Going out of town, with or without eggs?

[Bcoz18]

I have 4 turkey eggs in incubator their hatching day is April 8th.
I have a soccer tournament in KC (I live is missouri) which is about 4 to 5 hours away. And that's from the 8th to the 10th.
I would love to take the eggs with me but we don't have a plus in, in the car and it will be in the lock down stage and no turning don't want the eggs to be rolling around. Anyone have any suggestions
I do have a plug in the cigarette lighter that I can plug in a normal cord. Should I use that and put the grid in for the turner but keep the auto turner off... should I leave them at home but if they hatch Friday they will be stuck in there until Sunday. Not sure if they would get hurt in there

 

[Sara S]

I have 4 turkey eggs in incubator their hatching day is April 8th.
I have a soccer tournament in KC (I live is missouri) which is about 4 to 5 hours away. And that's from the 8th to the 10th.
I would love to take the eggs with me but we don't have a plus in, in the car and it will be in the lock down stage and no turning don't want the eggs to be rolling around. Anyone have any suggestions
I do have a plug in the cigarette lighter that I can plug in a normal cord. Should I use that and put the grid in for the turner but keep the auto turner off... should I leave them at home but if they hatch Friday they will be stuck in there until Sunday. Not sure if they would get hurt in there

Can anyone watch them? If I was you I wouldn’t take the chance of bringing them, or leaving them alone. Maybe see if a neighbor or a family member can watch them in exchange for eating eggs? Good luck with them and your tournament!

 

[SilverBirds]

I wouldn't bring them in the car. They could get jostled around and get hurt. Do you have and family/neighbors/friends that could check in on them while you're gone?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

You should leave them at home.

 

[Bcoz18]

You should leave them at home.

I have no one to watch them.. if they hatch on Friday evening would they be okay in incubator until Sunday night? I know sometimes it says could take 2 days for them to fully hatch and shoukd be left in incubator for 12 to 24 hours. Sorry so many questions never hatched anything before

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I have no one to watch them.. if they hatch on Friday evening would they be okay in incubator until Sunday night? I know sometimes it says could take 2 days for them to fully hatch and shoukd be left in incubator for 12 to 24 hours. Sorry so many questions never hatched anything before

What day did you put them in the incubator? Are you absolutely certain your incubator temperature is correct?

 

[Bcoz18]

What day did you put them in the incubator? Are you absolutely certain your incubator temperature is correct?

I put them in incubator the incubator night on March 11th which marks April 8/9th hatching day. I'm pretty certain.. had a temp gauge in there for 3 days before adding eggs and was the same temp as on machine...
Maybe I'll just not worry about it and who know they might not hatch until Sunday Monday.. I guess I'm planning to much for being gone all day Saturday and be home Sunday night

 

[SilverBirds]

They can go without food for 2-3 days after hatching. They can be kept in the incubator but they may not be very happy about it.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Turkeys can get splayed leg pretty easily. I would put some grippy mat under the eggs at lockdown.
If they hatch and are walking around the slippery floor incubator for days you could have some leg problems.
My guess is that if your incubator temps are right, poults could hatch Thursday 7th and Friday 8th.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That's horrible luck in the timing. Since you put them in on Friday March 11 the 28 days are up on Friday April 8. I'll ty to give you accurate information that might help your planning. I don't think you are in a horrible position but the potential is there.

First, they can last over 72 hours after hatch without eating or drinking since they absorb the yolk. The US postal regulations depend on this. The chicks or poults need to be shipped within 24 hours of hatch. There has to be a reasonable expectation that they will be delivered within 48 hours of shipping. That's a total of 72 hours. That's a minimum if they start out healthy, many people receive a shipment late and they are still OK or most if them are OK. If they are not healthy to start with of course this doesn't apply, but if they aren't healthy you have issues anyway. Use hours when you are counting, it's easy to get confused if you stick with days. If the poults hatch in Friday April 8, the 72 hours are up on Monday the 11th. In that regard you are OK.

But the problem is that the 28 days of incubation for turkeys is just a target. For many different reasons they can hatch as much as 2 days early or late. You can't count on an exact timing of the hatch. Some eggs may hatch a couple of days later than others.

The way I'd approach it is to check the incubator before you leave. If poults have hatched kind of early move them to the brooder. Consider the 72 hours and when you plan to be back. Yes, that mean opening the incubator during lockdown. While it is "Possible" you can cause harm by opening it, that is pretty rare in real life. Most of the time you can open it without issues but it's the few times it does cause a problem that it hits you. I avoid opening the incubator since I know it can cause a problem, but if I have an emergency that I consider worth it I open it and take that chance. So count the 72 hours and make your plans from that.

If you hade ideal conditions I would not suggest this but my world is not always ideal, sometimes I have conditions I deal with. All we can do is the best we can.