Hatching new chicks

[timbermallard7]

I was wondering what everyones take on ratios of roosters to hens when hatching out eggs, what would it be? Would it be 2 to 1, 3 to 1, or maybe more? Would it make a difference on temp of an incubator, hatching them under a hen, or any other special conditions?Just wondering.

Thanks for any and all replies,
timbermallard7

 

[ginbart]

Boy whose are some good questions. I hope someone who knows will be able to answer when we both will know.

You ask "Would it make a difference on temp of an incubator, hatching them under a hen, or any other special conditions? I think if it did we would all be having hens.

Unless we needed a roo.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
There are no external factors that determine secondary sex allocation (at birth.)
That is determined at fertilization.
As each parent offers one chromosomal set, the ratio is generally given as 1:1.
There are going to be some variations from this in small populations, but as the sample group gets bigger it, will come closer and closer to this model.
In humans, it is given as 1.05-1.07:1, male to female.
It is based on the work of a man named Fischer and is called the Fischer Principle.

There was a man, Dr. N.W. Walker, who claimed in the 70's that sorghum seed could skew the sex ratio towards female offspring, but it was never proven that I know of, and certainly is not in use. If we could breed all hens, or near to it, our fortunes would be assured.

 

[coopist]

There is some evidence that excellent nutrition could play a limited role by triggering the production of progesterone in the female bird, thus skewing the offspring toward a higher number of females:

""Researchers think that birds such as the Seychelles warbler may bias the sex of their offspring when, for example, their territory has plenty of food and the mother bird needs help in feeding the next generation," says Correa. Since males disperse, the mother bird may adaptively bias her offspring to female so that plenty of females from one generation will be available to help raise the next generation.

Although the finding is not of practical use in the near future for the poultry industry, Correa and Adkins-Regan say that understanding the basic mechanism of biasing sex ratios in birds could provide the foundation for learning how to manipulate the sex ratio of avian offspring in the future. Research in this area is just beginning, they note, because the molecular methods used to determine the sex of the eggs has only recently been made available."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050517215429.htm

 

[ginbart]

Quote:
There are no external factors that determine secondary sex allocation (at birth.)
That is determined at fertilization.
As each parent offers one chromosomal set, the ratio is generally given as 1:1.
There are going to be some variations from this in small populations, but as the sample group gets bigger it, will come closer and closer to this model.
In humans, it is given as 1.05-1.07:1, male to female.
It is based on the work of a man named Fischer and is called the Fischer Principle.

There was a man, Dr. N.W. Walker, who claimed in the 70's that sorghum seed could skew the sex ratio towards female offspring, but it was never proven that I know of, and certainly is not in use. If we could breed all hens, or near to it, our fortunes would be assured.

See I told you, you almost know everything.

 

[Davaroo]

For the ultimate in biasing sex ratio, read "Brave New World," by Aldous Huxley.