Hatching baskets

[Fleece-Feathers-Fur]

Somewhere within the mounds of information I have been researching about hatching I read about hatching baskets. Apparently the are used to keep like eggs together during the hatch. In my case it would be dividing by the hens that laid them. Is there such a thing as hatching baskets, how are they used and where would one get one?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

This is quite a long read but if my memory serves me correctly there is a part or section about baskets I think

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...hatching-chicken-eggs-aka-hatching-101.64195/

 

[Fleece-Feathers-Fur]

This is quite a long but if my memory serves me correctly there is a part or section about baskets I think

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...hatching-chicken-eggs-aka-hatching-101.64195/

This is a great article filled with so much useful information, including the baskets. Thank you

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

You’re very welcome and I’m glad you have found it helpful

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is there such a thing as hatching baskets, how are they used and where would one get one?

They are basically an open-top basket turned up-side-down over eggs when you want to isolate the chicks that hatch out of them. When they hatch the chicks will crawl all over the place. Unless they have a distinct appearance you can't keep track of which chick came out of which egg. Lots of different reasons that might be important to you.

Also, if you have a staggered hatch (which I strongly discourage but sometimes life throws some real problems at us) if you don't put a basket over the first to hatch they will crawl all over the later eggs and slime them. This can lead to bacterial infection if there are several days difference in hatch time so you may want to stop them from sliming the other eggs.

How easy one is to use would depend some on what your incubator looks like. You might not be able to fit one in on some incubators. The baskets obviously can't have handles, otherwise you would not be able to lay them flat when up-side-down.

Where would you get one? Wherever you can. Some people use those plastic baskets berries often come in. You can make them out of hardware cloth. Have an active imagination when in flea markets, garage sales, or craft shops.