Should I Support Goose Eggs During Lockdown?

[FarmFullOfFowl]

This is my first incubation. I am starting to not be confident about what I am doing in lockdown (and if I even should be in lockdown).

Last night (day 27) I could see my two Embden eggs rocking quite a bit. I had them in the goose egg support bottom tray in the incubator and I thought that if they were rocking, they maybe were trying to get in position and the support doesn't let them turn the egg much. Because of this, I removed the bottom support, dropped the temp to 98F and raised humidity to 60%. When I had held one of the eggs near my ear, I heard a faint tap-tap from inside. I do not see any external piping. I do not see them rocking this morning any longer.

Questions!
Should I have removed their support?
Are they likely to roll into a bad position once they start a lot of movement inside?
Did I start my lockdown too soon?
Am I able to add a shelf liner to give them a little support, or should I put the tray back?

This is them now:

And this is the support tray I am referring to (back when I had many more going):

Thank you!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

@FarmFullOfFowl, my responses below. BTW, goose eggs may rock and even peep well before they actually hatch. Or not. Some seem to move/talk a lot and others don't.

Should I have removed their support? It should be fine - when I put goose eggs into lockdown, they're flat on the incubator floor, with the most drawn-down side up.
Are they likely to roll into a bad position once they start a lot of movement inside? No - they should roll into the position they need to be in to hatch.
Did I start my lockdown too soon? It's really a matter of preference, IMO. I actually start lockdown five days before hatch day so they have plenty of time to get into position for hatch - but I don't raise the humidity until I see the first external pip.
Am I able to add a shelf liner to give them a little support, or should I put the tray back? Sure, you could put shelf liner in if you want. Is the incubator floor smooth/slick? If it's mesh, it should be ok. I've noticed that sometimes goslings' nails can get caught in shelf liner (I use it in brooders). Since they're not externally-pipped, opening the incubator top is less of a concern.

I know it's an exciting/nervewracking time. Hope you have a great hatch!

 

[FarmFullOfFowl]

Thank you so much @FoodFreedomNow.

I guess I have some active little Embdens in there. Actually seeing those eggs moving for the first time was nuts.

Based on what you said, I cut out a piece of shelf liner, cleaned it up, then put it on the floor of the incubator only because the bottom of mine is very smooth/slick, and without a lot of other eggs in there, I feel they could easily go rolling without a lot of movement on their part. Then I lowered the humidity back down to 45% since they still are not piping, and I put them with the largest part of the air cell facing up.

This really IS nerve-wracking! It feels better to have the support here and talk through my worries!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

YVW. Your Embdens do sound very active.

Have you already read Pete55's goose egg incubation guide? It's very helpful and may help put your mind at ease, too.
ETA: Pete55 does prefer a slight elevation of the eggs during lockdown: "to encourage correct positioning I incubate the eggs on their sides with the blunt end slightly elevated at a 20-30 degree angle." Adding this for you to consider.

While I hope you won't need it, Pyxis's guide to assisted hatching is also a great resource to have handy.

Hang in there! They're in the homestretch.