[thestephens]

I have acquired a second hand brinsea 20 digital but it has no cradle to automatically turn the eggs, the instructions don't seem to tell me how and how often I should turn the eggs, any advice or do I need to buy a cradle (they look very expensive!)

[bigchicken]

I have a couple of brinsea incubators and just move the incubator onto the opposite 45% three times a day and that works well for me.

[thestephens]

so just turn the whole incubator, not the eggs?
 

[bigchicken]

Yes as long as the egg deviders are in place to stop the eggs moving.

[HesterF]

That's the joy of their octagons - they roll over beautifully and sit at the right angle on opposite sides. But, no, you don't need a cradle. I have one and ended up not using it quite a lot of the time last season. It does help if you're not around during the day though.

[Penninehillbilly]

minimum 3 times a day, I've read that 5 is better, even time periods between turning.
 

[chrismahon]

They are turned an odd number of times to alternate the side on the longer night period Thestephens. They need to move 90 degrees in total so 45 degrees each way is great. I have also heard that 5 times is better but have never had problems just turning them 3 times, which is a lot less effort. If you can turn them without touching the eggs it reduces the risk of introducing infection dramatically.

[Marches Farmer]

The Brinsea cradle turner will turn them one way and then back the other every hour.  I would think it more important to turn them regularly at around that interval in the first ten days of hatching, so that the developing chick doesn't stick to one side.

[Stereo]

We have 2 of these and the auto turner is great if you can get hold of one. Excellent hatch rates.