Turning eggs with an auto-turner??

[rosiesgirls]

I am trying to hatch out Muscovy eggs for the first time and have borrowed an incubator. It has an auto-turner that is working however, most of the information I've found says I still need to turn them manually about 3 times a day, even with the auto-turner. I took this to mean that I should turn them end-for-end (top to bottom) but now just read an article that says it's important that the air pocket stays in the up position. If that's the case, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to turn them.

Can anyone explain this to me? I'm sorry if it seems like a dumb question!

I also don't know how old these eggs are...my neighbor took them out from under a duck and isn't sure when they were laid. I'm fairly certain I'll be able to tell, over time, by candling, weighing, and watching the air cell, when they're getting close to hatching. I'm very surprised by the difference in weight, though. I have 8 eggs and they range from 71 grams to 85! Is that normal? Do duck eggs range that much in weight when they're laid? I'm wondering if some of them might be quite a bit further along than the others and have lost weight due to that, or if they simply weighed different amounts at the outset.

Thanks, in advance, for your help!

 

[redranger209]

You don’t need to turn them. At all, because of the auto turner.

 

[redranger209]

The top air cell thing is just got shipped eggs with detached air sacs. I have an incubator with an auto turner with the eggs laying on their side. I get 90-100 percent hatch rate almost everytime.

 

[rosiesgirls]

Thank you! Any thoughts on the weights? Do eggs of the same "age" vary that much in weight? They look pretty similar during candling and the air sacks are pretty much the same size. I just expected them to weigh basically the same amount.

 

[redranger209]

I’ve never weighed my eggs, I hav no clue about that.

 

[rosiesgirls]

Ok, thanks. Perhaps someone else can help me with that...

 

[WVduckchick]

Duck eggs can be quite a range in sizes even from the same hen. Are you sure they are all Muscovy or could some be another breed of duck?

Probably your mixed research mentions that duck eggs usually do better when incubated on their side, and rolled manually, but auto turners work for them too. In an upright auto turner, air cell (fat end) should always be up!

 

[rosiesgirls]

Thank you! Yes, these are definitely all Muscovy eggs and, to the best of my knowledge, all from the same duck.
What I’m really concerned about is trying to get a better idea of a hatch date. My understanding is that I should increase the humidity and lay them on their sides several days ahead of that date. Without knowing how old they are, I’m not sure when to do that.
I’m fairly certain, judging by the size of the air sacs, that she’d been setting them for around 10-12 days. I’ve candled them all and can see a moving embryo in each, but don’t have any experience with determining their age based on what I see.
I’m hoping that, as time passes, I’ll get enough of an idea that I’ll know when to lay them down. I guess we’ll see!

 

[pittmanbirds]

You can watch for pips, then once you see them take them out of the turners and crank the humidity up.

 

[WVduckchick]

Thank you! Yes, these are definitely all Muscovy eggs and, to the best of my knowledge, all from the same duck.
What I’m really concerned about is trying to get a better idea of a hatch date. My understanding is that I should increase the humidity and lay them on their sides several days ahead of that date. Without knowing how old they are, I’m not sure when to do that.
I’m fairly certain, judging by the size of the air sacs, that she’d been setting them for around 10-12 days. I’ve candled them all and can see a moving embryo in each, but don’t have any experience with determining their age based on what I see.
I’m hoping that, as time passes, I’ll get enough of an idea that I’ll know when to lay them down. I guess we’ll see!

If the air cells are growing at what appear to be proper rates, I would suggest candling at approximately the time you guess is about day 30ish. If the portion close to the air cell is nice and full and dark, then they are getting close and turning can be stopped and you can take the turner out and lay them down. Don’t increase humidity at that point yet. Then watch for the air cell to start to draw down. That’s when I would increase the humidity.
You can wait for a pip and would definitely need increased when you do see one, but you should be able to guess a couple days in advance.