Hatching on the wire floor or in an egg carton?

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dwegg

dwegg

Songster
11 Years
Nov 10, 2009
1,705
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Grant Park, Atlanta, GA
I have read about people hatching the chicks in egg cups/cartons but most just put the eggs on the wire floor of the bator.

My question is...do the first hatched chicks effect the hatch/eggs if they run around and knock them about and the eggs roll around?

P.S..I have never seen or hatched eggs before..
 
If your humidity is to high day 1-18 carton hatch may not be a good idea. Your cupping moisture around the chick. You can cut the carton in to strips an put the eggs in it. They will stay on there side but be held in place.
 
In my experience they do. I just finished a hatch this am. Had 13 hatch out of 20. One of the chicks rolled over an egg that had pipped. I didn't notice it at first and the fluids left in the egg filled the bottom where the chicks head was and it drowned, Although I have foam type shelf lining on top of the wire, so they have better footing, I am seriously considering hatching them in a carton. Although I take them out of the bator and put them in the brooder when they get mobile so they don't jostle the other eggs. I was real upset I missed this one. Everyone has a different opinion and does what works for them.
 
interesting...I would really like to hear from others and your experience if and how eggs should/could be secured so they don't get rolled over and kill the chicks trying to hatch ect...I am worried that me being such a newbie to hatching chicks that I wouldn't notice if they rolled over or no what to do if they did.

I have seen pics of people putting the eggs in cut down Styrofoam cup bottoms so they are not 'wrapped' by the sides like an egg carton. I thought it looked a good idea?
 
Ever since I started hatching in cartons, I will never hatch again without them. I poke holes in the bottom of the cartons and then I trim down the sides. Seems like the chicks hatch faster and have an easier time getting out since they don't keep getting kicked around by the newly hatched chicks and having to reposition themselves.
 
do you have any pics of this? or anyone have any pics of this strategy for us newbies? it sounds a good idea as long as they have room to get out and not 'sweat'..?
 
If you use paper cartons be careful to cut them down low so the chick zipping does not come in contact with the paper carton. I had great humidity in the bator hatching some silkies a few months back and one pipped and started zipping fine then its zip came in contact with the paper carton. The carton wicked the moisture out of the membrane and the chick got stuck to the dried part of the membrane and couldn't keep zipping. I managed to get it out but I don't like to open the bator til everyone has hatched. I still hatch in cartons but I am very careful to cut them down as far as possible and will often offset the cartons with every other hole holding a rock because if you have a small hatch and a few eggs on one side hatch there is no weight in that side of the carton and the eggs in the opposite side of the carton fall over! It is much better than egg soccer though! Those first few hatchlings are the craziest ones and they will run all over your other eggs! Good luck.
jumpy.gif
 
We just laid the eggs down for our first hatch, but have used cartons ever since. I will not hatch without them. We use the paper trays that come with like the 5 dozen egg boxes at the grocery store and cut them down for however many eggs we have hatching. They zip a lot better in the cartons, IMO, and don't knock the rest of the eggs around while the others are pipping and zipping. Also, clean up is a lot eaiser.
 
Please put them on a papertowel, on the wire bottum of the incubator. egg cartons can REALLY effect the hatching. After the chicks hatch they basically wake all the others up when they roll them around
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It ain't gonna hurt the unhatched eggs to be rolled around.
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Quote:
paper towel? ok I guess that would keep them a little more stable as well..but I have read that if the egg is rolled over then the chick has to reposition itself and can die if it can't ect...or can drown ...
 

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