I have heard people say that on day say, 18, they use the egg carton method.... does this mean when they take the turner out they put each egg in a carton to hatch?
yes, people place the eggs in a carton just for the hatch. Cut the lid off and some put hole in the bottom for air circulation. I am actually going to try it for the first time in 3 days. I can't find a pic to show you but there are lots on here.
I love it and won't go back to laying them down. I also put some shelving material, the rubbery holey kind, over the grate.
Those of you that use the carton hatching method, why do you do it? I am using cartons for the first 18 days, because I am turning them by tilting the whole bator (Little Giant), and the cartons keep them from rolling around and breaking. I was going to take the cartons out and lay the eggs on their sides for hatching, but now I am wondering if I should leave the cartons in for the hatch? Just wondering what the advantages of leaving the cartons in for the hatch would be.
i'd just set them flat and leave them in the cartons...that way they don't roll around and smack into each other...poor little guys get turned upside down and have to work to turn around again...makes it faster for them to hatch i've heard...my ducks are lame in the hatching dept so i use the carton to help them.
The new little ones are so clumsy that they start rolling the eggs all around. The cartons keep everyone nice & stable and not getting all disoriented. I tried it last year after reading about it on here and it made a big difference. After I did it, I "tossed" some eggs in from under a broody because I didn't have a safe place for them to hatch and they weren't in the cartons - they rolled everywhere!
This is the only way I hatch now. The first few times I hatched I layed the eggs on their sides. The chicks that hatched rolled the eggs around and they ended up drowning because their pip holes were facing the bottom. Since I've been hatching in the cartons, my hatch rates are anywhere from 75%-100%, depending on the eggs. They also hatch cleaner with less umbilical issues and have no problem getting out. I highly recommend it for all eggs.
