As others have mentioned... colubrid eggs are particularly sturdy. This is not true of all eggs, and even colubrid eggs can be damaged. Before I get into any details I will say that you should always try to avoid turning eggs.



When the eggs are laid they can be safely rotated for the first few hours (possibly even as long as 48 hours) before the embryo attaches to the top of the egg. This is why many people can drop / roll eggs by accident when collecting them from the female and still have the eggs hatch out fine.



The first few weeks are where the egg is most vulnerable to be turned. The yolk is dense and sinks to the bottom of the egg. The hatchling is tiny at this stage compared to the weight of the yolk. If the egg is turned upside down the yolk could smother the embryo, or even more likely is that rough/quick turning of the egg (dropping, rolling) can easily damage delicate membranes within the egg. Ever made a scrambled egg by shaking the egg?



Later in incubation (species dependent but lets say 1/2 way) the embryo has gotten big enough that turning the egg is unlikely to cause any damage unless it is very rough handling. Some people have reported that embryos will pip out from the bottom of the egg if the egg is turned late in incubation.



Turning an egg gently by 10-20 degrees in any direction is not going to ever cause much harm..

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Show Entire Thread ]