How EXACTLY do you turn an egg?

[babsbag]

I thought I knew this and now I am confused

I am incubating in an egg carton with the fat end of the egg up. When I turn them I just tilt the egg carton from one side to the other side. Is that good enough?

 

[Kittymomma]

What are you using for an incubator? I tried that with the still air lg that I'm using but the temp was 3 degrees higher on the high end so I went back to the eggs on their sides method. I've heard you can do it with a forced air bator though since your just copying what an egg turner does and the heat doesnt' build up on the high side like it does with a still air.

 

[PolishPoppy]

We have 6 fertile eggs left over that won't fit in the mii...so now tonight we are going to scramble to built a card board box incubator with a dish of water in it..... would that be considered a still air incubator and then the eggs just get turned the same way as in the mini? Would shreded paper work to hold them in place?

 

[babsbag]

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I am using a homemade incubator with 2 fans in it. As of day 8 the heat is pretty even. I just added the 2nd fan last night and that made a big difference in the heat distribution. Obviously in a carton the eggs won't fit on their sides. So when lockdown comes I was going to take them out of the carton and put them in paper cupcake wrappers. But now I am concerned that I need to leave the eggs on the thier ends. Can I lay them on their sides for hatching? Since I have never seen an egg turner I don't know what I am trying to imitate, other than the mother hen, and I think I am probably not very good at that.

 

[Kittymomma]

I'm actually planning on putting mine back in the carton (high points and bottom cut out) for hatching. I've read a bunch of threads on it and want to try. Most people do just put them on their sides for hatching so don't worry about that, it will be fine.

 

[Blender]

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Hi, yes, I would say it is good enough, and I turn it about twice a day.

 

[Kittymomma]

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It would be considerd a still air unless you plan to add a fan and you will need to turn the eggs by hand unless you have an extra egg turner you can add to the homemade bator. You will also need to do something about covering the water so they can't fall in it when you get close to hatching. You might want to start your own thread so people more famililar with homemade bators will see your questions.

 

[suburbanminifarm]

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You can't do that in a still air though. I tried it but found the high side was about 3 degrees warmer then the low side and that much flucuation is not a good thing. Bummed me out because it would be great to not have to open the bator so much.

Can't you elevate the whole incubator with a block of some kind, changing corners that are elevated?

 

[Kittymomma]

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You can't do that in a still air though. I tried it but found the high side was about 3 degrees warmer then the low side and that much flucuation is not a good thing. Bummed me out because it would be great to not have to open the bator so much.

Can't you elevate the whole incubator with a block of some kind, changing corners that are elevated?

That's what I was doing, but the eggs on the high side were getting cooked. I guess it makes sense, heat rises and when the bator is up at an angle like that the higher side gets hotter, but I didn't think about it until I looked in and noticed a 3 degree difference from the high end to the low. My understanding (I don't have one) is that it's not a problem if you have a fan in the bator because the air gets moved around.

 

[onthespot]

i turn mine without x's and o's. I just sort of gently roll my hand over the whole batch and feel the corners and edges to feel if any are in a cool spot, pull them to the center, gently roll some more to redistribute them evenly. Takes just a few seconds. I have never hatched dizzy chicks and get fair hatches. I'm just not that exact of a person to think an exact half a turn is better than some random shifting around like a hen would do. I never saw a hen put an x and o on her eggs. LOL