Currently, in-ovo sexing is only used for layers, and on-farm hatching and in-ovo vaccination are primarily used for broilers. However, as in-ovo sexing becomes more widespread, on-farm hatching and in-ovo vaccination may become more common for layers as well.

Although the academic literature on the effects of on-farm hatching on layers is still young, preliminary results suggest that the reduction in early-life stress will have a host of additional benefits for both animal welfare and production efficiency. One study found that less stressed chickens lay more eggs per week and each egg tended to be around 2 grams larger. Early life stress has also been correlated to injurious pecking, one of the biggest welfare challenges for egg producers, and the underlying reason for beak treatment at the hatchery. 

In the longer term, we may also see in-ovo sexing for broilers. Separate sex rearing of broilers helps farmers meet strict requirements around the target weight of the birds by increasing the uniformity in slaughter weights within each single-sex flock. There are already initiatives underway to automate sexing for day-old broiler chicks, given the challenges associated with hiring skilled laborers in today’s economic climate. However, since an individual broiler is less economically valuable than an individual layer, in-ovo sexing would need to be substantially cheaper for broilers than for layers. 

Fortunately, in-ovo sexing may also be technically simpler for broilers than for layers, potentially allowing it to attain the required cost point. One of the technical hurdles for in-ovo sexing of layers is that it needs to be done as early as possible in the embryo’s development to guarantee that the embryo will not experience pain when destroyed. However, the younger the embryo is, the more likely it is that sex-differentiating features are underdeveloped or impossible to detect. 

However, since broilers are not culled, but rather reared separately by sex, there is little incentive to push in-ovo sexing to work as early as possible. In-ovo sexing of broilers could happen as late as day 18 when eggs are almost ready to hatch because the sex-differentiating features of the embryos will be fully developed. Performing sexing when the eggs are already being moved between incubators (or being in-ovo vaccinated) minimizes the number of times eggs are removed from incubation. While such initiatives haven’t reached the market yet, it’s possible this will be an application of the technology as costs fall. 

Similar to how in-ovo sexing will enable other beneficial practices for layers, it could do the same thing for broilers. For example, on-farm hatching combined with separate-sex rearing is only possible with in-ovo sexing. Additionally, in-ovo sexing could unlock sex-specific in-ovo vaccination regimes. Males and females have slightly different immune systems, meaning that sex-specific vaccination regimes may help keep chickens even healthier. The potential benefits of sex-specific in-ovo vaccination were previously impractical to consider, but a combination of in-ovo sexing and vaccination could make this imminently practicable.

With this portfolio of pre-hatch technologies, the hatcheries of the future for both broilers and layers could conduct all handling and processing before the chick becomes aware of what’s happening. Indeed, the poultry industry will have a strong incentive to move in this direction over time given the natural advantages of fertilized eggs for automation and process engineering, as well as the overlapping synergies between the technologies. The chicks born in the Hatchery of the Future will therefore start life in a substantially safer and less stressful way, and the industry will benefit from the significant advancements in both welfare and productivity.

If you’re interested in accelerating the transition to the hatchery of the future, don’t hesitate to reach out!