How can I have more roosters in my incubator?

[hackertom]

Is that possible or not?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It is just a game of chance.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Incubate more eggs.

Since the ancient Greek philosophers there has been speculation that egg shape predicts the sex of the chick. I forget which philosopher it was but he said rounded eggs produce males and pointy eggs produce females. The current take on this is the opposite, round means female and pointy means male.

There is an active thread on here where people are testing this theory. I have not read all of it but some people say “It worked for me”, while others say “It did not for me”. You can try it and see what results you get.

I’ve seen speculation that the temperature of incubation can determine sex, like it does with some reptiles. It doesn’t work that way with chickens. The hen determines the sex of the chick when she contributes her DNA. The sex is determined even before it is fertilized by a rooster.

My thoughts are that if there were a way to determine sex easily (you can do it by taking samples and analyzing them in a lab but that’s not quick or cheap) the broiler industry would be hatching mostly males and the egg laying industry would be hatching mostly females. They are not.

 

[Talithahorse]

Incubate more eggs.

Since the ancient Greek philosophers there has been speculation that egg shape predicts the sex of the chick. I forget which philosopher it was but he said rounded eggs produce males and pointy eggs produce females. The current take on this is the opposite, round means female and pointy means male.

There is an active thread on here where people are testing this theory. I have not read all of it but some people say “It worked for me”, while others say “It did not for me”. You can try it and see what results you get.

I’ve seen speculation that the temperature of incubation can determine sex, like it does with some reptiles. It doesn’t work that way with chickens. The hen determines the sex of the chick when she contributes her DNA. The sex is determined even before it is fertilized by a rooster.

My thoughts are that if there were a way to determine sex easily (you can do it by taking samples and analyzing them in a lab but that’s not quick or cheap) the broiler industry would be hatching mostly males and the egg laying industry would be hatching mostly females. They are not.

OK, So I have never heard that the hen determines the sex. That doesn't make logical sense to me but please can you explain how that works. Typically the males have an XY and females have XX so the male determines sex of the offspring. How is it different in chickens?

 

[ChickenLayD]

Don't use eggs that were stored in a refrigerator before setting! The cold temperature is more opt to kill male embryos but not female.

 

[Ridgerunner]

With chickens the females have xy while the males are xx, or whatever terminology you want to use. The very first post in this thread sort of explains it and tells you how to use it to make sex links.

Tadkerson’s Sex Link Thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261208

 

[Talithahorse]

OK, So I have never heard that the hen determines the sex. That doesn't make logical sense to me but please can you explain how that works. Typically the males have an XY and females have XX so the male determines sex of the offspring. How is it different in chickens?

I did a little research and here is a very interesting article which really tries in vain to explain it. I have a science degree and I was confused but it was interesting. http://io9.gizmodo.com/why-do-birds-have-zw-sex-chromosomes-instead-of-xy-1682328912

 

[ChickenCanoe]

OK, So I have never heard that the hen determines the sex. That doesn't make logical sense to me but please can you explain how that works. Typically the males have an XY and females have XX so the male determines sex of the offspring. How is it different in chickens?

It's not just different in chickens.
http://io9.gizmodo.com/why-do-birds-have-zw-sex-chromosomes-instead-of-xy-1682328912

In the XY chromosome system of mammals and the XO system of some insects, males are the heterogametic sex and females are the homogametic sex. So in those animals, sperm determines sex of offspring.
Sex of birds, as well as some insects, fish, reptiles and crustaceans is determined by ZW chromosomes. In these classes of the animal kingdom, the male is the homogametic sex having the ZZ chromosome. The ovum contains both Z and W, so females determine the sex of offspring.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9354761

 

[Talithahorse]

Thanks. And all this time I was blaming the old rooster for all the roosters we kept getting.... Sorry Fluffy!

 

[hackertom]

Thanks for your answers. .