Question about hatching in an automatic turner

[Germaine_11.20]

Hi, I have read a little but never tried to hatch eggs in their auto turner.
I know I have to shut it off, but my question is, isn't it hard for them to get out of the shell with it stood up on end?
If anyone does this type of hatching would you please send me your input on how and why you like it versus laying the eggs in the bottom of the incubator.
Thanks!!

 

[Cetawin]

I would not even try it myself. They can get hung up under the trays, I would not risk the babies. I am sure someone has done it but I have no idea, it just does not sounds safe to me.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Oh wow! Now that you have jogged my memory I do remember reading about that too. Thanks!!!!

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Too many things can or could go wrong if they are left to hatch in a turner and your not there 24/7 to watch them hatch out.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Thank you. I just finshed reading a book that tells you to hatch out that way. Their reasoning was that it takes the chick too long to reposition itself if you move it and that it weakens the chick.
But I do remember that they can and have gotten stuck and died in the turner and we can't open the bator because of compromising the other eggs.
So, no turner. Thanks everyone!

 

[darbella]

This time I hatched out eggs, i removed 3 rows of the egg holders as I still had eggs that were due 2 weeks after the ones that hatched out yesterday and today. I put the ones that needed to stop turning in an egg carton I trimmed down and poked holes in the bottom for air circulation. The chicks are met with the resistance and can pip without the egg rolling all over the place because the carton held the egg in place. I unplugged the turner so the hatchin chicks did not get hurt and turned the eggs by hand the last 4 days! I so far have a hatch of 7 out of 12 with 5 more to go. One had pipped but I had a spike of 104 in the bator when I got home and the hatched chicks were in there panting and I think it killed the one that had pipped. So I had to take the bator lid off and let them cool off. I am sooo bad at taking the cover off and using paper to fan off or blow to cool down the eggs, but i still get a hatching. And they are seramas which are difficult to hatch! My friends all say they want me to come and blow on their eggs for luck! it is the joke of the chicken friends I have!!

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Well I think I am going to try that darbella. Thank you

 

[skyisfalling]

i did not know my husband had put eggs in bator and i never checked on them or turned the turner off...never even filled with water and guess what...i had the best hatch in months...so i am just not sure what to do...i think i will try using an egg carton and hand turning next time...

 

[jvls1942]

you can take them out of the turner and lay them on their sides.
they have 3 or 4 days to orientate.
people do it this way all the time..

I use egg cartons and leave them standing on end until they are done hatching.. I had two sets of chickens of 2oo eggs each set and had 82% and 87% hatches from them.. the eggs that did not hatch were mostly "clears" out of both hatches combined, we had about 6 that had chicks in the eggs that did not hatch..

when you have that many chicks hatching at one time it is like popcorn popping in there..

as a further note, we let the chickens set on turkey egg until the egg pips, then we take them and put them into the bator to hatch , standing up in the egg cartons.. we hatched 26 this month like that..

 

[Germaine_11.20]

That is wonderful, I am going to do that. Does it matter if the cartons are paper or styrofoam? Just wondering if the paper would suck up too much humidity.
Fantastic job on incubating jvls and skyisfalling that is so great about your hatch too. Does make you wonder though if we need to go through all the trouble and worry that we do.