first hatch was awful. Never checked my thermometer, (found out after it was 6 degrees off) and used high humidity (keeping it above 50% the entire time). Had 1/17 that hatched and lived. Fixed those two problems and haven't had a bad hatch since. The only way I could see myself doing staggered is with a separate hatcher. I'm too anal with my humidity process.

 

[cyriuskee]

I do only use the one incubator, but I do also use 3 brooders before they are finally put outside in a pen. After they have hatched and start to move around I move them to the first little brooder that uses a heating pad and brood lamp with small portions of starter feed and sugar water so they don't get caught in the rails. After they gain their legs, a day or so, they move to the larger brooder with ducklings similar in size. At about 3 weeks old they are moved to the large brooder which is a large dog crate wrapped in 5/8" deer netting and has the large feeder and water bottles. At 6 weeks or so they go out to the pen area. This is the only way I feel I can keep up with the staggered hatching. These are all pekins I am hatching so ofc the growth rate is very fast. Though not a decisive point in my methods, I have to say I love always having little babies around.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I do only use the one incubator, but I do also use 3 brooders before they are finally put outside in a pen. After they have hatched and start to move around I move them to the first little brooder that uses a heating pad and brood lamp with small portions of starter feed and sugar water so they don't get caught in the rails. After they gain their legs, a day or so, they move to the larger brooder with ducklings similar in size. At about 3 weeks old they are moved to the large brooder which is a large dog crate wrapped in 5/8" deer netting and has the large feeder and water bottles. At 6 weeks or so they go out to the pen area. This is the only way I feel I can keep up with the staggered hatching. These are all pekins I am hatching so ofc the growth rate is very fast. Though not a decisive point in my methods, I have to say I love always having little babies around.

My son, who is 8 always says, "But they don't stay fuzzy long enough." lol I love having the babies around too, but I'm at my limit of keepers. I would love to be able to hatch just to sell. I hatched breeder quality bearded silkies this spring and some more Silver Spangled Appenzeller Spitzhauben's so I am hoping I can drum up enough interest to be able to hatch just to sell. If I can, I might get a cheapy bator just to hatch in so I can do staggered without the extra issues.

 

[cyriuskee]

My son, who is 8 always says, "But they don't stay fuzzy long enough."  lol I love having the babies around too, but I'm at my limit of keepers.  I would love to be able to hatch just to sell. I hatched breeder quality bearded silkies this spring and some more Silver Spangled Appenzeller Spitzhauben's so I am hoping I can drum up enough interest to be able to hatch just to sell. If I can, I might get a cheapy bator just to hatch in so I can do staggered without the extra issues.

Its true haha, I see my granddaughters far more often thanks to the 2 flocks of ducks and geese. I kept 4 hatchlings in the spring and I'll probably keep another 4 after the last hatch. I'm fortunate enough to have an acre woodland pond away from the house so I can keep alot. I keep all the adult ducks out there with 3 rescued mean geese. The rest of the geese stay in a 100x100 backyard pen (sebastopols and American buffs) which has a cordoned off section and coop for the juvenile ducks. I give many away. The pekins are popular here and I'm able to sell some and give some away to great homes. Ofc with the requirement that they remain friends not food.