Gonna try my hand at incubating

[hunt4meat]

OK, I am thinking of trying my hand at hatching out some eggs since I am about to double the size of my chicken pen. I am borrowing a buddies incubator, but it is not an auto turner.

What will happen if I do not turn the eggs 3 times a day? i.e. go away for the weekend
What if I only turn them 2 times a day?

Thanks,
LMB

 

[CajunChick]

I wish I could answer your questions, but I'm in the same boat as you. I just made an incubator and I started gathering my eggs today. I'm so worried I'm going to mess my first hatch up. Best of luck to you! I'll be watching this thread to see what advice you get

 

[hunt4meat]

I am probably going to collect eggs the rest of the week and weekend, and fire up the incubaotr on sunday evening,a nd set it and eggs in on Monday afternoon.

 

[Jed]

I have read post of other people on this site only turning twice a day and having a good hatch. I believe the whole purpose of turning the eggs is to prevent the yolk from sticking to the membrane on the inside of the shell. If this is not done the chick could deform while it is hatching. It is suggested to rotate a minimum of 2 times a day, with 3 to 5 times strongly suggested. Hope this helps.

 

[CajunChick]

Thanks for the info! I picked 3 eggs today and hope to get more tomorrow. I have my incubator on now trying to regulate the humidity. I'm leaving town from the 30th-1st and am afraid that hubby will forget to turn them. I don't want to wait until I return from my trip to set them...I'm too excited! My incubator is kinda small, so I will probably only set 6-8 eggs this time around.