incubating questions , again

[stephboden]

So, I just ruined 74 coturnix eggs, heartbreaking, I know, but I am not sure what I did wrong. I at least got two out of my first batch of fewer eggs. There is a good chance that a lot of these eggs might not have hatched anyway as I got them from someone else and it is hard to say how long they sat, however, you would think I would have gotten a couple. One thing that I did differently that may have messed them up is that I rinsed and dried each egg before placing it. I only use water and a cloth and though that I was doing a good thing to try and keep bacteria out of the incubator, but now I am not quite sure. Also, I am not sure I am getting the turning of the eggs right. I have an egg turner and tray which I turned on day four. I never saw the eggs tilt so I started turning myself by alternating between side, up, and down, two times a day. I think gave the turner another chance and it started to tilt them, but didn't appear to be changing motion. I also removed the tray on day 14 (I believe) and placed them on the rubbery shelf liner in the incubator as others had recommended and the humidity was at 60-70 the remainder of the time. any suggestions?

 

[TwoCrows]

Never rinse off eggs you are setting. There is a protective coating on all eggs call the "bloom". This keeps out all bacteria. Rising off your eggs and you opened them up to bacteria that may have already been on the outside of the egg.

Never turn eggs end over end. They must only be rocked from side to side and not fully around either. Turning end over end or 360 degrees around will kill the embryos. You want to turn them at least if not more than 3 times a day. Some professional hatcheries eggs turn once an hour. Take a pencil and put an x on the middle of the eggs. Lay them tilted large end up a bit, and start by rolling this egg with the x from the left side so the x now sits on the right side. A few hours later, turn the egg back so the x is now back on the left. Do not turn it completely around but back and forth. So say at noon, turn the x to the left once. Leave it there. At 3pm turn the x to the right and leave it. At 5 pm turn the x back to the left and leave it and so on...

 

[stephboden]

so the X will only be on the left or right, not front or back? always keep them point end down? and when it is time to remove the tray, is it ok by then if they just lay on their sides on the rubber liner?

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes, yes and yes!

 

[SliderShooter]

Never turn eggs end over end. They must only be rocked from side to side and not fully around either. Turning end over end or 360 degrees around will kill the embryos. You want to turn them at least if not more than 3 times a day. Some professional hatcheries eggs turn once an hour. Take a pencil and put an x on the middle of the eggs. Lay them tilted large end up a bit, and start by rolling this egg with the x from the left side so the x now sits on the right side. A few hours later, turn the egg back so the x is now back on the left. Do not turn it completely around but back and forth. So say at noon, turn the x to the left once. Leave it there. At 3pm turn the x to the right and leave it. At 5 pm turn the x back to the left and leave it and so on...

I have always turned eggs, on their side, from one side to the other 360. I usually have about 25% that start to grow but never finish. Could this be the cause? Next batch I am going to give this rocking back and fourth a try.

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: Turning them 360 degrees is hard on the embryo. The eggs only need a slight rock from one side to the next. All you are doing with turning is keeping the embryo centered and refilling the area with new nutrients that he has recently fed on. Going all the way around with the egg is detrimental to growth.