Turning eggs by tilting incubator???

[thanderson]

I read somewhere that another way to turn your eggs is to put them in a egg carton and elevate one side then the other. So we decided to try it and so far it's been working. Then I got thinking could I do the same thing but just with the incubator? That way it cuts down on the opening and handling of the eggs. Has anyone tried this and what are your thoughts?

 

[lazy gardener]

Depending on how big a load of eggs you have in your bator, and how stable it is, that would be just fine. The caveat is that it's recommended that you tip those eggs at a 45* angle. That's a very steep angle! If you have a big load of eggs in the bator, it may not be stable enough for that kind of tilting. Also... when it's sitting at a 45* angle, how stable is it going to be? You could certainly make some sort of rack for it to sit in. One fellow several years ago, decided to try the whole bator egg turning thing by "jiggling" the bator 3 or more times/day. He never did publish his results.

 

[slipshift]

I'm new to incubating, can you really just tilt them? I marked an egg under my broody hen after she left the nest when we were handing out noodle snacks. The eggs seemed to be rolled on their sides, not end to end.

Jim

 

[lazy gardener]

Most of the egg turners that come with incubators have the egg standing on end as they would be in an egg carton, and they are then tilted slowly side to side. The commercial hatcheries turn eggs in this fashion also. Many folks who don't have an electric turner place their eggs in a carton, and tilt the whole carton. I've done so. (I've also incubated them laying flat on their side, and rolled side to side.) When I incubate, I make sure that my eggs not only get turned, but get moved around in the incubator. My bator, even with a fan, and lots of air baffles to help eliminate hot/cold spots... still has some temp variance. So, the eggs get moved around between warm/not so warm areas. Yes, a broody will roll her eggs. Goes to show, there's no one right way to do it. The end justifies the means.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If it is a forced air incubator you can do that. If it is a still air it won't work.
The concept of still air incubators is that hot air rises. Measured at the top of the egg, it should be 100.5F so that theoretically, the middle of the egg would be 99.5F (ideal incubation temperature.
If you tilt a still air incubator, the high end can get up to 104 while the low end may be 96.
I know, I tried it cause I was too busy to replace my main incubator controller before I needed to set eggs.