Does Lowering The Incubators Temperature Kill The Male Embryos?

[MROO]

If there was a way to guarantee - or even significantly increase the percentage of female chicks, rest assured that the hatcheries would already be using it. The number of "accidental" cockerels and the straight run percentages of our hatchery purchases would reflect the "better" outcome. So the best answer I can come up with is "Nope!"
Although - in my own expewrience - messing with temperatures can kill the male egglets ... AND the females! You have no way of knowing the gender of the dead embryo - just the percentage of total loss.

On a GOOD note :
If you do the experiment - and it would be neat to do - you'll need data from multiple hatches. One just isn't enough. Oh darn! A scientific reason for hatching more babies! DO IT!

 

[gimmie birdies]

May be best not to mess with it and deal with males as they come. Your only worry is when they crow. until then, enjoy.

 

[MadamContrary]

Oh... I didn't know they got stuck in the egg... I thought that they just died earlier...

It slows normal development and leads to a higher incidence of curled toes and longer necks with malpositioned heads, and late hatches. However, again this something that's only been studied in extremely fast growing breeds. It's possible that the outcome could be better or even worse with other breeds.

 

[aart]

If you set the incubator's temperature 1 degree lower will it kill all the male embryos? I have heard that if you set the incubator's temperature 1 degree lower it kills all the male embryos, is that true? I'm heading into breeding and if that is true it will be so much easer, and more humane way to kill the boys.

Short answer is, No.
Works with reptiles but not birds.

 

[nuthatched]

What is hogwash? There is no harm in trying, is there?

No harm in trying except even without experimental incubation, anyone with a shaky grip on biology wouldn't bother.
Ten years ago the myth of the day was higher Temps results kill males, it flips back and forth every decade or so. This myth started from thinking that birds are some how related to reptiles so you can use incubation Temps to get better hatch rates in one gender, there are very specific groups of reptiles who's gender is decided by temperature.
but not all reptiles.
and none that can even be remotely said that 'birds came from these' ( certain Turtle species, crocodiliea, and certain skinks.) A birds gender is decided at egg fertilization, and birds don't live long so it's in their best interest to hatch as many of both genders as possible to keep the species going.

 

[NatJ]

I learned the refrigeration method from an actual scientific study, & have been using it since. According to the study, the female chicks are genetically Male, & when bred to a rooster will produce only males.

That mechanism might work.

But if you sell any of those "females" to someone, they may be pretty disappointed when they hatch some eggs and every chick is male!

Have you tested any of them to see if this is actually what is happening with your birds?
(Either DNA sex test on the "females" showing them to be male, or batches of all-male chicks from "females" that you hatched that way.)

 

[LadiesAndJane]

One would think that if this was true or possible. That it would already be common practice amongst the commercial egg farms and hatcheries.

Agreed.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Why would this not be practical? Turning the incubator temp down a degree or two or whatever would also save a little energy costs. Sounds like it would be a win/win for the hatcheries.
I agree with the other poster. Hatcheries are a business and business is about making profits.
If the difference wouldn't be enough to increase profits then IMO it wouldn't be enough of a difference to claim it really works.

 

[The Moonshiner]

But for someone hatching pet chickens, who refuses to eat any chickens but wants to rehome as few males as possible,

This part is me to a T.

 

[-Flash-]

Like this post if you want a tag in my hatch-along thread where I try this method.