I have the R Com 20 with the egg tray. All eggs are marked with a dot in the middle so I know when they are auto turning correctly. There is a section on the right side of the incubator that doesn't turn the eggs, three of them. Granted, there were some calcium chunks on those eggs and I filed them off smooth, but they still aren't turning. I "think" it has to with contact of the turning floor and the tray, maybe there is a slight warp in the egg tray? I hand turn them 2 or three times a day - which is probably not enough, and I also don't turn them at the same times each day.
This is day 7. Is it too late to remove the egg tray and put the slats in instead?
I tried to candle the three eggs last night but they're too dark.
Any suggestions? This is my very first hatch and I'm starting to get crabby like BroodZilla LOL BTW, she is still a fierce and excellent mother! Now she flies out of the pen to get me when I clean, feed or water them.
Incubator question/problem
Annie, Annie, Annie. Your not going to harm those eggs by taking them out long enough to make changes. Also don't worry about hand turning them, a couple times to three times a day is plenty suffficient. Don't get yourself all worked up, it's going to be alright. Sometimes mom will be off the nest twenty minutes at a time. During incubation I once lost power for four hours and they hatched out with no problem...Hay
Hay, are you suggesting that I'm being a Nervous Nellie about this? LOL You'd be correct! That is what I'm going to do tonight, swap out the egg tray for the slats and pretend "mom" was taking a break.
I'm not going to worry about power going out even though we had a snow storm last night and electrical line and trees limbs are hanging low with ice & snow. Nope, not gonna think about it....AURRGH!
As always, thanks Hay!!
I don't want to add to your nervousness Annie, this is only a precaution.
The only thing I'd be concerned about is how long they have been incubating.. If it's only like 8 to 10 days or less, the eggs are quite delicate at that stage, so just be careful not to "jar" the eggs.. Those tiny spiderweb veins can dislodge..
When mom gets off the nest, they are not moved and they are huddled together staying warm. So be cautious, but quick.. you also don't want a huge temp fluctuation at this point.. (unless it's closer to hatch time) they can handle temp changes a lot better later in their incubation.
Hi there Nervous Nellie...LOL...The caution form ZZ's is as usual excellent, I guess us guy's are a little rougher in our approach. I'm not near the nurturer my wife and other women are. I throw em against the wall and expect them to hatch. You know kind of a Manup thing...LOL. Annie what would we do without you...Hay
Thanks ZZ's I almost wore gloves when I changed out the tray for the slats LOL.
I'm so glad you weren't here to help me, Hay, you would have been washing the walls!
It's all changed over now and I'm going to quit stressing it. 18 shipped eggs, the odds aren't great to begin with. I'm just going to kick back and relax now (yeah, right).