Why roosters only?

[dekel18042]

My last hatch was all females 6 of 8 eggs, 2 died inside the egg.

But before I started I was testing the theory of some comments I came across on the web about hatching. They mentioned about selecting a rounder eggs that didn't have a noticeable small end. So I tried it.

To me there's some truth to it after my test. But this was only one test so I can't make a comparison result.

That said, try looking for more rounder eggs to hatch. Remember you can leave fertile eggs on the kitchen counter for 3 weeks till you have enough. Hatch 6 minimum or more to view results.

This theory has been disproved in several magazine articles I have read.
I've also tried it to no avail. I have some hens who always lay a round egg and have produced both sexes.

 

[Tstraub]

Two out of two followed by three out of three males is well within normal chance. It happens with people all the time and nobody thinks it’s terribly out of the ordinary. My parents had three sons and no daughters. I have four sons and no daughters.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

This theory has been disproved in several magazine articles I have read.
I've also tried it to no avail. I have some hens who always lay a round egg and have produced both sexes.

And I have some hens that lay rather pointed eggs. Theirs have been pretty spot on at 50-50

 

[thlayli]

Well from two attemps: first 4 eggs in a small simple incubator; got 2 succsessful births of 4; both roosters who died because of poorly mounted heating lamp( by me…) what did fry them ( was devastated); second attempt with a different cheap Chinese hatcher “ fully automated” from 7 eggs 3 births, all roosters; the remaining 4 : one didn’t developed; 3 died in the egg almost fully developed.

So 50% confirmed cockerels for the first hatch, and a little less than that for the second. That's entirely normal. Each individual egg has a 50/50 shot of being male or female and sometimes you just get weird RNG. My last batch of 19 had 15 cockerels. The batch before that had 8/18. Sometimes you flip a coin 10 times and 8 times is tails.

As for the temperature myth, the easiest way to test it would be with sex links or autosexes. Separate out the "boy" eggs from the "girl" eggs and just wait for them to hatch, and you'll immediately have your answer. I suspect it's probably just an old wives' tale, though, otherwise hatcheries wouldn't have as many extra boy chicks as they do.

 

[Hysteria]

This theory has been disproved in several magazine articles I have read.
I've also tried it to no avail. I have some hens who always lay a round egg and have produced both sexes.

Really apreciate!! Thank you!

 

[Hysteria]

My last hatch was all females 6 of 8 eggs, 2 died inside the egg.

But before I started I was testing the theory of some comments I came across on the web about hatching. They mentioned about selecting a rounder eggs that didn't have a noticeable small end. So I tried it.

To me there's some truth to it after my test. But this was only one test so I can't make a comparison result.

That said, try looking for more rounder eggs to hatch. Remember you can leave fertile eggs on the kitchen counter for 3 weeks till you have enough. Hatch 6 minimum or more to view results.

Thank you very much!!!

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Could be myth, but I've heard that temperature plays a role. Higher temperatures result in males.

So temperature won't affect gender.

There is an explanation for why temperature plays a role. I apologize for not being able to find the reference at the moment, but I recall a study that showed incubator temperature is slightly related to the mortality of male vs. female chicks - so that more male chicks survive higher temperatures while females survive better at lower temperatures. Mind you now, the difference was very minimal - something like 1% or 2% - so if you have a full incubator load of, say, 48 eggs, then incubating at lower temperature may result in maybe one more female chick surviving than at a higher temperature.

 

[Hysteria]

Miracle happend!!:

The white rooster ( I thought it was a he) after much crowling, suddenly laid an egg…..

A crowling hen…

I live in a very strict policy neigborhood in Japan.

After the first red rooster was taken away, the second hen like one, unbelivingly in about a week dramatically changed: legs got thicker, grow tail feathers ; neck feathers expanded and begin to crawl extensively.

That too had to go, very unfortunately.

The next day the white one started to crawl for the first time.

Tried to keep him; covered the cage for the night ; unveiled in the mornings; this worked.

Also gave him red clover tea as a drink; this mimiks the estrogen supressing a bit the testosterone.

In about a week became totally henish. Since a week laids daily an egg.

No more crawlings; I’m totally releaved.

 

[msmidwick]

I have had the same problem many years ago. Hatched too many roosters and finally stopped with the incubator. I could sure use a rooster now though. No rooster, no babies here.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

psssttt @Hysteria just FYI, if you want to know. The word is "crow", not "crawl." I'll go hide again, now. Sorry to interrupt.