Quote:
Well, I originally found BYC to learn about incubating. I read several things over and over again in the forum. 1. The chicks play football with the unhatched eggs 2. the unhatched eggs need to stay same-side-up the last few days 3. hatching makes a mess of the incubator. So I spent the 3 weeks of incubating trying to create various 'bator inserts to help with these things. Also, a manual egg turner that didn't need the lid to be opened.
To keep the eggs from being moved too far by the newly hatched, I made a cardboard grid. 1 inch tall strips of cardboard. The outside was actually a candy gift box. I cut the top out of the lid and the floor out of the bottom half, leaving me with rectangle 'frames'. Then I stapled a grid of cardboard strips together within the frames; each to hold an individual egg. It worked well. The hatchlings still flop all over the place, but it holds the eggs in place.
Underneath, I have a piece of fabric tulle(netting). Fine enough chick toes won't get caught, but pourous enough to let the air and humidity through from underneath. It did a good job of collecting the bits of egg shell and such. (some one has mentioned the kitchen shelf lining - rubbery, holey sheets- from Rubbermaid as a good option too)
I put these things in on Day 19, replacing the egg rolling frame they were in until that day.
-Maueen
