Can anyone sex chicks by egg shape??

[lazy gardener]

According to the genetics, it's the female which actually determines gender... not like mammals. So, ignore my previous statement...

 

[JJSS89]

According to the genetics, it's the female which actually determines gender... not like mammals. So, ignore my previous statement...

You know it's funny you mention that. I had a Rhode Island Red that went broody so I let her go off and brood in a dog kennel with only her eggs. She hatched 11 eggs that were all pullets. Talk about an awesome bird, a broody egg laying maniac who only raises pullets

 

[itsmed55]

Wow. I've got my first 12 eggs in the incubator day 17. I thought I had 11 pullets and one cockerel, based on the "egg shape thoery". Now I have no idea whether they will be boys or girls. Exciting!!!

 

[HickoryHollow]

There has been a scientific study on this....read for yourself, you should be able to paste this in your address bar but let me know if it doesnt work and I'll try something else....

....but it does indicate that rounder wider eggs are more likely to produce female chicks and longer narrower eggs males:

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...GJnXfxHMm6DH7Qt9w&sig2=BDNWxCQzjm8om_2Qj8mPkQ

I just read this entire article. It is fascinating, but mind scrambling. I am pretty sure Female chick sex probability (IP1) = - 0.39531 + (0.01214 × shape index) (R2=0.25) and The comparison of less versus greater values of shape index, egg width, length and volume were also determined and the odds ratio of egg width, length, and shape index were found to be around 1 (1.06, 0.99 and 1.01, respectively).

 

[KirstieJG]

Ha ha, I know, it is a little hard to read but the bit you need is a little after that....

"Pointed shaped eggs were more likely to produce male chicks and the rounded shaped eggs were more likely to produce female chicks (p < 0.0001). Similarly, Mulder & Wollan (1974) reported that rounded (oval) shaped eggs most likely to produce pullets (female) and pointed end (pointy) shaped eggs were most likely to produce cockerels (male)."

 

[lazy gardener]

Ok, looking for a computer geek to set up a survey to go with this thread: What did you set for eggs? % of eggs which fit the "female" vs "male" profile. How did you mark or divide these eggs for the hatch? Did you do any thing specific related to diet of the birds prior to collection? What were your results?

Of course the results would need to wait until chicks could be definitely sexed. However, if any one is setting sex linked eggs, that would make the findings real easy to determine. (do a thread search for "sex linked information". There are some excellent charts.) I have 4 gals who will be producing sex linked chicks for me this spring... If everybody plays the game the way I want them to.

Pics of eggs and chicks would be great.

 

[goosie mad]

I have tried it and I had girl chicks the first time but get boys and girls since, I set 4 round eggs the first time and got 4 girls but unfortunately the rotten crows got them so I have been very careful ever since, but now the eggs can be girls or boys, I think it has a lot to do with the weather also, but I shall keep trying.

[email protected]

 

[mermaids]

Can anyone repute or refute this? I had the impression that when a hen lays eggs, it alternates between male and female. For example, if fertilized, today's egg will produce a male chick (Z chromosome), tomorrow's egg will produce a female (W chromosome), etc.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm guessing that this is about as reliable as every other method of determining gender. In theory, this would make sense. In application... maybe yes, maybe no. Perhaps there are some hens that tend to produce lots of pullets, and other hens that tend to produce lots of cockrels. Similar to some families that produce lots of girls, while others produce lots of boys. I'm

and

for you to devise a method to experiment and prove or disprove this theory. And will

you on in your scientific study, and will perhaps join you. Can't be any less fun than doing the egg shaped gender experiment!!!

 

[mermaids]

Well, if I could use the gene equipment in the test lab at work, I could give you a definitive answer! But I doubt they'd let me run expensive tests just for our curiosity

Though I'll ask the person running the lab--just in case someday they have another reason to look for non-human DNA to test.

And they'll have to be tested in the lab since I don't hatch chicks! Can't keep a rooster!

BTW families that tend to produce more girls or more boys is mere coincidence, unless there is a parent who has fertile Klinefelter, an interrupted 23rd chromosome, etc. And I believe the odds of encountering something like that is about 1 in 10,000.

How hen's eggs form, however, I'm thinking might be different... well, if I ever find anything, I'll report back! Don't hold your breath!

On a tangent--how do we request a hold-breath-until-blue-in-the-face smiley?