The Relation of Angle of Turning and Position of the Egg to Hatchability of Chicken Eggs

Funk and Forward (1953) reported that the percentage of hatch might be increased 5 percent or more by turning eggs 45° (total of 90°) as compared to turning them only 30°. In later experiments tests were made in which eggs held in a horizontal position and others trayed small end down were turned 30°, 45°, 60°, and 75°. All eggs were incubated in the same incubator and hatched in the same hatcher at the same time. Table 1 and Fig. 1 show the results of these tests. The number of eggs set in each lot was 1533 or a total of 12,264 eggs. The percentage of hatch of all eggs incubated small-end down was 75.1 percent as compared to 71.3 percent for eggs incubated on their side or in a horizontal position. This work confirms the 1953 report that angle of turning is important but evidently turning eggs 45° from …