how to turn incubating eggs?

[quails-n-tails]

ok, I read all sort of things on line and it is still a mystery. so, I got the part that the eggs should be propped the dull end up and the pointy end down. so how do i turn them ? do I just spin them, or do i set them at a slight planet earth angle and spin them at that angle? and as far as i understand: the eggs should never be incubated with a pointy end up? right? thanks a bunch all

 

[alexa009]

No, eggs should never be incubated pointy end up. Don't you have a automatic egg turner? If not, I would lay them on their sides, not in the egg turner.

 

[chickens really]

I incubate all mine on their side and hand turn them 2 or 3 times a day.

 

[Ridgerunner]

First lets think about why you turn them, then it might make more sense. One reason is to keep the yolk and developing embryo from settling and touching the inside of the porous shell, where it could get stuck. That would be fatal. By the time the embryo is big enough it's going to touch the inside of the shell anyway a membrane has formed around it to protect it from getting stuck. Another reason for turning is to help body parts form in the right places.

You do not want to store or incubate the eggs with the pointy side up. The air cell needs to remain in the rounded end so the chick can find it when it is time to internal pip. If the egg is kept flat or pointy side down you are OK.

If you lay the egg flat the easiest way it to put a different mark on each side so you can tell if they have turned. Some people use X and O, I use numbers but one is red and the other is black. The system doesn't matter as long as you can tell that all the eggs have been turned. If you start out with all the X's or reds up, then the O's or blacks should be up when you finish. Just roll them over, one side to the other.

If you use the pointy side down method, the egg needs to turn through a 90 degree angle. Tilt it 45 degrees from vertical to the left to 45 degrees from vertical to the right. You may or may not need marks on the eggs to help you with this. One pretty standard method is to put the eggs in a regular egg carton and prop one end up on a block of some type to get the right angle. Then switch the block to the other end to turn them. Make something out of wood, your kid's lego's, whatever is suitable.