hatching in trays

[home on the range]

I normally put eggs on the wire floor when they are in the last stages of hatching, but the eggs always roll when chicks hatch. i have been looking at pic.'s where they are hatched out in trays rather than the floor. can you keep them in the turner or egg carton for hatching. Thoughts please!

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

in a carton yes you can leave them in it, an egg turner i do not suggest it because your chick can get hurt in it even if it's off.

 

[Becci]

Egg cartons are safe to use during hatch. Cut out the bottom of each little compartment in the carton for air flow. I'm assuming you use a turner for the first 18 days.. if you only have one incubator, and have a still air, you need to keep the eggs at the same height that they were at in the turner, anyways. Using egg cartons is a good way to do this.

It's okay for the eggs to be rolled around during hatch. My preference is to lay them on their sides, it's never affected my hatch rates.

Leaving them in the egg turners is a bit risky. Chicks have successfully hatched in them before, but it's not ideal. There's too many places for toes and legs to get stuck and injured.