Does Nature Know Best?

[Jungleexplorer]

After my first attempt at incubating eggs last month resulted in failure and I have been doing a lot of research since then on this subject. One observation I have made, is that all of the automatic egg turners hold the egg upright, but in nature, the eggs lay on their side under the mother hen and are never upright. This observation, caused me to ask the question, Why?

Most people, I have talked to, agree that a good brooder hen is better then any artificial incubator. So why don't they make egg turners that hold the eggs in the side like they are in nature? Does anyone know the reason for this?

 

[sparkles2307]

I think it's hard to find a way to turn the egg if it's on it's side, you get a little more "turn" if they are upright.

 

[Oregon Blues]

The only thing I can figure is that air cell stays where it is supposed to when the egg is upright. Lots of shipped eggs get broken air cells and if the end is up, the hope is that the air will rise to where it is supposed to be.

You can fit more eggs into a smaller space if they are upright.

Most people I know who are serious about ducks, do their hatching with the duck eggs on their sides. It's more work to turn them, they have to be hand rolled. An automatic turner that rolled eggs would take up more space and then you need a bigger incubator for the same number of eggs.

But, hey, if you want to invent one, I might be interested in buying.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

The only thing I can figure is that air cell stays where it is supposed to when the egg is upright. Lots of shipped eggs get broken air cells and if the end is up, the hope is that the air will rise to where it is supposed to be.

You can fit more eggs into a smaller space if they are upright.

Most people I know who are serious about ducks, do their hatching with the duck eggs on their sides. It's more work to turn them, they have to be hand rolled. An automatic turner that rolled eggs would take up more space and then you need a bigger incubator for the same number of eggs.

But, hey, if you want to invent one, I might be interested in buying.

After the bad experience I have had with the Hova-bator 1588, I think I just might design my own personal incubator system and if I can perfect it's construction, I just might try to sell it. I have built many thing for sale out of wood in my life and I still have all my cabinet making tools in storage. I have been thinking about how to make an egg turner that would work for eggs on their side. I think a two layer sandwich type roller system might work best and would be simple to build out of wood. The problem would be the motor and timing mechanism.

Of course, if I did build one it would have automatic heat and humidity control build right in, so it would be a turn it on and forget it thing.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Well, I just candled my eggs after 14 days. All the eggs our in the same incubator. I have 42 eggs in an automatic turner and 4 eggs on their side that I am hand turning. Only five of the eggs in the turner have developed. But all 4 of the hand turned eggs are good. I guess nature does know best after all.

 

[ReikiStar]

Jungelexporer, did you have all the eggs in the turner sitting with the large end up? Just double checking since it was your first time hatching and since many thousands of eggs are hatched successfully using auto turners.

We wonder if the hen ups the humidity during "lockdown" (haha) so I can understand you wondering. But sometimes you need to rule out operator error first.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Jungelexporer, did you have all the eggs in the turner sitting with the large end up? Just double checking since it was your first time hatching and since many thousands of eggs are hatched successfully using auto turners.

We wonder if the hen ups the humidity during "lockdown" (haha) so I can understand you wondering. But sometimes you need to rule out operator error first.

Yes, all the egg were small end down and large end up. Like anything else I do, I do a ton of research before diving into anything. Although this is my second batch and I only hatched 1 out of 20 eggs on my first try (all of which were in the egg turner by the way).

 

[redhen689]

Here is a egg turner that holds the eggs on their sides: