How do you hand turn incubator eggs?

[sjcolorwing]

I just bought a new incubator that was custom made. The egg turner I bought seperate is to wide. My other incubator has a turner. So if you are going to hand turn do you just lay the eggs in horizontally, like when you take them off the egg turner. Except they will be on their rotated sides for 18 days of incubation, then I am suppose to stop hand turning them correct. On my incubator with turner I believe this is day 18 so I need to put them on the floor and raise the humidity. I hope I can find a size turner for this custom unit. I don't like opening the unit so much is why I don't like hand turning. Have had trouble getting the temp to stabilze. The eggs have been sitting to long, I have turned them and stored them in basement , but could have been a bit cooler, low 70s. Do I have to turn them a whole halve turn each time or a quarter and 3X's day?

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Yes, just place them on their side.

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I dont turn eggs by hand - I roll them.

We are always advised to mark them with "X's" and "O's" and turn them slavishly, this side or that one, up. Dont fail, dont miss it.
But my friend, who has hatched more birds than all of us combined, told me one day,
"David, stop wastin' your time with all that rolling stuff. There aint no hen knowns nothing about all that. So, just put your hand in there and firmly, but gently, roll them around - - and then close the incubator. Do it a couple times a day and thats it."

So I did. You know what? He was right.
It made no difference one way or another. You may wish to consider it.

 

[DANNY]

I put an X on one side and an O on the other. The reason for that is to make sure they all get turned correctly. And oh yes a hen knows exactly what she is doing. Don't woory about opening the bator there is way too much made of that. It won't hurt a thing. Broody hens come off for longer than it takes to turn the eggs. I always turn them when i get up, when iget home from work and before i go to bed.

 

[Rysktal]

Quote:



------------------------------------------------------

I dont turn eggs by hand - I roll them.

We are always advised to mark them with "X's" and "O's" and turn them slavishly, this side or that one, up. Dont fail, dont miss it.
But my friend, who has hatched more birds than all of us combined, told me one day,
"David, stop wastin' your time with all that rolling stuff. There aint no hen knowns nothing about all that. So, just put your hand in there and firmly, but gently, roll them around - - and then close the incubator. Do it a couple times a day and thats it."

So I did. You know what? He was right.
It made no difference one way or another. You may wish to consider it.

Super old post but I was wondering if anyone else had success with this method of rolling eggs instead of turning them?

 

[Berryworm]

I made it differently: I put a kind of rack in the incubator, and by pushing the rack all the eggs get turned at the same time. Some automatic egg turners work in the same way, I simply built mine with wood. Morning one side, mid-day other side, evening again turning.

 

[Rysktal]

I made it differently: I put a kind of rack in the incubator, and by pushing the rack all the eggs get turned at the same time. Some automatic egg turners work in the same way, I simply built mine with wood. Morning one side, mid-day other side, evening again turning.

That is a very cool idea!