I am on day 17 of my incubation; my chicks should hatch Sunday and just today I realized that my egg turner is not 'turning' - the motor is going, it's making noise, but it's not turning. What are the chances for these chickies?!?
Thanks for crossing your fingers for me!! These will be miracle chickens, so far it has been an uphill battle. I started with 42 eggs and I am down to only 15 that were fertile. The power has also gone out twice during the time the incubator has been going. Sheesh! Luckily we were here and got the generator going quickly!!
It never fails that I lose power when I plug that thing in! Not once yet. Now the turner. I wish I had noticed it before today.
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Don't feel bad, those things are so slow to move that sometimes I have to write myself a note about where it was. I just started the bator the other day and this is our prime time of year for losing power. The generator is a booger to get moved and running, no idea what I'll do if the power does go!
Now all you have to worry about is what I worry about- all roosters.
I will definitely let you know what happens. I took the turner out and have been manually turning them today (and will until Friday.) We are trying to figure out if it's working or not. The arm seems to be moving, but it doesn't seem to be turning the trays. Which is weird, it's not hung up or anything. At this point, we marked it and we are periodically checking to see if it is indeed working or not. I need it for my next hatch...I have been collecting eggs to put in as soon as this hatch is done and my rooster, finally, seems to be doing his job and working overtime now. LOL!
Anyway...I am going to candle them tonight and see if they are all still good and chirp to them a bit.
They do turn rather slowly and it's hard to see them move. Of course if the eggs are in the same position as when things started you can tell. It just might be that the connecting arms are not pinned where they should be. You should be able to wiggle the trays a little.
Last night I candled the eggs and they seem fine...actually almost too dark to see anything the eggs are so full. I didn't see any blood rings! I put the turner back in and it is definitely working now. So hopefully, I'll hear some chirping soon.