Alright, my broody, who sat for two weeks, quit yesterday. I still need some more birds, so I think I will dig out the 'bator and buy the eggs, etc. The incubator is a manual turner, last time I used it, I had to turn five times a day (including 3:00 am ) but is that really necessary? How many turns, and at what times, work best?
before I bought a turner....I would 3x a day once in the morning before work one after work and one more before i went to bed and i had no problem with hatches...
I think three turns a day is the minimum amount for reasonably good hatches. People on here have had okay hatches with fewer turns a day, and/or with irregular or no turning at all, but normally as part of an experiment. If you're wanting a good result, I'd say go for three a day...
And no need to get up during the night to turn them. As long as you turn an odd number of times then they will be on different sides each night. Best of luck.
Quote:I would turn 'em three times a day, roughly every 8 hours. If one turn is closer to 9 hours and another is closer to 6 or 7, it's no big deal. I get the same approximate hatch rate on an average 8 hour turn that I get if I vary my times with the longest period being 4 hours.
3 times and more. You turn when you can with your schedule. The easy method would be take a 2"x4", thick book or some similar raise one end and other so no need to rotate individual egg.
