Hatching Chicks With A Heat Pad And A Egg Carton Experiment

[DogAndCat36]

Rotate? Flip? You keep them round-side up but turn them clockwise, or flip them from round-side up to pointy-side up and back again every few hours or so? o.o

Sorry for your first egg... and hopefully the burns on your hands weren't too painful

The burns weren't to painful, the main thing that was running in my head was, "IS THE EMBRYO OK?" and I was like, no... it is not ok.
I used to flip the eggs three times a day, perfectly almost 8 hours each. Round side, pointy side, round side, and next day pointy side, round side, pointy side.

 

[Eelantha]

Oh, I also want to say this in regard to some guilt you expressed feeling early on: broody hens do not have a 100% success rate either. Nature expects losses. So do not have an unrealistic expectation of your own results.

That is so very true. My broody hen is one of those unfortunate first-time mothers who had a disastrous hatch. I gave her ten eggs to incubate; one went missing, 7 were viable, 1 was a dud and one ended up sloshy. Out of the viable ones, 5 embryos died just days before hatch, leaving only two survivors - one vigorous, one with severe riboflavin deficiency. I almost lost that chick, and had to fight all week to bring it back on its feet. So yeah, broodies are reliable setters, but not even they can hatch 100% of the eggs you give them. Nobody's perfect on this planet, and that also goes for animals

The burns weren't to painful, the main thing that was running in my head was, "IS THE EMBRYO OK?" and I was like, no... it is not ok.
I used to flip the eggs three times a day, perfectly almost 8 hours each. Round side, pointy side, round side, and next day pointy side, round side, pointy side.

Ouch... poor embryos...
Goodness, that's what one would call turning those peep's world upside-down! xD

 

[DogAndCat36]

Ouch... poor embryos...
Goodness, that's what one would call turning those peep's world upside-down! xD

You mean right side up and back again? The chicks heads are at the pointy part most of the time. Also think about it, they are little babies, I'm just giving them a roller coaster ride.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

How would you turn them, @Eelantha ? I don't hatch, but I thought you just always wanted to keep the big end up, so you should just rock them back and forth? But a broody hen rolls them around pretty good, so I don't know .... I'd have to learn a LOT before I'd make an attempt!

 

[Flashpoint]

Yes, did you know that I am incubating baby pickles now?
Sorry but not actually, it is a survival whistle with a bunch of stuff on it including a thermometer.

Just wanted to note that with your specific setup, if temps have been low from opening the carton, it might take an extra day or so for the chicks to hatch. 21 days is not written in stone.

 

[Eelantha]

How would you turn them, @Eelantha ? I don't hatch, but I thought you just always wanted to keep the big end up, so you should just rock them back and forth? But a broody hen rolls them around pretty good, so I don't know .... I'd have to learn a LOT before I'd make an attempt!

If I understand DogAndCat36's explanation correctly, she vertically flips her eggs from round-side up to pointy-side up and back again. I wouldn't dare try that, as the round (bigger) side of the egg hosts the air sack through which breathes the chick, and flipping the egg upside-down literally means turning the chick on its head and potentially crushing that vital air sack with the weight of the yolk. That's why everyone will tell you to keep the round side up when you incubate eggs. Incubate them pointy-side up and you'll suffocate the chicks. Yet despite all known scientific observations of how an egg is made and works, DAC still hears peeping so her chicks have somehow made it alive to hatch day. If her experiment succeeds, she'll have not only proven her dad wrong, but also shown live proof that chicks can live through an upside-down rotating incubation!

Had I tried this experiment myself, I would have turned my eggs clock-wise, aka horizontally but never vertically. I would have always kept the round side up during the incubation to ensure my chicks lived. If I didn't use an egg carton, I would have manually rolled them on the floor every few hours or so.

I too still have alot to learn before I try out a DIY incubation expriment. That's why I'm reading such threads, to learn how other people do it, retain their successes and learn from their mistakes. One of my hens went broody before I had a chance to use my incubator, and I've only just tested and learned this week that the heating pad I had on hand could work for a mama heating pad for sick chicks. Incubation-wise, I've observed my broody during her work and I've noticed she seemed to both roll her eggs on the nest and periodically switch the outside ones with the ones in the center, so maybe she knows which ones need heat and which ones need cooling. I'll have to observe more broodies at work to see if this holds true. I've only had chickens for four years, going on five, so I'm really just a rookie like everybody else at this whole incubation thing xD

 

[DogAndCat36]

Just wanted to note that with your specific setup, if temps have been low from opening the carton, it might take an extra day or so for the chicks to hatch. 21 days is not written in stone.

True

 

[AllMightyPotato]

This sounds like an interesting experiment, please let me know what happens!

 

[DogAndCat36]

This sounds like an interesting experiment, please let me know what happens!

Okie!

 

[DogAndCat36]

I did some research and it said that it is okay to look at the egg on day 21 to see how it is going. Should I do it?