Incubating Eggs on END...??? Help please..

[GypsyChic]

Dumb question here, but hopefully all of you who have hatched several batches of eggies will be able to help me with this one. I had a friend tell me she hatches all her eggs in bator sitting UP. What I mean by this is, she places them small end down, big end up, and turns them by hand (reverse of what a store bought carton of eggs would look like) every few hrs. She has them seperated by long pieces of sponge that help hold them in this position, and hold moisture for humidity. Have any of you ever done this or does it even work??? I lay mine on their sides and the one bator I turn the eggs about 3 times a day...the other has an auto turner. I'm just curious how many of you hatch this way, if any, and what's the success rate?? Thanks so much guys!

 

[2txmedics]

I dont ....air cell is at the big end of the egg...you turn chicks so they dont stick to there shell. Your new to hatching? What kind of eggs do you have in your bator and what kind of bator do you have?

Welcome

 

[insiderart]

Here we refer to it as incubating in egg cartons. You can just sit your eggs, big end up, in a paper egg carton for incubation and hatching. Then you can either tilt them side to side by hand, tilt the whole carton side to side by putting a block under it, or tilt the whole incubator side to side by putting blocks under it.

 

[Paganbird]

Your friend had it right, Big End up, Small End down. I use paper egg cartons & hatch that way, too. Just tip the eggs side to side in the carton.

 

[MandyH]

We hatch in an egg carton. With this method the eggs are placed in the carton small end down, but the trays are just rotated by the incubator, NEVER turned bottom side up.

 

[CindyS]

eggs should never be flipped upside down, that is not what is meant by turning eggs. Side to side turning only. I doubt if any BYC member flips eggs upside down. I know it can destroy air cells when storing prior to incubation but dont know how it affects partially incubated chicks. If they did survive to hatch I bet there would be alot more pips at the wrong end. An egg is designed in nature with a pointy end so an egg will lay large end slightly up to help the chick orient itself to the aircell when developing. how are her hatches doing it this way?

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I hatch on wire laying them down, no problems. I position the big end at the back of the bator and the small ends towards the front in rows. X's on one side, O's on the other so I will know which way to turn the next time. Hand turn 3 times a day.

 

[GypsyChic]

I'm on my 5th hatch with bators, and have had good luck, but I wasnt sure about the whole "sitting up" thing. I know you rotate (side to side, not up/down) but that was just ODD to me

and I wasnt sure. Glad to know that's pretty well the norm with several of you'ns. Thanks so much for all the in put...I appreciate it.

I have heritage dominiques, bc & cuckoo marans, welsummers and heritage buckeyes in bator now. Lock down is 4 days and counting...

 

[Paganbird]

I never saw where the OP mentioned anything about incubationg the eggs "upside down" or big end down.
OP posted that a friend sets eggs big end up, pointy end down in an inverted egg carton.
Nothing wrong with that.
Go read the original post again.

 

[CindyS]

"(reverse of what a store bought carton of eggs would look like)"