Hatching in an egg carton ?

[Katy]

I don't know how to post a link to that thread, but it's by ZuniBee and the title is Ooops it's not day 18...or something close to that. After reading that thread last week, I put last week-ends hatch in the hatcher in egg cartons and then the last couple of days I did the next bunch the same way. They've hatched really well that way....I think I'll be doing it that way from here on out. I never did think all that rolling around was probably good for them.....they don't do that under a hen. They pip and zip around the egg and then just pop the top off. I too wondered if they'd have trouble getting out of the carton and I have not found that to be a problem for them.

 

[Crunchie]

Quote:
You're very welcome, Maggie--but--UPDATE, please!!

Did your second pipped egg hatch? Oh, and when you can, you have to update your thread w/pics!

 

[WriterofWords]

I just put a big note to try that on the eggs in the bator right now! When they come out they are going in a carton.

 

[Crunchie]

Oh, woops, here's the link to ZuniBee's orginal thread...I don't know if any of it is any different than the link to Zuni's blog that Maggie already posted.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=35696

 

[ZuniBee]

Yep, I put the entire process on my blog and in this thread

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=35696

I have been keeping track of results using this method and so far I have not received on negative result. It appears to work really well.

If you try it and are successful please let me know so I can keep track. I am convinced and will be hatching this way from now on.

 

[Maggie3]

Crunchie...I was just watching the slow progress of the 2nd egg pipping. The little chick that hatched today is just alittle puff ball. He's adorable!! Every time he hears us talk he starts his peeping. My 8 yr old daughter already named him/her "Sunny".

I will get pics posted as soon as my DH gets free time. We just got a new digital camera and I don't really know how to crop pics yet. My DH hid the old one on me because I didn't want to take the time to learn how to use the new one. I guess that happens as you get older. LOL

 

[menkot]

I tried it. It did work very well except one thing. I used the pulp cartons and could not get my humidity up. My first pippers just would not hatch. Dlhunicorn recommended changing the cartons out to see if that would work. We think the paper absorbed the moisture so the egg couldn't. Only one of 5 pips had hatched by that point and it had been about 12 hours or more. I swapped to the foam cartons and my pippers started hatching within about an hour. I had to help two of my first pips out. The membrane was pretty dry. The rest hatched pretty uneventful and quickly and my humidity jumped up after swapping cartons.

I am not POSITIVE it was the pulp cartons but it really seemed to be. The foam cartons worked like a charm. I did have one chick die because it tried to hatch upside down, but it never pipped the shell so I don't think being in a carton did that.

Except for the pulp carton, it worked really well. I had a good hatch and the chicks had NO problem getting out of the carton. They just popped right out.

 

[halo]

That is very interesting and makes a lot of sense. I will be hatching a few next week and I will be using the foam cartons. Im glad you said something; I would have used the pulp cartons.

 

[Katy]

I used the pulp cartons and didn't have a problem with humidity.

 

[jab91864]

The last two batches of eggs I have hatched I have lost chicks that pipped and didn't make it out. Several had pipped but got rolled by other chicks so they're little beaks got trapped against the grating on the bottom of the bator. They were actually stuck that way when I found them...too late.

If you think about it there isn't a lot of rolling room under a hen. Maybe being stationery will help my hatch rate this time. Worth a try I think.

Thanks for the link. Great blog Zuni !!!

Julie