Fat side up? How to set the eggs...

[Riven]

I've read several people say eggs MUST be little side down, but I don't put them that way and have stuff hatch okay.

Is this fact or myth?

Thanks!

 

[dancingbear]

Most hatch either in an auto turner, small end down, or in a carton, small end down, or eggs lying on their sides on a flat surface, which is also fine.

Do you mean you place eggs big end down in a turner or carton, or just that you lay them down on their sides?

If you do a thing repeatedly and it works, you already know what's true. What you experienced and saw with your own eyes. Unless you tend to wildly misinterpret what you see, anyway.

For example, I mark all of my eggs with sharpies when I set them to hatch, whether under a hen or in a 'bator. They hatch. So I know for a fact that sharpies are ok, because my chicks are just fine. I've done it for years, and hatch something like 90-95% of my eggs. (That's with eggs from my own hens, or those obtained locally, not shipped. My rate with shipped eggs is not so good.) So it doesn't matter what somebody else says, I already know this.

 

[jqs birds]

You want to incubaye them with the large and up. It causes the embyos head to orient at that end so when they break into the air sac they can breathe and it allows them to move there heads so they can break out.

 

[Riven]

I agree dancingbear, but I figured if there was a good reason not to do it that way, with a logical answer, I'd definately consider changing my ways!

I've hatched out many big side down, so I know it can be done. Whether it is ideal, I did not know.

Thanks for the answers

 

[dancingbear]

Do you mean you put them in a turner or carton upside down? If so, that's interesting.

I can think of a logical reason not to do that, though.
The chick will pip into the air cell before it breaks through the shell. If there's very much fluid left in the egg, it could run down into the air cell and the chick could drown.

It's also possible that chicks may automatically try to position themselves head up, as they can surely feel which way is up. The small end of the egg would be harder for them to rotate around in, to zip the egg open.

I don't know if that happens or not, I've never placed mine upside down, since it's just as easy to place them right side up. Did your upside down eggs pip on the big end anyway, or did they pip the end that was up? And does your hatch rate seem to be affected at all, or have you tried hatching both ways to compare?