For every laying hen that is hatched, approximately one male counterpart also hatches. However, as roosters do not produce eggs, they are typically culled, or euthanized, at hatch. However, the culling of these day-old male chicks raises ethical concerns.
A new in ovo sexing technique with a modified genetic trait to hatch only female chicks may someday help eliminate the culling of day-old male chicks. According to developer and embryologist Yuval Cinnamon, PhD, the genetically based solution offers many benefits over the other technologies currently on the market.
The keynote address of the 2023 Poultry Science Association conference featured Yuval Cinnamon, PhD, an Israeli embryologist leading a team of scientists that developed the first layer flock that produces females only.
