Egg Carton Hatching Method Feedback *UPDATE*Tried It*Relults*

[ChicknThief]

OK, I have some eggs in the bator right now, and am already looking three weeks ahead to the hatch day! I have been considering the egg carton hatch method, but still have some reservations. I would really love to hear from anyone who has tried this, or thought about trying this.

What do you think of it?
Did you have a significant rise of hatch rate?
Did you lose chicks due to being malpositioned, and therefore up-side down in the carton?


All feedback is welcome and appreciated!

 

[Katy]

It's worked great for me...done it several times now and I can't see going back to the old way.

 

[AussieSharon]

I just finished trying this method and can't give a whole lot of feedback as my previous hatch was 8 out of 12 so not a lot to compare to.

I did find that those eggs that hatched in the egg carton did just fine, no upside down pips, they zipped and got out easily. But so did the ones I lay on the mesh in the bator. Clean up was certainly easier. Would I use the egg carton method again, yes.

 

[Leslie In North Pole]

I am currently trying that method as well.

I like how several of the eggs so far have hatched out. I did have one chick accidentally fall back into a shell head first that I had to rescue, lol. So far my present hatch is going well and the chicks, pheasants, and goslings that I have in the brooder are healthy, active, and noisy.

The hatching chicks aren't rolling eggs but they are still making a mess on the other eggs and in the cartons. It definitely makes pipps a lot easier to see.

I can't say that it has improved or decreased hatch rate as almost all of the eggs I am dealing with are shipped and that isn't a factor that you can control hatchability on. The chicks don't hatch upside down. So far, I haven't had any chicks try to pip out the narrow end.

 

[swiftfoot]

what eggaxtly is the method

 

[ChicknThief]

The theory is that if you put the eggs in an egg carton on day eighteen instead of just loose on the bottom of the hatcher, the eggs wont get banged around quite so much by the hatched chicks.



So far I am liking what I am hearing, and I think I may try this when the time comes....

 

[rooster-red]

 

[swiftfoot]

wow i am going to try this method also
it makes sense that the eggs dont roll around when the others hatch

 

[ChicknThief]

What a great pic RR! And now a question especially for you.

Did you have any problems with the 18 ct egg cartons? I noticed that there are eggs in between eggs, and was wondering if they had any extra trouble getting over the other eggs to get out of their shell? This is pretty ironic, because all we have are 18 ct, and I was actually thinking about that as I posted this thread! LOL.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm not sure about it myself. I do know someone who lost a chick because it pipped and zipped low on the egg, was not noticed and died because it could not get out. That may not be common, but it did happen. I might try it with part of my hatch I've just started, but in general, I'd rather try to mimic the mother hen a little more by laying them on their sides. Granted, under a hen, the eggs do not get bowled around by their siblings, though. I may do part of them that way and part the old fashioned way and see what happens. I'm already hand-turning a portion of the eggs, which I've never done. Maybe time to try something new.