Daily turning of the eggs?????????????/

[retiredwithchicks]

OK, just discovered that my two incubators full of eggs are not getting the regular turning as they should. Seems neither of the turners are working properly. I am out of town as of today for a week and have no one to do the eggs twice a day. Can get some possibly done but not all. Will I loose these $250+ of eggs? What is the purpose of egg turning? I know the hens do this but just wondering the science behind it.

 

[aurorarose25]

kind of new to it as well, but basically from what I get is to make sure the chick develops completely and doesn't stick to the shell on the inside. And you are suppose to turn them an odd number of times so they don't sit on one side too long and not develop properly.
Just my two cents here.....
I have 50 eggs in the bator myself due to hatch anytime...

Happy hatchn vibes sent your way....

 

[retiredwithchicks]

Thanks for the reply. I assumed it was about sticking to the shell but wanted someone more experienced than me to say the reason. May loose all of them but maybe not.

 

[Prairie Chicky]

Well i did have something similar to this happen this summer. The switch on the side of my bator for some reason I thought It was on to rotate the eggs, never touched them again cept to check temps once in a while, then around day 14-15 I went in to candle, noticed that the eggs hadn't turned at all. Was really worried, went on to candle, was looking pretty good considering, few duds but to be expected, turned on the egg turner for a couple days, day 20 turned it off again and 43 chicks later all was fine.
Had another friend have the same thing happen, an over 70% hatched also. Kinda makes you wonder just how much egg turning is really necessary.

 

[Prairie Chicky]

I've always thought that this (( to make sure the chick develops completely and doesn't stick to the shell on the inside)) was more of a humidity problem. I always make sure and have a spray bottle with me everytime I open the bator door to spray it all down with very warm water just to make sure it dosn't loose any of its humidity. Keep the humidity high and they won't stick to their shells. Also have their Air sack up and your good to go.

 

[Akane]

Eggs need turned to expose the chicks to all the white and so the chicks do not form against the side and end up growing improperly. Not turning will result in more embryos dying and more chicks being born deformed. Yes some will hatch but I don't consider a 70% hatch rate good. I consider that as me doing something seriously wrong. You also may have to put down several deformed chicks and you may have chickens with more health problems later. You won't lose all of them by not turning but it's not a good idea to skip it on purpose.

 

[rebecca100]

Actually I read that turning is only neccesary for the first few days, after that you son't have to worry about them. I have two hatches that say that is true. No sticking and no deformities. There is a thread somewhere here about that. Actually my second no turn hatch are popping out of the shells today. I also dry hatch which has increased my success rate. Makes it much easier and less stressful. And i swear that I am doing better now than I was before now that I am handling and opening the bator less. This hatch I only have three that haven't hatched yet, out of about 10. And one dud so far. So don't worry about losing yuo hatch, they will probably be fine. But I do turn the first few days.

 

[Akane]

Then someone else has said a bunch of people proved you didn't need to turn the first week and the last 2 are important. If turning wasn't important hatcheries wouldn't expend electricity turning them all 3weeks. Hens also turn their eggs constantly all day long for the entire time including up until hatching day. Someone recorded the number of times a hen turned an egg a day and it was well over a dozen. I've had eggs I didn't turn enough quit before day 10 and 1 chick come out with messed up feet that didn't get turned the last week. It doesn't always happen but plenty of people have seen a connection between not turning for several days and more deformed chicks no matter what time of incubation it is.

 

[Prairie Chicky]

((( Yes some will hatch but I don't consider a 70% hatch rate good. I consider that as me doing something seriously wrong. ))) That could very well be, but I wasn't stating the fact that I considered 70% a great hatch rate either, just that for never turning the eggs it was a small miracle. Also there was only one of my chicks with deformed feet, and that happens in any normal hatch, so whose to say??

 

[Akane]

Never had a deformed chick in a normal hatch unless there was a major humidity issue or something. Even then I've only lost quail to things like that. By deformed I mean does not recover and has to be put down. Not just curled toes or something. Not that I ever get those in a hatch that hasn't had something go wrong anyway.