what to lay eggs on in incubator?

[chickpeaz]

I have a small tabletop 'bator that a friend built. The inside dimensions at the bottom are about 12x12, but after you take into account the water tray and gear there's about a 9x12 space for eggs. He has built a turner (a rolling platform, actually) that will hold about 9 eggs, but I think if I take that out and turn by hand I can fit about 15 in comfortably. Any suggestions as to what I should put in the bottom of the 'bator to rest the eggs on? It's just plywood and I worry about them rolling around too much or getting knocked about when clumsy old me goes to turn them.

Thanks for your help!

 

[birdlover]

Well, I got a a great idea from somebody on here. She puts her eggs inside pony tail bands. I tried it and it worked like a charm!

 

[CedarRidgeChicks]

I line my bator with the spongy shelf liner..works really well!!

 

[roche477]

The non slip shelf liner works real good.

 

[chickpeaz]

Thanks for the ideas. I thought about using a dishtowel but I was afraid it would affect the humidity (either draw or hold moisture) -- I hadn't considered the shelf liner.

 

[Iceblink]

This is just a thought, I am a newbie hatcher (First chick today!) But what I did was put a layer of short canning jars filled with water (with lids on) the bottom, then a hardware cloth 'platform,' then non stick rug liner over that. I thought that the extra air circulation through the jars, with them acting as heat sinks would be better. I used the little 1/2c jars.

So far out of 6, 1 has hatched, and 5 have pipped, so it seems to be working.

 

[ridder]

We put a layer of cheese cloth in the bottom of the hatcher and incubator. not only does this help with humidity, it makes them easier to clean out later. It is light weight and not bulky.