The killing of freshly hatched male chicks is one of the most wasteful and controversial issues in both the animal welfare space and egg industry. Billions of baby male chicks are of no use to the egg industry because they do not lay eggs nor to the meat industry because they do not grow efficiently enough. Thus, they are killed within one day of their birth. However, in-ovo sexing represents a valuable solution for forward-thinking businesses to this wasteful problem.
In the United States, around 300 million male chicks are killed each year. This equates to around 30,000 freshly hatched chicks every hour. Up to eight billion male chicks born in the egg industry are killed worldwide every year.
As staggering as these numbers of male chicks killed are, the methods used to kill the baby chicks are equally shocking. The two most prevalent methods used to kill baby chicks are maceration (grinding), where the baby chicks are put through a grinder while fully conscious. Being ground alive is the industry method of choice compared with electrocution, where the baby chicks are loaded onto an electrically charged surface plate in groups and electrocuted to death. Other methods include: gassing or dumping of the chicks into trash bags to die by suffocation.
Entire countries and major stakeholders are taking action against chick culling. This practice has always met with great public resistance, so much now that even entire countries are banning male chick culling.
Major stakeholders and food businesses are already sending significant signals to consumers who increasingly want more transparency and respect for animal welfare in the production of their food.
Unilever and the U.S. trade group United Egg Producers (a collective responsible for 90% of egg production in the U.S.) have committed themselves to support the development of alternatives to chick culling and to use them as soon as they are commercially available.
Animal Equality welcomes the fact that numerous technology companies are already working on alternatives to chick killing and have already made enormous progress. The German company Seleggt is a prominent producer of "killing-free" eggs. These have been sold in Germany via the Respeggt label since 2018. These eggs are now also available in France and the Netherlands. More recently, ALDI has agreed to end male chick culling and has become known for its egg assortment. In total, cull-free eggs are available in 6,000+ supermarkets in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France.
As consumers increasingly speak out on this issue, companies that adopt in-ovo sexing will improve brand positioning and reputation, while minimizing potential fallout from bad press and/or undercover investigations into food business suppliers and environmental impact. And, as mentioned above, it will save food businesses a significant amount of money in the long term, too.
A June 2020 report published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics states, “Findings show that chick culling is widely disapproved and that maintaining the current practice is considered the worst alternative for the majority of respondents (89%), whereas in-ovo gender determination (in-ovo sexing) is preferred.”
Researchers have also found “a low price sensitivity and high WTP (willingness to pay) for in-ovo screening alternatives for 69% of respondents.”
In-Ovo Sexing is an opportunity to cut down on waste, spare billions of animals a painful death, and align with consumer expectations.
In-ovo sexing is a process that determines the sex of the baby chick while still in the egg (in-ovo). In-ovo sexing prevents the male chicks from hatching in the first place, cutting down on waste, money spent, resources, and cruelty to animals. Research constantly progresses and supposedly up-to-date information can age rapidly, but here are some of the current methods:
With this method, a small amount of liquid is extracted from each egg to determine the sex. The biggest company using this is Seleggt–one of the pioneers of this technology–which is currently being used already in Germany.
Companies using this technology: Seleggt
This method uses a special light that will change its reflection based on the sex of the egg. There are many companies that use this type of technology, though each method is slightly different.
Companies using this technology: Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR); Hypereye; Agri Advanced Technologies (AAT); Innovatec Hatchery Automation; In Ovo; TeraEgg; LIVEggTM
Gene editing edits the mother hen’s genes to include certain markers to indicate the sex of the chickens under a specific light. This technology works at Day 0, so it has the benefit of guaranteeing that the chicks won’t feel pain.
Companies using this technology: EggXYt; CSIRO
Some companies are trying to change the sex of the embryo so that less males are born. Different sound waves during incubation are used to increase the ratio of females per batch of eggs.
Companies using this technology: Soos
