Turn or roll eggs

[Naturegirl37658]

I have been raising chickens for about 2 years now and I do it mostly as a hobby. I love incubating eggs. When I turn my eggs I flip them from one side to the other. I've heard that there are different ways to turn eggs. For example some people say it's better to roll eggs or only flip them to keep the large end up. What is every opinion?

 

[ThunderHillChick]

I am so interested to read the replies here! I was curious about this as well. My incubator does the turning but I really wondered about the fat side up waving side to side method after I saw the brinsea roll around in circles little round bator. My little giant was a Christmas gift from DH, While I don’t trust the gages at all, the turner seems to work very well, but wouldn’t rolling be more like what a hen does??

 

[BrinseaUS]

Are you asking about the difference between turning them side to side or turning them end over end?

A hen definitely rolls her eggs since she can't pick them up, and staying as close to what nature does as possible is important during incubation.

 

[ThunderHillChick]

Are you asking about the difference between turning them side to side or turning them end over end?

A hen definitely rolls her eggs since she can't pick them up, and staying as close to what nature does as possible is important during incubation.

that’s what I thought, but the only one I’ve seen that does the side method rather than air cell up is those little ones that do 6 or 12 chicks, which I suppose If you are certain all your eggs are fertilized would be fine, but if you wanted to sell chicks locally 12 a month wouldn’t really be worth it. ( I’m not even close to there yet)

I’ve noticed there aren’t a lot of eggs or chicks available in my area that are not barnyard mixes. my husband calls me a breed snob lol but I prefer to know that my animals are health and genetics sound. Chickens aren’t any exception.

So if rolling them is the healthiest option for incubating eggs, Are there larger incubators that roll them? Or do they sacrifice quality for quantity.
This is an honest question, not meaning to offend Anyone or their practices. I just want to learn

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

It becomes a number game. Both in terms of successful hatch count and the work it takes to get them there.

How many eggs are you looking to hatch a week? What breeds will you be hatching?

 

[starri33]

My incubator a janeol 12 rolls them, when I have had to hand turn, I had marked X's and O's and would turn them to one side or the other and as they were laying down, I would turn them also where the small end was pointing one way and then next flip the big end. the hatch wasn't amazing but then it was shipped eggs.

 

[ThunderHillChick]

My incubator a janeol 12 rolls them, when I have had to hand turn, I had marked X's and O's and would turn them to one side or the other and as they were laying down, I would turn them also where the small end was pointing one way and then next flip the big end. the hatch wasn't amazing but then it was shipped eggs.

those shipped eggs are a Serious crapshoot. My marans eggs looked Awesome when they arrived. But my Svart Hona eggs were very porous. Either way out of 17 shipped eggs I got 2 good chicks and one that was deformed. A few quitters, a few blood rings, and a lot that just were just not fertilized. ( I suppose December May not be the best time for shipped eggs )

 

[starri33]

those shipped eggs are a Serious crapshoot. My marans eggs looked Awesome when they arrived. But my Svart Hona eggs were very porous. Either way out of 17 shipped eggs I got 2 good chicks and one that was deformed. A few quitters, a few blood rings, and a lot that just were just not fertilized. ( I suppose December May not be the best time for shipped eggs )

Sorry to hear about the bad hatch rate, I'm not sure that timing really has that much to do with it, but it could as they can get cold during shipping, I think my first shipped were scrambled, I had no chicks out of that batch. I'm thinking about getting some shipped again, I'd like to get some more NN. But haven't decided. I've got a friend I can get some from in Phoenix AZ, by driving down, but that costs me far more than what having them shipped from Florida would. I'm in AZ on the opposite side of the USA from FL. I think eventually I'll end up with a NN flock instead of the mixed I have right now.