Egg turning/timing question

[New2TheCoop]

Hi everyone, I have a question. Eggs should be turned 3 times a day, should they be turned in certain intervals? Like ever 8 hours or can they be turned at any time, as long as it's an odd number of turns? Also does it have to be turned at the same time everyday?

 

[classicsredone]

From what I've read, the more evenly spaced, the better. So, turn in the morning, early afternoon, and before bed if you can.

 

[Lacrystol]

I only turn my eggs twice a day, in the morning before I go to work and then again at night. I schedule it every 12 hours.. I have never had a problem..

 

[cmom]

I would turn them around 7 am, 3pm and 11pm. Also I would put an X on one side of the egg and an O on the other side of the egg and always turn the eggs in the same direction so that at 7am all of the X's are up, at 3pm the O's are up and 11pm the X's are up. Then the opposite the next day. Just my opinion.

 

[New2TheCoop]

Cool, thanks you guys

 

[Gypsy07]

It's probably better to try and turn your eggs at set times, that way you're in a routine and you're less likely to forget to do it. I work all sorts of odd shifts though, and so I just turn mine when I get up, a couple of times through the day, and before I go to bed. I try to have the Xs and the Os on the top on alternate nights, but it doesn't always work out that way. I still manage a pretty reasonable hatch rate so I don't suppose it matters all that much. I mean, do you think a broody hen turns all of her eggs the exact same amount every 8 hours? I do notice a better hatch rate when using an auto turner that turns the eggs every hour, but that could be because of a number of factors: the turning, less handling of the eggs meaning less bacteria transfer, or the eggs not being exposed to a temperature drop three times a day with the bator being opened.