someone please show me the "egg carton" turning method

[shawnkfl]

i get the one end is raised and switched. but, how high? is it just enough to rock them back and forth a few times a day? pictures would work wonders helping me understand this method.

 

[gabrielle1976]

You have to be carefull as raising one end puts it closer to the heating element. I would think if you could put the egg carton in there and then tilt it side to side may be better , anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[dancingbear]

If you dry incubate, you can tilt the whole 'bator instead of the carton. That way you don't loose heat, and the eggs don't get too close to the heating element. Or if the carton(s) don't take up too much space, you might be able to place it so it's inside the ring of heat element, so they don't get too close. A forced air bator would be nice, too, so the eggs aren't in a hotter air layer.

Just make sure you don't tilt enough for the eggs to fall out of the carton.

 

[insiderart]

I've been tilting the whole incubator. I am using a box of latex gloves... let me measure it. It's about 3" high. I just switch sides every 8 hours. I am "dry" incubating. My humidity is about 35% most of the time. The eggs aren't any closer to the element, the element doesn't change position relative to the tip. The element and the eggs remain stationary relative to each other.

If you fill your wells too high the water will get on your eggs and kill them (you don't wanna know how I know this

). So I am careful to just keep a minimum amount of water in, not enough to get outside the well during the tip.

I am also using egg cartons. Now I have waaaaayyyyy too many eggs so I am stuffing them in the egg carton tops using polyfiber quilt batting for cushioning. You have to make sure somehow your eggs aren't rolling around when you tip.

I have candled and I am getting great development this way, but I haven't had a hatch yet (there seems to be some confusion about my hatch date), so I'm not sure of my hatch rate. I am using a different incubator for hatching, so that throws a wrench in determining hatch rate with tipping.

However, I can tell you up to day 14 I am having great success with development by tipping the whole incubator.

I do have to watch the temperature on my incubator as there appears to be an issue of it going up or down when the lid is moved at all. This occurred when I was hand rotating too, so I think it's an issue with this particular incubator not an issue with tipping.