I've heard of the string/chain method before for other things. It's called dowsing, like they used to do to find water to dig a well. I was told that to determine if a goat was bred or not and what sex the kids would be, you take a chain and dangle it over the right side of the goat. If it swings one way, it's a girl, another way, it's a boy, a different way was for one of each, and if it didn't move at all the animal wasn't pregnant. So I did a controlled test. Two goats I knew were pregnant, one I was not sure (but now know she is), a wether (neutered male) and an intact male. According to the test, not only were all three of the females pregnant, but both males too! And I got different results about the kids' sex every time I tested...they're not on the ground yet, so I don't know for sure what they are, but this method definitely does not work for determining pregnancy. Supposedly they used to do this on humans as well--and if it's accurate, I guess my husband is expecting to give birth to a baby girl soon! I doubt it works on eggs any better than it does on goats or humans.
