Paper trays under incubating eggs to keep incubator clean?

[jevaramb]

Hello,

This may be a dumb question but we are underway with our first incubation experience--about 9 days out from expected hatch. I'm wondering if before the lockdown period if it would be okay to place each egg in an individual paper tray (like the ones you might get an egg roll in). I wondered if this might contain the mess and make cleaning the styrofoam incubator easier. Your thoughts? Advice? Thank you.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good thought on keeping the styrobator clean. Probably not though. Everything gets to be mayhem in there as chicks flounder about.
You may try putting down a couple paper towels. There's a bit of feces that may catch.
The biggest issue IMO is the dust.
After pulling chicks, rinse with a bleach solution and dry in the sunlight.

 

[dheltzel]

I buy rectangular plastic trays from Dollar Tree and line them with rubberized shelf liner. The eggs go in there and the chicks hop out when they are ready, leaving the remaining eggs, and all the mess, in the trays. Those are washed (dishwasher safe if you want) and dried for the next hatch.

When I need to keep chicks separate for identification purposes, I put the whole tray inside a delicates laundry mesh bag and zip it up.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Paper towel helps to minimize the mucky bits. I have also used muffin liners when hatching silkies.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I hatch in cut down egg cartons a lot, they help contain some of the mess. The chicks still leave the occasional glob of left over hatching goo or poop, but the paper towels I put on the wire usually catch that stuff.