Take out of egg carton or not? And a question re: blue chicks.

[krv]

Before our eggs hatch in our incubator, should we take the eggs out of the egg cartons or not? We were thinking that the chicks may have a little trouble if the eggs are not on their side. What should we do?

Also, how rare is it to get a blue chick (I know that they are really a grayish blue color) from a black cochin rooster and a white cochin hen? We have 5 eggs that we are wanting to hatch from my sons' cochin bantams, and were wondering if they will be blue, or just black and white mingled?

Thanks,
krv

 

[william9792]

i leave mine in cartons and have a hatch rate of 95 to 100 % all the time

 

[Katy]

I hatch all my eggs in the carton. I think the chicks actually have a much easier time hatching in the cartons than on their sides.

 

[twigg]

Quote:
Egg cartons are completely unnecessary in a hatcher. Take them out. If your eggs don't hatch, I can assure you that it wasn't because you neglected to keep them in an egg carton.

I am firmly of the opinion that introducing unnecessary materials into a hatcher simply gives one more thing that can go wrong.

Eggs don't need cartons, except for transport, even if a few people on BYC think they are a benefit.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Egg cartons are completely unnecessary in a hatcher. Take them out. If your eggs don't hatch, I can assure you that it wasn't because you neglected to keep them in an egg carton.

I am firmly of the opinion that introducing unnecessary materials into a hatcher simply gives one more thing that can go wrong.

Eggs don't need cartons, except for transport, even if a few people on BYC think they are a benefit.

All I know is my overall hatch rate increased....especially for shipped eggs once I started using the cartons a year ago. So I have found them to be a benefit.

I think everyone needs to find what works best for them and go with it.

 

[asher]

Your chicks will likely be a mixed color, not really predictable from chick to chick. They may hatch out one color and as their chick feathers come in, more colors will come out and even then once they molt to adult feathers, be even different from that.

I don't see blue coming from that cross unless the white is hiding a color in its past like silkies do, but I don't know if that applies to all breeds or not so cannot say.

 

[twigg]

Quote:
Egg cartons are completely unnecessary in a hatcher. Take them out. If your eggs don't hatch, I can assure you that it wasn't because you neglected to keep them in an egg carton.

I am firmly of the opinion that introducing unnecessary materials into a hatcher simply gives one more thing that can go wrong.

Eggs don't need cartons, except for transport, even if a few people on BYC think they are a benefit.

All I know is my overall hatch rate increased....especially for shipped eggs once I started using the cartons a year ago. So I have found them to be a benefit.

I think everyone needs to find what works best for them and go with it.

If this is the case, then adding the cartons helped to correct some minor problem you were having, probably humidity related.

Fix the problem and your hatch rates will remain high without the cartons. They are giving you a false sense of security.

If this were not true, people wouldn't regularly get 95 to 100% hatches without cartons, and authoritative sources would recommend using them.

As for finding your own way .... well yes, up to a point. But the egg doesn't care who is hatching it. It only cares that the correct conditions are met. How you do this varies from place to place, esp. when considering ambient RH, altitude, etc.

People get attached to their preferred method, and that's fine. I am still waiting for a *carton advocate* to provide something other than their anecdotes as to why using cartons in hatchers is beneficial.

 

[warmfuzzies]

I dont really care why it works, if it does.

I put my first hatch in cartons, I will let you know how it goes in a few days! Not that it will mean anything, considering it is my first one, and I have nothing to compare it to.

I will be thrilled with a 50% hatch rate right now though!

 

[twigg]

Quote:
I get that

The thing is, you SHOULD care not so much whether or not cartons work, but what does work and why.

My aim here is not to pee on a parade, but to help raise the awareness of good practise. This involves getting the basics right, and understanding the process, and how it's parts relate to each other.

We do best when we do least ...... and on this basis I will always challenge those who propose something that appears to be unnecessary, to provide real evidence, and believable theory as to why.

Once the novices around here are getting good (95 to 100%) hatches using standard techniques, then they are freed up to experiment. Course they may then decide that *if it's not broken, don't fix it*.

Why would you be pleased with 50%? Just out of interest.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
All I know is my overall hatch rate increased....especially for shipped eggs once I started using the cartons a year ago. So I have found them to be a benefit.

I think everyone needs to find what works best for them and go with it.

If this is the case, then adding the cartons helped to correct some minor problem you were having, probably humidity related.

Fix the problem and your hatch rates will remain high without the cartons. They are giving you a false sense of security.

If this were not true, people wouldn't regularly get 95 to 100% hatches without cartons, and authoritative sources would recommend using them.

As for finding your own way .... well yes, up to a point. But the egg doesn't care who is hatching it. It only cares that the correct conditions are met. How you do this varies from place to place, esp. when considering ambient RH, altitude, etc.

People get attached to their preferred method, and that's fine. I am still waiting for a *carton advocate* to provide something other than their anecdotes as to why using cartons in hatchers is beneficial.

I've always gotten good hatches from my own eggs. I don't know what else you want me to relate other than my own experiances with it...if you consider them "my anecdotes" then so be it.

I don't know why it bugs you so much that some of us prefer to hatch in cartons. When someone comes on with a question about it I'll continue to relate my personal experiances with it. Sorry that it irritates you so badly.