Does Lowering The Incubators Temperature Kill The Male Embryos?

[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.

 

[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!

 

[aart]

If you do the experiment - and it would be neat to do - you'll need data from multiple hatches. One just isn't enough.

Yes.....Lots of details.

 

[Silexian]

There are plenty of possible things that are still not practical.

In this case, I think some studies have found some difference in the ratio of male and female chicks when they mess with the temperature-- but not enough to be useful in a commercial setting.

In my opinion. It kinda goes along with the pointy and round egg theory. Which my own grandmother swore by and many people on this site do also. Even though the results of my experiments with it. Never proved it true or practical. With decades of experience and having hatched thousands of chicks. I have had incubator temperatures run a little high and a little low. With no dramatic changes to the cockerel, pullet ratio. With more customers not being able to take a gamble on chicks being cockerels. Even if the temperature theory was somewhat practical, even at the farmers market level. I would have all my incubators set and sharing the proper temperature to produce as many pullets as possible. To all that I could. These are my results and my opinions. Others may have different results and are fully entitled to their opinions as well.

 

[NatJ]

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.

Just one example: it would probably not be practical if it killed 1/2 of cockerels and 1/4 of pullets, because the hatchery would have to start with more eggs to get the same number of pullets. That would require bigger breeder flocks and more feed, and also more incubators, by which time there would be no savings on electricity. Since there would still be some males, they would still have to sex the chicks, so they would only save a little bit on labor (fewer chicks sexed to get the same number of females.)

I don't know the exact ratios of males/females from any of the experiments, but I clearly remember reading that none were able to eliminate all males, and that every method that killed males was also killing some females.

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.

I agree that it does not work on a commercial scale (the proof being that it's not being used on a commercial scale).

But for someone hatching pet chickens, who refuses to eat any chickens but wants to rehome as few males as possible, and is willing to also lose some females to do it, it might "work" well enough to be worth the bother. (I think eating the males is a much better solution, but not everyone accepts that.)

 

[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.

 

[Iluveggers]

Maybe I’ll try this next year. I can get fertile Easter Egger mixes from a farm stand, and also buy their “eating” eggs which are refrigerated. I can set half of each & see what happens. Lol They sell 1/2 dozen hatching eggs for $8, a dozen hatching for $12, and a dozen eating eggs for $4. I can get 1/2 dozen hatching and dozen eating for the price of a dozen hatching (& get 6 extra eggs).

 

[Hemusjim]

I have had luck hatching fridge eggs, being female.

We've hatched fridge eggs before also but didn't seem to affect the sex.

 

[sunnywoodlands]

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.

 

[dovecanyon]

Personally, I'm on the fence about this but I do have a question. Many are saying that commercial hatcheries don't use this method, so it must not work. How do you know that commercial hatcheries don't use it? Maybe they do. It obviously is not perfect and does not guarantee absolutely zero males, but it may lower the male count. Just sayin.