Temperature-dependent sex-biased embryo mortality

[huntseat]

The papers I have read can only sway the hatch by about 10%, those being the embryos that are borderline female/male.

Like I said if this worked even if only 10% you know it would be taking the industry by storm, just like the sexlinks have.

At this point you might try just a straight-up 99.5 degree hatch and cross your fingers. Shipped eggs are much more fragile due to shipping damage, etc.

Speaking to the male eggs being sold...I put the eggs from my female egg laying hens in my incubator meaning the ones that are eaten/sold aren't from them. (I don't sell hatching eggs, so I don't feel like I'm cheating anyone.)

What breed have you chosen?

You are right in that changing the egg producing flock will skew the results. In order to know if it works 100% you would need to know the sex of the eggs before setting. I keep track of which hen lays girls or boys and choose my eggs accordingly. It's not 100% but it's in the 95% range to date.

Have you tried dowsing for the sex? Some say it works, if you have the ability to divide the hatching group and watch until 8 weeks of age you might find another method that some folks swear by for sexing eggs.

http://www.e-chickens.com/dowsing.htm

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/117005/dowsing-for-egg-sex-to-be/20

 

[Arielle]

Low temps should give a nod to the female chicks, high temps increase males. Based on turkey data which trends with my own experiences.

Once you get a good hen that lays female eggs you will off to the races.

I wonder if the people selling hatching eggs aren't shipping the eggs from hens they know to lay more males eggs...my gut says that's exactly what's happening.

THis is very unlikely as who has time to track every hen . . . . .besides a great rooster, as a breeder, is worth many more times any hen. He is the foundation of a good line. While many of us see the hen as valuable, it is the rooster that makes her that is the real value. I would rather have more males to pick from any day.

While the odds of a chicken being either male or female are 1 of 2 choices, making it statisitcally 50:50. In reality, far more males are hatched than females ( large populations). THis is true of humans too. More males than females, then by age 10 yrs old it is 50:50, then the female population slowly continues to become bigger. Based on how my boys behave, this is a good thing-- boys have hgher death rates due to behavoir and health.

Have fun trying to get more girls. An interesting study.

 

[bumpercarr]

The papers I have read can only sway the hatch by about 10%, those being the embryos that are borderline female/male.

Like I said if this worked even if only 10% you know it would be taking the industry by storm, just like the sexlinks have.

At this point you might try just a straight-up 99.5 degree hatch and cross your fingers. Shipped eggs are much more fragile due to shipping damage, etc.

Speaking to the male eggs being sold...I put the eggs from my female egg laying hens in my incubator meaning the ones that are eaten/sold aren't from them. (I don't sell hatching eggs, so I don't feel like I'm cheating anyone.)

What breed have you chosen?

You are right in that changing the egg producing flock will skew the results. In order to know if it works 100% you would need to know the sex of the eggs before setting. I keep track of which hen lays girls or boys and choose my eggs accordingly. It's not 100% but it's in the 95% range to date.

Have you tried dowsing for the sex? Some say it works, if you have the ability to divide the hatching group and watch until 8 weeks of age you might find another method that some folks swear by for sexing eggs.

http://www.e-chickens.com/dowsing.htm

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/117005/dowsing-for-egg-sex-to-be/20

I'm working on dark and partridge brahmas, the darks are very difficult to find (at least good ones, not hatchery). I know that shipping eggs is a big concern and there are all sorts of variables when hatching shipped eggs. I'm pretty sure that part of my hatch rate problem is that I am at 5,000 feet and most of my suppliers are at or close to sea level. That has to affect the eggs in some manner, I haven't done any research on that particular topic. I would think that mortality would be higher at a higher altitude, we have less oxygen in our air. But my hatch rate on my own eggs is pretty good, so maybe there is something about going from sea level to higher altitude?

There are lots of wives tales out there about selecting eggs to choose sexes of the hatched chicks and if I was hatching from my own flock it would sure be an interesting experiment to see if I could select female eggs to hatch and then eat/sell the boy eggs that I don't need. Have you tried it? I've heard that some have some good luck with it, but my scientific mind says that there is no way that this could work. An interesting thought though.

 

[huntseat]

Quote:
I bet the pressure change is creating havoc on your hatches, my ears are popping thinking about it. My two hens that lay female eggs are very round, just like the wives tale. I almost can't find the air cell at times. The two hens that lay male eggs are vey long and pointy, just like the wives tale. I can not in good faith state that my findings are in any way scientific as you know that takes a minimum of 1,000 similar findings and the hubby isn't having that! Just the shear volume of data/eggs/hens/hatches to crunch all that boggles my mind!

 

[bumpercarr]

I think my husband would shoot me as well if I were to try to hatch thousands of eggs. I guess instead of being overrun with feral cats I could be overrun with feral chickens!

 

[huntseat]

The up side to this is that you can eat chickens...LOL!

 

[bumpercarr]

Yeah, lots and lots of fried chicken! I guess we'll have a butchering party this fall. I don't pluck though, just breast them out. It is the killing that I really hate.

 

[Arielle]

Yeah, lots and lots of fried chicken! I guess we'll have a butchering party this fall. I don't pluck though, just breast them out. It is the killing that I really hate.

Hence I prefer butchering tukeys over chickens-- I really hate the killing too and a turkey has about 2-3 times the meat of a chicken. . . .