Hatching in Carton ?

[grandpaw roo]

Saw a pic on here that looks like they hatched in a foam egg carton.I have heard of incubating in a carton and removing 3 days before hatch.
Who does this and what are the pros and cons to hatching this way?

 

[brahmabreeder]

I have hatched my eggs in an egg carton before. I really like it. Doing this the chicks weren't able to abuse the un-hatched eggs. To me it seemed like they hatched quicker.

 

[FenDruadin]

I use a turner for the first 18-19 days of incubation. At lockdown, I put them in egg cartons and let them hatch out that way.

I prefer it for the reason already stated--they can't knock each other around as much. In a not-full incubator (such as a Hovabator with only a dozen or two eggs in it), the knocking around can do quite a bit of damage.

I find they take slightly longer to hatch when they're vertical in an egg carton, because it takes them longer to pop the top off against gravity. I don't find this to be a negative, however, as it means they're stronger and more coordinated when they do get all the way out. They're less likely to cause themselves and others in the incubator trouble when they're more coordinated.

The other advantage of preventing egg-soccer is that you can place the eggs where you're likely to see the pips, and expect that they'll stay facing that way throughout the hatch.

It's a matter of preference, though. Lots of folks prefer to take them out and lay them down horizontally.

 

[blzzrdqueen]

I'm doing mine in the cardboard cartons...just make sure you have a hole big enough for air to circulate around the egg on the bottom of each cup. Here is a pic of how I have mine set up. I am on day 13, and I will either leave mine in the carton or cut up rings out of toilet paper rolls/paper towel rolls...

 

[hockeyguru]

I think the reason people use the styrofoam egg cartons is because the cardboard can wick moisture away. Good luck in your hatch.

 

[FenDruadin]

blzzrdqueen--that looks great! Congrats on your first incubation. Hope it goes really smoothly. Have you candled? How are they doing?

I'd recommend you leave them in the cartons for the hatch. Toilet paper rolls will be knocked over too easily by the hatching babies, and could cause problems.

Also, are you turning them three times a day? I don't see any mechanism for doing that in your set-up, which is why I'm asking. Don't stress if you haven't so far, but do get started! You can put something under the edge of the cartons to tilt them, and then tilt them the other direction each time you turn them. Not doing this can cause problems with the embryos.

I love that you're marking them up. You'll learn SO much this way! Your air cells (I assume that's what the circular pencil marks show) are developing nicely. Is #5 upside down? It looks like the pointy end sticking up... if the air cell is in the wrong end, you may have to help that one hatch. Time will tell.

What all kind of eggs do you have in there? Looks like a mix of bantams and standards, and different breeds. Nice mix! And good luck!

 

[FenDruadin]

P.S. I haven't had any problems using either cardboard or styrofoam. The only issue with cardboard is that it will pick up moisture from the air and get damp, which worried me the first time it happened. But it hasn't ever caused a problem. In general, nearly all of the eggs that reach lockdown hatch out successfully in my incubator.

I've also noticed that cardboard egg cartons started being covered in some sort of wax or plastic coating in the past couple of years, meaning they don't get wet easily anyway.

 

[blzzrdqueen]

blzzrdqueen--that looks great! Congrats on your first incubation. Hope it goes really smoothly. Have you candled? How are they doing?

I'd recommend you leave them in the cartons for the hatch. Toilet paper rolls will be knocked over too easily by the hatching babies, and could cause problems.

Also, are you turning them three times a day? I don't see any mechanism for doing that in your set-up, which is why I'm asking. Don't stress if you haven't so far, but do get started! You can put something under the edge of the cartons to tilt them, and then tilt them the other direction each time you turn them. Not doing this can cause problems with the embryos.

I love that you're marking them up. You'll learn SO much this way! Your air cells (I assume that's what the circular pencil marks show) are developing nicely. Is #5 upside down? It looks like the pointy end sticking up... if the air cell is in the wrong end, you may have to help that one hatch. Time will tell.

What all kind of eggs do you have in there? Looks like a mix of bantams and standards, and different breeds. Nice mix! And good luck!

I was thinking the same thing about leaving them in the cartons.

I am turning them three times a day and candling once a day to track cell growth. I am doing a dry hatch so I have no water in the bator and humidity is steady at 30%. #5 started out upside down because both ends of the egg were exactly the same, so I couldn't tell which way was up until I could see the air cell, that's why there is an arrow on that egg.

I have black Austrolorp, D'Uccle (the 5 small ones), a Americauna, and a penedesena. I had two austrolorps and a leghorn all get tossed, two were infertile and one died at 5 days.

 

[blzzrdqueen]

P.S. I haven't had any problems using either cardboard or styrofoam. The only issue with cardboard is that it will pick up moisture from the air and get damp, which worried me the first time it happened. But it hasn't ever caused a problem. In general, nearly all of the eggs that reach lockdown hatch out successfully in my incubator.

I've also noticed that cardboard egg cartons started being covered in some sort of wax or plastic coating in the past couple of years, meaning they don't get wet easily anyway.

Since I am doing a dry hatch I didn't have to worry about that. I'm not so sure they will hold up once I do put water in for lock down this coming Friday.

 

[FenDruadin]

Sounds good! I dry hatch too, and have great success with it. I can't get good enough air cell growth if I add humidity. I also tracked air cell growth by tracing on the shells for my first half-dozen hatches, and learned a TON. I only stopped tracing the air cells because I can tell at a glance whether they're in good shape, so I figured I'd learned what I needed to know.

I bet you'll have a terrific hatch. Can't wait to hear about it!