First Time; Advice on using an egg carton and elevating the sides to turn eggs?

[kayla0314]

It is our first time incubating eggs! I wondered if anyone had advice for how we are having to do it. I cut holes out of the bottom of each space in the carton and the tops off as well. We got this incubator from my boyfriend's grandpa for free so I cleaned it up as well as I could and have had it at a fairly steady temp the last couple days. Today I decided to pop our eggs in! Since we don't have a turner I read that you can also prop up opposite sides of the incubator? Otherwise I wasn't sure how I should do it. Should they be turned upside down as well as side to side? I had a few porous eggs in the batch so we shall see what comes of these I can't wait to candle at the end of the week to see if there is any progress. I'm trying not to get my hopes up for our first go at this.

 

[WalnutHill]

What you are doing there will work, just be sure it's a sturdy block so it doesn't tip or roll off.

You want to be sure the pointy end is down, you don't want to change that during incubation.

 

[kayla0314]

Thank you for the response!! It seems to sit very sturdy on the book and box under it. I'm hoping to get an actual block of wood from the shed tomorrow of the same height so that it's one solid piece. I have them all pointy end down as well, so I have that right too! On a roll haha!

So, we should just have to move the books to the opposite side of the incubator 3 times a day then right? I'm assuming by what you said also, that that's the only way they need to be "turned"? All the incubators I have seen seem to have a wire sheet on the bottom and this doesn't (at least not anymore), so I had to improvise with the carton. I think that's what is making me worried.

 

[WalnutHill]

The only challenge will be if you need to add water to raise humidity, you want to be sure you don't pour the water out when you tilt. Since it's surface area, not volume, and you have plenty of room for a sponge, that would be a better choice. And yes, just one side then the other, alternating an odd number of times per day.

You can get plastic craft mesh or 1/4" galvanized hardware cloth to make a replacement base grid if you want to incubate on the floor next time.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You’ve been getting some good suggestions. Putting a mesh on the floor will give the chicks something to grip and get traction when they hatch too, help prevent straddle leg. But a warning, not all wire mesh is created equal. Due to the manufacturing process you sometimes have sharp nubs that can damage the feet. Rub your hand over the side to see if it is OK or use plastic coated wire. If there are nubs they should all be on one side.

Three times a day is OK, more is OK. Many people suggest an odd number. That way if you are regularly gone to work or sleeping overnight, the long periods of being in a certain position are alternated.

There are different ways to do turn them. Instead of rotating the entire incubator some people put the block under the ends of the egg carton itself. Another way is to leave everything flat but put an “x” on one side of the egg and an “o” and tilt them regularly with all x’s showing one time and all o’s the next. Or lay them flat on the bottom without the carton and just roll them over using x and o.

I can’t tell if that is a forced air or still air. If it has a fan moving the air around it doesn’t matter where you take the temperature. It should be the same everywhere in there with a target temperature of 99.5 degrees. If it is a still air, it is important where you take the temperature because hot air rises. You can get significant differences depending on what elevation you take the temperatures. The target is 101.5 degrees on top of the eggs. With you rotating the incubator or the carton itself regularly it should balance out during the incubation, but that may create some challenges getting a good measurement. Since it has been used successfully before the thermostat should be set pretty well but it’s usually a good idea to see what is going on in there temperaturewise.

Good luck and welcome to the hatching adventure.

 

[WalnutHill]

There are different ways to do turn them. Instead of rotating the entire incubator some people put the block under the ends of the egg carton itself. Another way is to leave everything flat but put an “x” on one side of the egg and an “o” and tilt them regularly with all x’s showing one time and all o’s the next. Or lay them flat on the bottom without the carton and just roll them over using x and o.

I can’t tell if that is a forced air or still air. If it has a fan moving the air around it doesn’t matter where you take the temperature. It should be the same everywhere in there with a target temperature of 99.5 degrees. If it is a still air, it is important where you take the temperature because hot air rises. You can get significant differences depending on what elevation you take the temperatures. The target is 101.5 degrees on top of the eggs. With you rotating the incubator or the carton itself regularly it should balance out during the incubation, but that may create some challenges getting a good measurement. Since it has been used successfully before the thermostat should be set pretty well but it’s usually a good idea to see what is going on in there temperaturewise.

Good luck and welcome to the hatching adventure.

One note here, tilting the carton inside a typical foam incubator with the heat up top brings many of the eggs into a hotter part of the incubator. Be careful, if you use this method, to ensure that the highest eggs don't get too hot.