Manually turning eggs

[chickenphile]

Was going to buy and incubator but don't know if it is worth it to spend the extra $50 for the auto turner. How often should this be done and how long should the eggs be out of the incubator? I was thinking at least 2X morning and night.


thanks
Chris

 

[jprinc44]

I Think it is 3 times a day, minimum. In actuality, I read somewhere that the mama bird turns them 90 plus times in a day..... HTH Janet

 

[wjallen05]

I turned mine 4 times a day, at 8, 12, 4, and 8. I actually liked turning them, it made it more personal. But then I stay at home, I suppose if you work all day than an auto egg turner would be more practical.

how long should the eggs be out of the incubator?

I'm not sure what you're asking. I never took the eggs out of the incubator except to candle at day 7 and day 12.​

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

If turing by hand, you should turn the eggs and odd number of times a day. If they rest overnight on the x side, then the next night they should rest overnight on the o side.

 

[twigg]

Quote:
It is worth it for most people. Next to a fan upgrade, an auto-turner is high on the list. Turning eggs gets real old, real fast.

Also, in a still air incubator, you compromise the hatch every time you open it. Which is worse news, because effective turning requires a min. of three times a day, and seven is better.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
I don't think so.. at that rate, she would not have time to set hardly at all.. 90 x 10 eggs = 900 rolls

 

[tataharris]

On every hatch that I have done, I have only turned the eggs 2x a day. I usually have a very good hatch rate, too. The one time my hatch rate was lower (not low, just not as high as the others) it was a humidity (too high) problem and not a turning problem. Hope this info helps.......

Good luck with your hatching......

 

[crazedguinea]

i personally like turning the eggs manually, but then again i have never used an egg turner....i heard they just tilt the eggs slowly side to side. because i don't incubate a large number of eggs, i don't feel i need the turner at this time and turning by hand gives the family something to participate in. we wear rubber gloves when we turn them-heard something one time about skin oils and the pores in the shells so we just do it that way, we mark one side with an x, one side with an o, and try to turn them at least five times daily on good days when possible-don't get me wrong some days it's probably been 3 depending on which family member has egg duty and how well the communication is going. then closer to the hatch say we stop turning and increase the humidity. the eggs aren't out of the incubator during turning for a long time especially since we don't pack it full of eggs, in fact we try to just lift a corner of the lid and squeeze our skinny little arms in carefully to turn them so the temp stays relatively stable. if you are not putting a lot of eggs in or work part-time, i guess hand turning is fine, but if you do a lot of eggs at a time or have a full time job maybe the auto-turner would be better. i also hope to do different eggs and don't have the money to spend on one of each size turners. i do recc. getting the fan to circulate the air nicely.

 

[twigg]

Quote:
I don't think so.. at that rate, she would not have time to set hardly at all.. 90 x 10 eggs = 900 rolls

Hens turn eggs, on average, once every 30 mins.

 

[DawnSuiter]

I tried...and i work from home.... I forgot already on day two... the turner(s) have been worth the very fair price for me not having to worry