Doing it wrong (so you don't have to)

[kss1113]

I do have room when I take out the turning tray.. but, shouldn't they be on their side? And, how would they hatch it they were in an egg tray?

 

[feedman77]

I hatch upright. In my brinsea.

Last batch in my 1588 I hatched in a egg tray. Kept chicks from playing soccer. reduced the mess.

Once they pop out they just run around on the screen or crawl around on the eggs that are hatching. Without rolling all over the place.

 

[chiques chicks]

I do have room when I take out the turning tray.. but, shouldn't they be on their side?  And, how would they hatch it they were in an egg tray?

If you incubate upright and place them on a cut down egg carton, they will generally pip near the top and hop or flop out.

You need to cut away a lot of the egg carton leaving essentially a bunch of short rings. I cut the bottoms of each egg section away as well as most of the top, leaving just the connecting ribs and part of the bottom. I use a sharp blade and the styrofoam cartoons.

The incubator I used in these experiments is designed for horizontal incubating and hatching.

 

[ForrestGump]

I've had chicks occasionally pip on the bottom side of the egg even when they are not rolled around by the other chicks. Most of them magically pop out on their own with no problem. However, there have been a couple that have drowned or suffocated before I realized there was an issue. It makes me sad every time, but once they are gone there is nothing I can do. My last hatch was a large one and I I lost 2 that way.

 

[twisted-acres-farm]

LOVE the thread title GREAT JOB

 

[chiques chicks]

LOVE the thread title   GREAT JOB 

Thanks!

I didn't really feel like Hatching a lot this year, but can't just let incubators sit empty!

I hope the lack of attention want viewed as not caring.

My goal was to show that, even under less than ideal conditions, there can be some success. I was satisfied with the 40-50% hatch rates. I would LOVE people to take the plunge and incubate, the rewards are high. This shows that if you don't have expectations of near perfect hatch rates, anyone can still hatch a few. Last year I had loaned this incubator to someone for their kids to watch, unaware of the temperature problem. They managed 2/24, but the kids were still very happy to watch.

The eggs were free, so nothing lost. I have figured out a few things concerning the deaths of the three chicks in the first run. They were unrelated to the Hatching, more related to brooding and the fact they were albino. They were picked on by the other chicks, switching to a red brooder light helped the next time, so far. All five from the second batch are doing well.

Would I do this with expensive purchased eggs? No. With my own excess, yes, I really don't need all the birds!

 

[ForrestGump]

It is great to experiment with cheaper eggs. You can learn a lot and also teach what you know to others. Then when you have rare or more expensive eggs to hatch you'll be able to troubleshoot more easily and save a few if there are problems.

 

[kss1113]

Yes, I had that happen with one of my chicks on the last incubation. The other one it happened to, we decided to help out and she has lived. Funny, she is smaller than all the other chicks but has done well.

Kathy

 

[kss1113]

If you incubate upright and place them on a cut down egg carton, they will generally pip near the top and hop or flop out.

You need to cut away a lot of the egg carton leaving essentially a bunch of short rings. I cut the bottoms of each egg section away as well as most of the top, leaving just the connecting ribs and part of the bottom. I use a sharp blade and the styrofoam cartoons.

The incubator I used in these experiments is designed for horizontal incubating and hatching.

I use the Brinsea for 7 eggs and a Little Giant for my overflow. I lay the eggs on their side once I take out the turner at day 18. Maybe I can figure something out.

 

[chiques chicks]

I use the Brinsea for 7 eggs and a Little Giant for my overflow.  I lay the eggs on their side once I take out the turner at day 18.  Maybe I can figure something out.

I've never had an issue putting them on their sides at lockdown. I switched to egg cartons because I can fit more in my hatcher!