Do I really need an egg turner?

[beekybuzzard]

I only turn mine for the first week and then just leave them alone and get 85% to 90% hatch rate normally.

 

[ginasmarans]

My turner went out,so I just elevate one end of the bater with a block of wood and alternate ends, normally in the morning, when I get home from work and before I go to bed. I hatched 7 out of eleven eggs, and 9 of the eggs were shipped. 2 had pipped but did not make it past the first pip.

 

[gumpsgirl]

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My DH is a fire fighter too and is always concerned about fire hazards in the house. As long as the bator is UL certified, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I really don't think they could sell the bators for indoor use if there was a fire hazard anyway. You just need to be smart about where you plug it in at, just like everything else!

 

[Vamp-A-Billy Princess]

I made myself a little chart and wrote the time on it each time I turned. It is so exciting there's no way you'll forget to turn em. Mine are hatching right now. 11 out 1 pip and 1 zipping. Out of 13 eggs. I liked turning them by hand it made me feel more involved in the birth process. I also highly recommend trying egg cartons for hatching. It worked wonders for my eggs.

 

[mmajw]

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In egg cartons? How does that work?

 

[Vamp-A-Billy Princess]

Day 18 when you raise the humidity and quit turning you set them in egg cartons. I had mine in cartons the whole time so they didnt roll around everywhere on that crappy wire screen. Then I just spun them to turn them. Make sure the air sack is up and the pointy end is down in the carton. Also put rubber shelf liner in the bottom of the incubator, over the screen so they have something softer to step on while they are figuring out how to walk. Look at the pics I just put up and you can see how I have mine set up. The thread is called "My new babies **Hatching Pics***". If you type "egg carton method" into the search engine at the top of the page you can read more about it. Just ask if you have any more questions. A bunch of us just tried it and had good luck with it.

 

[seriousbill]

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Yeah, the main danger of the embryo sticking to the shell membrane's the first week, from what I've read. I usually go to Day 14, though.

 

[mmajw]

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The egg cartons wont start a fire inside the bator?

 

[Struttn1]

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You don't need a turner but by the time you finish turning a batch of eggs until hatch I am betting you will have one.