How much room needed for hatching?

[fightingbunny]

I was wondering how I should arrange the eggs for lockdown. Can they be touching? If they are touching, should they be touching end to end or side to side? I know that the chicks rock the egg to get it to be in the right orientation, so I am worried that I need to keep them from touching so they can move their eggs. But I read somewhere that it is good to have them touching as they listen to each other for moral support in hatching. This is my second attempt at hatching and with the first, there was only one egg that made it to lockdown and I didn't even expect that one to hatch. Now I have a bunch of live ones in there and I am finding myself worrying!

Also, is it okay to have the paper towel under them? The plastic mesh under the paper towel is a bit slippery, so I thought it would be good to have a better surface.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Waaay over thinking it.
Throw them in there any way you want and they'll be fine.
They'll hear each other whether they're touching or opposite ends of the incubator.
As for rocking the eggs they don't rock and roll them that much. Not like completely turning their eggs upside down or anything.
Besides all that as soon as one or two hatch they'll be rearranging the others all over the place.

 

[oregonkat]

I was wondering how I should arrange the eggs for lockdown. Can they be touching? If they are touching, should they be touching end to end or side to side? I know that the chicks rock the egg to get it to be in the right orientation, so I am worried that I need to keep them from touching so they can move their eggs. But I read somewhere that it is good to have them touching as they listen to each other for moral support in hatching. This is my second attempt at hatching and with the first, there was only one egg that made it to lockdown and I didn't even expect that one to hatch. Now I have a bunch of live ones in there and I am finding myself worrying!

Also, is it okay to have the paper towel under them? The plastic mesh under the paper towel is a bit slippery, so I thought it would be good to have a better surface.

Thanks for any advice.

View attachment 1360288

A better surface for the chicks is non slip shelf liner cut to size. This provides a padded soft surface for them. Of all the things to worry about during hatching, the positioning of the eggs should be the least of them. As Moonshiner said, they will hear each other and then after hatch will start to totally rearrange the eggs by climbing over them, pushing them around and pecking at them to encourage the others to come out to play. Enjoy your hatching experience.

 

[fightingbunny]

I wonder if they are pecking at the other eggs to "help" the other chicks or if they are being brutal and trying to make them bleed and eat them?

 

[The Moonshiner]

Just their curiosity I suspect. Chickens do peck at stuff to figure out what it is.
If they were trying to kill them and eat them I would think they would be trying to kill and eat each other after hatching too.

 

[RodNTN]

Don't overthink it, they'll be fine

 

[oregonkat]

I wouldn't think that the chicks have any desire to eat each other at all otherwise they would do it with regularity, besides they have just absorbed that enormous yolk so feeding is not a priority. Keeping warm is number one!