Silkie Eggs - Moving from turner to carton or lying flat at lockdown

[Loveoursilkies]

I lost every single chick at the day of hatch or just before, on our last go around. We have 6 or so live silkie chicks, day 17 now, we tried part flat and part in cartons last time, all died. The ones lying flat rolled around, the ones in cartons moved too, last time. The only one to pip, was in a carton, but died. I know all of this is humidity trouble, I have kept the humidity lower this time, as the air sac was too small last time (humidity was too high for the first 18 days). It still seems small, but these little eggs are so hard to judge and I've tried not to handle them much at all. Now is the big question, should these little eggs be lying flat or in a cut down carton with a hole cut in the bottom? I read so many posts, they all say something different, but not many with silkies that I could find. Thanks for any help, just trying to figure this out for tomorrow, so that they can go into lockdown.

 

[namastemama]

You will get a different answer from differ people. I hatch in a Brinsea (LOVE LOVE this incubator) and I take them out of the rack and lay flat on lock down. I figure this is how they would hatch naturally so this is what I do. I have very good success with shipped eggs this way. Although this my worst hatch yet, I have 3 out of 12, but I tried a new source for eggs this time.:/

 

[Dzwina]

I just hatched out silkie Chicks out in a egg carton. Every one made it. I also only ran 30 to 35 percent humidity the frost 18 days. And got no higher then 65 during lockdown

 

[Loveoursilkies]

Thanks, I have a LG (hate it), and want a better incubator (this will happen this year). We are new to all of this and did everything wrong on the first eggs we tried to incubate. As you said, many opinions on this, silkies happen to be so small that I have read where some say only to lie them flat, not in cartons, but some do the cartons, so, well, just not sure. I guess I'll make the decision tomorrow, when I start lockdown. I'm only sure about a few of the chicks still being alive, as I didn't want to candle them much. I'll candle them prior to placing them tomorrow and see what happens. Maybe I'll put a few in a carton and a few flat.

 

[Loveoursilkies]

thanks, I just read the post from hatching in cartons, thanks for the information, I did run the humidity lower this time, as I think it was way too high last time the last 18 days