# Automatic Egg Turner?



## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

i have a problem, i have not used an incubator very much and not at all in the last few years, but here is my problem, i set up one of the styrophom incubators with an automatic egg turner and got about 20 Blue eggs from a guy who wasnt sure if they would hatch because the hens were young and just started laying, i figured why not, i also put some of my hens eggs in, full incubator and NOT ONE of them develped ANYTHING< then i put in a few more eggs from my hens and it looks like they are doing the same, 

now i know my hens are old enough as there are no new pullets laying yet and there is enough rooster activeity out there to fertilize every hen in lower alabama and still have some left over, the incubator is set on 100* and the egg turner is going, but here is my question, Could the Turner be turning TOO MUCH? i unpluged the turner and set a few more eggs to check my theory, i will turn it back on later tonight then unplug it again, when i was setting the temp i had it running and i kept checking every so often and it seamed the turner just kept rocking back and forth, 

this is a CLEAR example as to why i keep so many game hens to go broody, but there are none broody now so i have to mess with this OTHER way lol


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## roolover (Jul 16, 2007)

KSALguy, you need to upgrade to a decent incubator. Those styrofoam things produce more heartbreak than chicks IMO.


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## switchman62 (Oct 19, 2007)

All the automatic turners I've seen turn constantly but, at a very slow rate. If like you say

"i kept checking every so often and it seamed the turner just kept rocking back and forth" 

then it sounds like it is moving waaaay to fast. Mine you can't really see moving but, if you check every half hour or so you can see it has moved.

Dave


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

yes i know its a cheap incubater, and i know there are better ones, back several years ago i had decent results from similar ones but with out the turner, i figured the turner would help simplify things, it looks as if the turner rocks back and forth again once an hour give or take, eggs should only be turned twice a day or so right?>? at the minimum this turner seems to be turning the eggs 6-8 times a day probably more, again i like broody hens ALOT BETTER, but i want to get some eggs hatched from the hodge podge i have now before my shipment comes in from Ideal next month,


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Does the turner have it's own cord? If so you could just plug it in twice a day, let it turn the eggs once, then unplug it.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

thats what i am testing out and see if it works, otherwise i have no idea why the eggs are not developing,


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

First off...hovabators work great. I love mine and have always had VERY successful hatches from it. I am underwhelmed with the little giant however..seems to be the design of the heater/temp controller in that one.

Do you have a fan in yours? that will help immensely with temp control...BUT it does seem that the egg turner may well be the problem. I have 2 turners, and you can't tell they're even moving. They are set to rock the egg 130?degrees every 8 hours. Too much turning is definitely a BAD thing. 

remember about humidity, too. Get your thermometers set in a couple places inside to make sure the temp is right, keep some water in the trays in the bottom, and rotate the trays by hand...then see what you get.


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## egg head (Nov 11, 2009)

I put a line on one of my boards to show me the angle of the egg. When I check the incubators later I check again. (one of those erasable boards). The fan is the big difference. Put a thermometer on top of the eggs, you would be amazed at the temperature difference from the bottom to the top of a still air incubator.


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## suelandress (May 10, 2002)

Mine has a fan and there's still a vast difference.


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## egg head (Nov 11, 2009)

Do you have it in a controlled environment. We get a ninety percent hatch rate in our hovabator. The temperature doesn't change five degrees all day were we have it though.


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## suelandress (May 10, 2002)

It's in the most controlled environment room we have. But I'm talking about the difference at the top of the egg versus at the bottom of the egg at the same time (yes, we have multiple thermometers in there)


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

after a few days in the incubator it looks like a shadow in the egg like something started then stopped, its really starting to irk me, i think i am going to take the turner out and do it the other way and see if i dont get the same results,


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

The turner broke in mine so now I just tip the whole incubator once or twice a day. I have a big wooden wedge that fits under the incubator. Whenever I remember, I'll go in and either put the wedge under one side or another or take the wedge out and leave it flat.

I keep the temperature at just under 100 degrees and we have enough humidity around here that after an initial bit of water, I don't add any extra. Generally the hatches are pretty good.


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## egg head (Nov 11, 2009)

We only have about 2 degrees (99-101) at the most. Sorry to hear the fan doesn't help. It is a hovabator with turner and fan. We do have a Montgomery Ward (300 egg) incubator and it holds the temperature with a fan near perfect except when the weather takes a turn for the worse or the better. Just a suggestion you might want to put a 1X2 underneath it on both sides for better air, just making a suggestion. Hope you get good hatches still.


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## onthespot (Oct 7, 2007)

I have tossed the turners. Still have them but am not using them. I am nearly filling the floor of the bator with about sixty or seventy eggs, then turning them by just slowly scooping the outside ones to the inside, and pushing the inside ones to the outside, I can feel by hand which eggs need to move to the center. Opening it also gives better air exchange. I have had excellent results with that method. I am keeping the incubator in my linen clothset though. I need to find a better, more convenient place for it. I don't heat my house and get wide temp swings. I am losing the battle with myself about putting it back into my bedroom. I thought I had made great strides by getting it out of there, but I think it would be even more stable as that is the only room in my house that I heat, and I am in there a lot to check on things (temp and humidity) and rotate eggs.

Also, I use an Accurite hygrometer/thermometer and check it often. I got mine at walmart for around $10. I run my humidity around 35-45%, and temp of the hygrometer setting on top of the eggs around 101-102F. Hope that helps.


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## suelandress (May 10, 2002)

I have 2 hovabators, one is older than time and one is only a couple of years old. The old ones' fan blows only when the heat turns on. The newer one runs the fan constantly. I actually end up using the old one because no matter what I run for humidity, the new one tends to result in a lot of stuck chicks. I figure they are drying out because of the blowing air....and that's with running the last 3 days of hatch at 65-70% humidity. 

Onthespot.....I hope this change works out for you. Before I got the turners, I used foam egg cartons with the bottoms cut out (for air circulation) and propped them up in various positions several times a day. Best as I can tell, my turner moves them 4 times a day.


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## Helena (May 10, 2002)

I have noticed in past years that if I try to incubate eggs this time of year, even before May in fact, that they don't hatch well. I have a couple of these same incubators but the turner is long gone and I hand turn them about 3 times a day at least. So...might be too early for the roosters to get goin' ?? :baby04:


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Nathan, check your thermometer for accuracy or get a new one.


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