How do you arrange your eggs going into lockdown

[Ndahly]

I have a couple of questions, if you can't tell it's my first time incubating
I have the farm innovations pro series 4250. I use the automatic egg turner but took it out when I put the eggs in lockdown as the instructions said. How do you arrange your eggs? I've read people will put them in cut up egg cartons so the hatched chicks don't disturb the eggs as much.
I just put them all in there on their sides, I have 15 chicks that started hatching last night and into today and I still have 16 to go. All the chick's have pushed the remaining eggs to the top and they sit on them and bang around. Is this what everyone else does? I've also read leave the hatched chicks in there for the 3 days until the remaining ones have hatched and then I've read that people take them out after 24 hours. I'd love some opinions please!

 

[janiedoe]

I have a couple of questions, if you can't tell it's my first time incubating
I have the farm innovations pro series 4250. I use the automatic egg turner but took it out when I put the eggs in lockdown as the instructions said. How do you arrange your eggs? I've read people will put them in cut up egg cartons so the hatched chicks don't disturb the eggs as much.
I just put them all in there on their sides, I have 15 chicks that started hatching last night and into today and I still have 16 to go. All the chick's have pushed the remaining eggs to the top and they sit on them and bang around. Is this what everyone else does? I've also read leave the hatched chicks in there for the 3 days until the remaining ones have hatched and then I've read that people take them out after 24 hours. I'd love some opinions please!

I just let my eggs lay on their sides. I've never had a chick damage an egg. I take my chicks out if it is getting crowded, but you can leave them a couple of days. Also, I use a small brinsea, so I don't worry about the humidity dropping when I open it to take a chick or two out. Mine have always hatched within a day of the others, so I haven't had to worry about leaving chicks inside very long.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How do you arrange your eggs? I've read people will put them in cut up egg cartons so the hatched chicks don't disturb the eggs as much.

I also lay mine on the sides but don't see anything wrong by those that stand them up. There are always different ways to do things. I've read the big commercial hatcheries lay them on the side but for a reason that has nothing to do with us. Their hatchers hold tens of thousands of eggs. That many embryos are generating so much heat they'd cook the ones in the middle if they didn't blow cool air over them. They are easier to cool laying flat instead of being held upright by something that could block the air. If laying them flat caused a problem they'd come up with something different.

I've also read leave the hatched chicks in there for the 3 days until the remaining ones have hatched and then I've read that people take them out after 24 hours. I'd love some opinions please!

Before the chicks complete hatch they absorb the yolk. They can live off of that yolk for over 72 hours without food or water. That's why they can be mailed. A postmaster on this forum explained that the regulations require the chicks have to leave the hatchery within 24 hours of hatch and there has to be a reasonable expectation that they can be delivered within 48 hours after being out in the mail. That's where the three days come from. That's not opinion, that's from studies. There is nothing wrong with taking them out earlier than 3 days. It will not hurt them a bit to eat and drink earlier. It's just that you don't have to take them out for 72 hours after hatch.

It is pretty common for some eggs to hatch a full day early or late, whether under a broody hen or in an incubator. There are several different reasons for that. Having the chicks absorb the yolk is nature's way of letting the first chicks that hatch wait around long enough for the late chicks to hatch.

Some of my hatches are over within 16 hours of the first one to hatch, in an incubator or under a broody hen. Many are a little over 24 hours. I once had a chick hatch under a broody hen late on a Monday. It was early Fridy before she brought her chicks off of the nest to get food and water. That was a little over 80 hours. All the chicks were fine.

You often read on here to not open the incubator during lockdown because you might shrink wrap the unhatched chicks. Shrink wrap is when the membrane that lines the inside of the egg dries out and shrinks around the chick, trapping it so it can't move and hatch. If you open the incubator the moisture can escape so that membrane might dry out. Shrink wrap is real, it can possibly happen. I've done it myself so I believe there is a risk. But it doesn't happen that often. If the egg has not pipped the membrane isn't very likely to dry out at all. As long as it hasn't pipped you should be safe. Even if they have pipped most eggs will not shrink wrap just from you opening the incubator. There is a risk but the eggs are pretty darn tough. The way I look at it if I have a good reason to open the incubator during lockdown I will. But the reason has to make the risk worthwhile.

Many people on this forum open the incubator during lockdown regularly. Some of those take precautions. They might steam up a bathroom so the humidity is really high in there. They might spritz the eggs with warm water to keep them from drying out. They recognize the risk and take efforts to minimize them. Others take no precautions and still usually don't have a problem.

To me it is good practice to minimize risks. Don't open the incubator to take a chick out unless you have a reason. To me "It's so cute I have to cuddle it" is not a good enough reason. To some people it is. Some people don't understand that the chicks can go 72 hours or more without eating or drinking so they think they need to take them out earlier. They know how hungry or thirsty they would be so they think leaving the chicks in the incubator is abuse, not understanding that they absorbed the yolk so they are not really hungry.

You asked for opinions. You have mine.

 

[Ndahly]

I also lay mine on the sides but don't see anything wrong by those that stand them up. There are always different ways to do things. I've read the big commercial hatcheries lay them on the side but for a reason that has nothing to do with us. Their hatchers hold tens of thousands of eggs. That many embryos are generating so much heat they'd cook the ones in the middle if they didn't blow cool air over them. They are easier to cool laying flat instead of being held upright by something that could block the air. If laying them flat caused a problem they'd come up with something different.


Before the chicks complete hatch they absorb the yolk. They can live off of that yolk for over 72 hours without food or water. That's why they can be mailed. A postmaster on this forum explained that the regulations require the chicks have to leave the hatchery within 24 hours of hatch and there has to be a reasonable expectation that they can be delivered within 48 hours after being out in the mail. That's where the three days come from. That's not opinion, that's from studies. There is nothing wrong with taking them out earlier than 3 days. It will not hurt them a bit to eat and drink earlier. It's just that you don't have to take them out for 72 hours after hatch.

It is pretty common for some eggs to hatch a full day early or late, whether under a broody hen or in an incubator. There are several different reasons for that. Having the chicks absorb the yolk is nature's way of letting the first chicks that hatch wait around long enough for the late chicks to hatch.

Some of my hatches are over within 16 hours of the first one to hatch, in an incubator or under a broody hen. Many are a little over 24 hours. I once had a chick hatch under a broody hen late on a Monday. It was early Fridy before she brought her chicks off of the nest to get food and water. That was a little over 80 hours. All the chicks were fine.

You often read on here to not open the incubator during lockdown because you might shrink wrap the unhatched chicks. Shrink wrap is when the membrane that lines the inside of the egg dries out and shrinks around the chick, trapping it so it can't move and hatch. If you open the incubator the moisture can escape so that membrane might dry out. Shrink wrap is real, it can possibly happen. I've done it myself so I believe there is a risk. But it doesn't happen that often. If the egg has not pipped the membrane isn't very likely to dry out at all. As long as it hasn't pipped you should be safe. Even if they have pipped most eggs will not shrink wrap just from you opening the incubator. There is a risk but the eggs are pretty darn tough. The way I look at it if I have a good reason to open the incubator during lockdown I will. But the reason has to make the risk worthwhile.

Many people on this forum open the incubator during lockdown regularly. Some of those take precautions. They might steam up a bathroom so the humidity is really high in there. They might spritz the eggs with warm water to keep them from drying out. They recognize the risk and take efforts to minimize them. Others take no precautions and still usually don't have a problem.

To me it is good practice to minimize risks. Don't open the incubator to take a chick out unless you have a reason. To me "It's so cute I have to cuddle it" is not a good enough reason. To some people it is. Some people don't understand that the chicks can go 72 hours or more without eating or drinking so they think they need to take them out earlier. They know how hungry or thirsty they would be so they think leaving the chicks in the incubator is abuse, not understanding that they absorbed the yolk so they are not really hungry.

You asked for opinions. You have mine.

Thank you so much for your reply. I like to learn as much as possible but this incubating thing really threw me for a loop. I thought I was prepared but I don't think I really was.