For the first time, several major US egg producers have committed to using a new technology called “in-ovo sexing” that can determine the sex of chicken embryos before they hatch. (See AWI Quarterly, winter 2023.) Kipster, NestFresh, and Egg Innovations have announced plans to begin implementing the inventive technique in the coming months, with a goal of offering in-ovo-sexed eggs in US stores in 2025.
Many European countries have already banned chick culling. In the United States, however, millions of day-old male chicks are culled annually, typically by maceration (dropped into a high-speed grinder and shredded alive) or by suffocation (dumped into large plastic bags). The chicks are killed because they cannot lay eggs, and the breeds used for egg production do not grow fast enough to be economically raised for meat. Sexing technology enables eggs containing male embryos to be identified and disposed of before the embryo begins to feel pain.