Can I put egg cartons in incubator?

[AlleysChicks]

Did you place them pointy end down or up?...Just wondering what could of happened?..

fat end up, pointy end down. Shipping happened lol

 

[AlleysChicks]

See the ACs? 2nd pic is of the pips at the wrong end(found them too late and they were already gone.)
The 2 that are still up in the pic are the 2 that hatched after I laid them on their sides.

 

[GlennLee]

I have 11 eggs sitting upright in cardboard egg cartons with the ends opened for air circulation right now. Had to move to this position due to detached air cells - caused by the USPS not being able to read FRAGILE.

So, I'm going to leave them upright and not turn them after day 16. I am now "turning" by slightly shifting the egg from left to right and making a quarter turn clockwise. I have read to leave them upright until the first one starts to pip, then lay all of them down on their sides for hatching and lockdown.

Does this sound like it's a plan that may work or would you leave them upright the entire hatch time?

 

[Harmony Fowl]

I actually use little trays from chocolates to incubate. When I first started incubating, I remember reading that correct position was on its side with the fat end slightly elevated. These candy trays fit the bill. Now I’m aware it may not be necessary, but the habit has been formed.

I find such a tool handy for when I rotate eggs thanks to cool spots in the incubator. They also come in handy anytime I need to move the incubator since they mostly stop eggs from rolling around. You can see from my picture that I don’t cover the entire surface. Doing it like that, I’ve had no problems with humidity. I do wonder about the humidity and the porous nature of paper egg cartons, but I’m sure lots of people have used them before.

 

[GlennLee]

@Harmony Fowl great idea and I see you are using a towel. Just saw that on a post about using a towel during hatching. I use towels as the first bedding in my brooder and like the idea of using it in the incubator for hatching. Any issues you have found with that addition?

 

[GlennLee]

One more question about the candy box inserts - do you reuse after washing and sanitizing or replace each time? That's a lot of chocolates I'll have to eat! Darn!

 

[Harmony Fowl]

I actually took the towels out. We were having difficulty getting a consistent and appropriate temperature in the incubator and my boyfriend was adamant they would help insulate and keep it warmer. They didn’t and I took them out. I have used towels in the past to prop eggs up in place of the candy trays. They work a little less well since they aren’t uniform. I do wash and reuse candy trays. We wash and reuse the incubator, right? lol Really, those particular ones are fantastic and they came from a coworker of my ex who makes chocolates but has discontinued his business at the moment. I have a handful of them and I will make them last as long as I can! They do limit how many eggs I can fit, but the incubator only has so many warm spots anyway, so that comes out to the same thing.

 

[GlennLee]

Maybe cracker or cookie box inserts would work. I'll have to start paying attention or start eating more chocolates! Thanks!

 

[lazy gardener]

I have home made bators. Both with fans, but still some warmer/cooler spots. Heat source is 2 x 40W light bulbs mounted fairly high in the bators. I almost always incubate in egg cartons. I have found that by cutting the carton in half, so there are 6 cells/half gives me the perfect vehicle to move groups of eggs throughout the bator compartment to expose all eggs to the warmer/cooler spots.

Much as I assume might happen with a large clutch of eggs under a broody hen. The outer eggs would eventually swap eggs with the eggs in the middle as she repeatedly turns them.

I prop the cartons from side to side. Every day or so, I also give each egg a 1/4 turn in it's cell so that it is not always tipped in the same plane relative to the embryo position. Last hatch, I hot melted a piece of PVC pipe under each carton so I could see-saw the carton on the PVC pivot point. I never bothered cutting a hole in the bottom of my cartons, and have used styrofoam, (don't like it) plastic, and cardboard. When the eggs reach day 14, I take them out of the cartons and lay them flat for the remainder of the hatch, since chicks start to get into hatch position on day 14.

 

[GlennLee]

@lazy gardener do you lay down eggs with detached air cells as well on day 14?