How Much to Turn?

[AtlantaChick]

Hey All,

I've just finished building my own automatic turner for a Brinsea Eco 20 Octagon. $25 instead of $80, woot! Here's my question:

When you turn the incubator manually, I've just been shifting it back and forth on two of the octagon's 8 sides for a total of 45 degrees of turn. With my automatic turner, the turn is more like 30 degrees. In the manual, it says the automatic turner goes through a 90 degree turn (though I'm not sure how, without the water wells pouring out).

So how many degrees of turn is enough for the eggs?

Thanks!

K

 

[sumi]

It is better to turn them the recommended 90* and the water wells... I'm so glad I'm not the only one who that's happened to! I found spreading a cloth over the bottom of the incubator, under the egg tray helps. You can fill the wells and let the cloth soak up and release adequate moisture to maintain the correct humidity during incubation. For lockdown I keep the cloth soaked and the wells full.

 

[AtlantaChick]

Thanks, Sumi! Do you think it would work to open the incubator and flip the eggs over once a day, then leave the automatic turner to rock it through 30 degrees an hour for the rest of the time?

This is my first hatch, and I've done just about everything wrong so far! I had to go out of town unexpectedly last weekend, and the first turner cradle I built buckled under the weight of the incubator about 30 minutes before I left for the airport! I'm glad it happened while I was still there, but the eggs had a quick drop of about an inch, then a 10 min car ride to a friend's place who was kind enough to host the incubator and turn the eggs for the weekend, then another 10 minutes back to my place! I candled a couple of days ago and it looks like I've got 3 definitely alive out of 12, with a few more that I couldn't tell for sure since they were only on day 7. The ones that hatch are gonna be tough little buggers!

(Edited to add: I'll definitely adjust the auto turner to increase the turn, but I figure I'll wait to do that until after hatch. I think I can do it, but I'd rather make a mistake on an empty bator!)

 

[sumi]

Goodness, they sure had a bumpy start! LOL I wasn't going to buy a turner for mine, but shame, the guy at the warehouse didn't ask, he climbed all the way up there to get the box down and to get the unit without the turner he'd have had to go replace that box and climb up another ladder to go get it. Him and my DH were both standing there liking at me like "does it matter?" So I said what the heck, I'll take it. I'm not that hassled, I was just glad after 2 hours driving around I found the warehouse! I'm glad I did now. That turner turned out to be handy...

I'd say give them a good turn first thing in the morning and again in the evening and let the turner do the rest. Mark the eggs with something, I put a O on one side and a X on the opposite side, so I know which ones I've turned.

 

[AtlantaChick]

I can manage that! Thank you for the advice!

 

[sumi]

Good luck with the hatch!