Diary & Notes ~ Air Cell Detatched SHIPPED Chicken Eggs for incubation and hatching

[mikkles]

I have "heard" (well read actually) about temps influencing the sex of the chick also..not changing it but killin off the embryo. I believe what I read stated that colder temps ie: refrigerator or being chilled in the nest in winter, would kill male embryos. Does anyone know if there's any truth to this?

 

[ozexpat]

I have "heard" (well read actually) about temps influencing the sex of the chick also..not changing it but killin off the embryo. I believe what I read stated that colder temps ie: refrigerator or being chilled in the nest in winter, would kill male embryos. Does anyone know if there's any truth to this?

thats what I was getting at with my succinct but perhaps construed as snarky answer

I will post the full explanation when I have time - i thought it would be better to get some sort of answer off.

 

[bellah1]

I am not beating on anyone


just trying to help you and everyone when sally is overloaded or asleep

Poor misunderstood oz! You have the same personality as my husband, people just take offense to quickly especially when u are not face to face. I agree with you, Sally is overworked and she doesn't work here. If people would read what she tells them too and reread it then ask questions it would ease the weight off of her a bit. But it's hard when ur on ur first hatch or assist and you want an answer NOW! But it's an opinion you can just scroll right by!

 

[pogmobum]

Poor misunderstood oz! You have the same personality as my husband, people just take offense to quickly especially when u are not face to face. I agree with you, Sally is overworked and she doesn't work here. If people would read what she tells them too and reread it then ask questions it would ease the weight off of her a bit. But it's hard when ur on ur first hatch or assist and you want an answer NOW! But it's an opinion you can just scroll right by!

X2

 

[ozexpat]

So I know I have been called a turkey but here is the sex/temp think done with research on Australian Bush Turkeys:

Sex ratios have important evolutionary consequences and are often biased by environmental factors. The effect of developmental temperature on offspring sex ratios has been widely documented across a diverse range of taxa but has rarely been investigated in birds and mammals. However, recent field observations and artificial incubation experiments have demonstrated that the hatching sex ratio of a megapode, the Australian brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), varied with incubation temperature; more females hatched at high incubation temperatures and more males hatched at low temperatures. Here, we investigated the causes of this temperature-dependent sex-biasing system. Molecular sexing of chicks and embryos confirmed that male embryo mortality was greater at high temperatures while female embryo mortality is greater at low temperatures, with mortality in both sexes similar at intermediate incubation temperatures. Temperature-dependent sex-biased embryo mortality represents a novel mechanism of altering sex ratios in birds. This novel mechanism, coupled with the unique breeding biology of the brush-turkey, offers a potentially unparalleled opportunity in which to investigate sex allocation theory in birds.

orriginally posted available at:
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/275/1652/2703.full

 

[mikkles]

so there may be some truth to it huh? oh and i AM a total newbie and try to research as much as I can. I just hadn't thought of it much since I read it and figured it must be so much crap because if it were true why wouldn't the "big" hatcheries use this technique since they seem to want more girls? I know I sure would think of using it since Roos tend to not like Mike (I tell him it's cuz they're jealous of his long blond hair) lol I get to keep some roos..but oh how nice would it be to stack the deck to get more hens????

 

[silver1313]

so higher temps can possibly make more pullets .. hmmm is interesting to know that some research has shown that in poultry ... going to google and see if i can find more to read on that lol

 

[ozexpat]

Sally:

Have you read this

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/eggs/res32-qa.html

 

[ozexpat]

so higher temps can possibly make more pullets .. hmmm is interesting to know that some research has shown that in poultry ... going to google and see if i can find more to read on that lol

Higher temp skills more cockerels - it does not make more pullets.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Thanks for all of your help Sally. Things seem to be going much more smoothly and i will have a picture for you as soon as everyone is out.

I do have a question or a point of debate for everyone. I bought one of those hova bators from the lady at my feed store and she said that I should probably just go for a cabinet incubator or a brinsea (neither of which she carries), because when you use those styrofoam incubators, you get all cockerels because you can't control the temps so well. .

I nodded and smiled, and kind of blew it off. But I incubated my eggs at about 101.5/102 and I had a perfect hatch, 9/9. They are all pullets. Now I remember something vaguely from 4-H about temperature and sex. Does incubation temp influence sex? Or is my roo just shooting XX's.

I have read that it somehow does effect the sex somewhere and then the next thing I read says it doesn't. So until I see a clinical study or something I will go with heresay. If you ever find any facts about it I would love to see them! I think this has run through all our minds at some point for sure!

And oz wasn't saying that to anyone in particular, don't take offence. He just doesn't have the patients (ok that he does! and he can spell sometimes too) anyway that a lot of us have! you see day in day out we do get a lot of the same questions and sometimes it does get a tad frustrating that the info was set forth just for them by Me and the others. But even if I do get stressed at times I honestly will keep pasting the info that's in the article to answer and share the links, I get so many PMs and I LOVE helping others and saving chicks, CAN YOU TELL? It makes me feel very good to know that I helped some ease some stress and save chicks for sure!

Oz is used to saving peoples lives, I think this is where the big difference comes in. He is a lot more dedicated that I am for sure! But in the practice he is in I think he also had to learn to be strong and he knows he has life in his hands....

I cleaned my notes in the article because of the abundance of questions we get asked and its so much easier than to type it every time, now I can just throw out the link and do a copy and paste and I know I typed it right and it doesn't have errors and I even tried to explain WHY on quite a few issues and procedures. THE WORST THING is trying to answer and screw up with wrong info by English and typos! We all have added to that article in one way or another for sure and I think we all use it too!