Choosing your setting eggs

[ccrane11]

Is it true that an egg that is more oval and round is more prone to producing pullets? An old timer told me that.

 

[chicmom]

Well, I think that might be an old wive's tale.

When you select eggs to incubate, you do want to pick ones with that "perfect look" so that they babies come out healthy. So you don't want a looooong egg, or a round ball of an egg......You need that smaller end for the air sac.

Only one way to find out though....Hatch some eggs and see, I guess.

But you know, old timers really do have that life experience that us younger ones haven't had yet. (I'm 50, so I'm not an old-timer quite yet. haha) They have alot of valuable information to share.....

 

[ChickenCanoe]

People will want to argue with me but no, it's not true. If that were true, hatcheries that produce pullets for egg farms would only set "pullet" eggs. Each hen is prone to lay a certain shape egg, so that would mean some hens only produce cockerels and some only produce pullets.
The hatcheries produce 50/50 and don't have much of a market for boys.

 

[ccrane11]

I will be experimenting in the spring and will post my results

 

[ChickenCanoe]

...

When you select eggs to incubate, you do want to pick ones with that "perfect look" so that they babies come out healthy. So you don't want a looooong egg, or a round ball of an egg......You need that smaller end for the air sac.
..
.

X2

 

[ChickenCanoe]

this has been discussed here many times

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/179452/can-you-really-tell-the-sex-from-the-shape-of-the-egg

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/489146/can-anyone-sex-chicks-by-egg-shape

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/853847/eggs-shape-can-you-determine-chick-sex

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/48083/egg-shape-and-sex-of-chicks

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/460682/can-a-chick-be-sexed-by-egg-shape

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/594676/hummm-egg-shape-tells-sex-of-to-be-chick-thoughts

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/118366/determining-sex-by-shape-of-egg

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

People will want to argue with me but no, it's not true. If that were true, hatcheries that produce pullets for egg farms would only set "pullet" eggs. Each hen is prone to lay a certain shape egg, so that would mean some hens only produce cockerels and some only produce pullets.
The hatcheries produce 50/50 and don't have much of a market for boys.

Exactly - all the anecdotal "evidence" to the contrary aside, if there truly were any magic way to hatch pullets (the egg shape, the incubation temperature, etc) the hatchery industry would have hopped on that train long ago maximize production of pullet chicks which are the ones in demand.

 

[ccrane11]

It would be a good experiment. I will let you all know the results. If I end up with extra roosters they will make good fryers for my freezer.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

This is what determines the sex of a chick.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1083846/
The hen is responsible because she determines the ZZ or ZW chromosome but not because of her egg shape.

 

[AmericanMom]

This is what determines the sex of a chick.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1083846/
The hen is responsible because she determines the ZZ or ZW chromosome but not because of her egg shape.

LOL.. I wonder if we can talk them into providing that pullet chromosome more often then not


Its interesting, in mammals its the male that determines sex but in birds its the female..