using egg cartons ?

[Tucket Chic]

Quote:
In the build your own incubator section. It shows how some people use egg cartons with the bottoms cut off for air circulation attached to PVC pipe to turn them. That is what I am attempting to do. I read somewhere on here that you can put them on their sides during lockdown. Some one else showed that they make a small nest out of paper cup (or so it looked) during lock down to keep them from rolling around.

I'm on day 10 of my first hatch so I really don't know what the best method is. This seemed to make sense to me. I'm laying them on the wire for lockdown and perhaps try to put them in a partial paper cup. I don't think the other chicks will bother them too much as I watched a lot of the footage of eggs hatching that others have posted.

Good luck!

 

[Katy]

Quote:
The biggest advantage is that the first chicks hatched aren't playing kickball with the remaining eggs.

Even in Mother nature they aren't being rolled all over an incubator's bottom.....they are nestled down in the nest ....not being rolling around, so to me it's debatable that hatching on their sides is really more like mother nature does it.

I just cut the lid off the carton....I don't cut holes in the carton or cut them down. I've never had a chick get stuck int he carton and not be able to get out.....not even the bantams.

Once I started doing it this way my hatch rates improved. I know some have good luck hatching laying on the screen.....I have better hatches with the cartons.

 

[clairabean]

When the eggs are on the side to zip, they zip around and then the chick climbs (pops!) out on it's side. The egg shifts and wiggles. When the eggs are in a cartons, the egg zips and the top pops off. I have usually seen the chick take a few moments to rest and then climb out of the egg. All the while the eggs is held secure, no rolling around.

 

[bburn]

I was given an homemade incubator that is set up in a fridge. They have little boxes made that you put a paper egg carton in when it is time for lockdown. This incubator holds 180 eggs! The theory is you can mark you eggs by breed and keep them separate at hatching. All sounds good if you have that many to hatch!

We have not fired it up yet as DH was going out of town. So, he went down and bought me an LG which I have fully loaded. Once these hatch I plan on hatching another batch if I can get the eggs I want from my chickens and a couple of people here that have offered me eggs. I plan on increasing my slow growing, slow to lay Cochin flock because I love their nature. I have a coop and pen of mixed chickens that are my real egg layers.

I am not working right now so will be here when my chicks start hatching.....so I am not too worried about having egg cartons in the incubator. I do wonder if you can use the styrofoam ones and not the cardboard ones. Cardboard would absorb the moisture. Would the others get too hot? Just wondering?

 

[bburn]

Quote:
I like the sound of that.

 

[clairabean]

Yes, the cardboard may absorb a bit of moisture, but not much to make a difference really. It is definitely not soggy, unless some water gets splashed on it.

 

[Katy]

I've never had an issue with the paper cartons absorbing the moisture.

 

[kingsfarm]

Clairabean - am on day 7 just added 1/3 cup water -(1st time hatcher) when it is time for lock down how would it be to put half eggs down on wire on side and other half in cartons...will this make a difference...I too am very interested....talk to me about the water thing please, you have experience, (temps stable 99.5 Hum.38 for 6 days) today I added water, one red plug and temp same Humidity up to 48... should I keep adding water? how much? can't see well, will remove one egg and keep it out when I candle on day 10...Help thank you

 

[Coopa Cabana]

I use the paper cartons with no problems. As I hatch bantams, I did cut them down a bit.

One of the biggest selling points for me in using the cartons is to keep the eggs oriented in the same position during lockdown/hatch as they were for the first 18 days. So if you are incubating them on their side, you might want to keep them on their side for hatching. But if you are incubating them upright, then you might try keeping them upright for hatching.

 

[gavinandallison]

I use an egg turner until day 18, then move into my older incubator to hatch. I use paper egg cartons, cut down with a vent hole in the base to keep humidity flowing. It helps with cleaning, eggs hatching are very messy........