Well whoopdee do I have a reason for bad hatches here

[snaffle]

H HA!!!

I think I have found the reason some of my hatches have been so bad!!! I have replaced digital thermostats... bought egg thermometers... bought a very good hygrometer... did the salt/water test and tested a zillion humidity readers in this house...increased humidity... lowered humidity... and read how a couple of people had turners stop turning. BINGO I have been watching one of my turners for 1 1/2 hours and the dang thing has not moved. I can hear the itty bitty motor but it is not moving.

 

[snaffle]

@AmyLynn2374

 

[AmyLynn2374]

AH HA!!!

I think I have found the reason some of my hatches have been so bad!!! I have replaced digital thermostats... bought egg thermometers... bought a very good hygrometer... did the salt/water test and tested a zillion humidity readers in this house...increased humidity... lowered humidity... and read how a couple of people had turners stop turning. BINGO I have been watching one of my turners for 1 1/2 hours and the dang thing has not moved. I can hear the itty bitty motor but it is not moving.

That's not good!! It can definitely effect your hatch rate. If the egg doesn't get turned, the chick/yolk can stick to one side of the shell (not sure where/how they would stick left upright w/o turning) but it would hinder growth and development.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What kind of turner do you have? Maybe someone could help you with your specific model. My turner for the Hovabator 1588 has slipped out of the tracks couple of times, generally at the very start because I don’t get it together exactly right when I set up the number of trays. That’s operator error on my part. And they move so slowly you’re not always quick to notice it’s not moving. Aggravating for me since in my case it’s self-inflicted.

Turning serves two purposes. As Amy said, the yolk or developing chick can settle and touch the inside of the shell. The shell is porous so the yolk or chick can dry out where it is touching and get stuck. They can’t move to pip when that happens, even if they continue to develop. That’s not going to happen immediately but over a bit of time.

Another place turning helps is to get the body parts to form in the right places. That doesn’t mean parts will always form in the wrong places if you don’t turn them, but it is certainly possible. You can get deformed chicks or more likely chicks that die late in incubation but before pip when they start to depend on their body to work right. There have been studies that show turning three times a day is enough but it’s really better if you can manage a few more. That’s one reason I like the autoturners. They may be slow but they do turn them several times a day if I hook them up right.

By Day 14 the body parts have formed and a membrane has formed around the chick (the same membrane that can shrink-wrap a chick if it is too dry) to protect it from contact with the sides of the shell. Turning helps that membrane develop. It’s not long after this they are so big they can’t avoid touching the inside of the shell, so you can stop turning after 14 days if you want to. It doesn’t hurt to keep turning, it’s just that you don’t have to.

I don’t know how long or when yours was not turning. I once had one go a full day not turning before I noticed and I still had a good hatch. Not turning does not guarantee you total failure but it certainly is not a good thing. One sign this might be happening is that chicks die in the third week of incubation.

Good luck in working it out.

 

[snaffle]

My incubator is a Genesis 1588 and the turner is the one sold for it. I have it sitting on my kitchen counter... plugged in. I watched it closely and noticed the little arm that comes out of the turner motor was moving but not the egg racks. I wiggled it a lot and now the racks are moving. I sprayed a bit of WD40 on it too.

I have 3 turners and the oldest shouldnt be more than 3 or 4 years old. I am not going to trust it 100%
Pretty sure that the humidity during lockdown is not high enough too... working on that too