Specialty egg producer NestFresh Eggs celebrated the first hatch of in-ovo sexed chicks in the US on Tuesday at Hy-Line North America’s Iowa hatchery, paving the way for a new category of specialty eggs for US consumers.
It plans to transition its entire egg line to this new process, with certified eggs from the sexed chickens launching in retail in July 2025 at retailers including Albertson’s, Harris Teeter, Whole Foods Market, Publix and H-E-B.
The technology, which enables hatcheries to sex chicks before they hatch, is designed to end the practice of killing male chicks as soon as they are born as they are of little interest to the industry as they can’t lay eggs, and there’s no viable market for their meat as the breeds of chicken used in egg and meat production are different.
While in-ovo sexing is gaining traction in Europe, the US has been slower on the uptake. However, NestFresh is one of a handful of firms in the US including Kipster and Egg Innovations to explore various approaches to the challenge, ranging from non-invasive imaging to allantoic sampling.
‘Our eggs are expected to hit the market by mid-2025’
German firm Agri Advanced Technologies (AAT)—which is working with NestFresh—deploys hyperspectral imaging to look through the shell of an egg to determine the color of the embryo’s feathers, which can sex eggs of brown layers in ovo, as males and females have different colored feathers.
While this technique is faster and cheaper than allantoic sampling (whereby a drop of liquid is extracted from eggs around day nine of incubation and tested for sex biomarkers), firms must wait until a slightly later stage in the embryo’s 21-day incubation (day 13) to ensure accuracy.
“Our adoption of in-ovo sexing technology marks a pivotal moment in the egg industry,” said NestFresh EVP Mike Sencer. “While many companies have announced plans to adopt in-ovo sexing technologies when available, NestFresh will be the first to actually implement this technology and bring in-ovo sexed eggs to the US market.
“We have now placed orders for in-ovo chicks, with our eggs expected to hit the market by mid-2025.”
Shoppers will be able to identify eggs produced with in-ovo sexing technology via a certification for Approved Hatchery Operations from third-party welfare auditor Certified Humane. To qualify, producers must submit to annual reviews and show that they avoid male chick culling either via in-ovo sexing or by ensuring that viable male chicks are raised to maturity.
By adopting the tech, “NestFresh is no longer tolerating the cruel practice of grinding day-old male chicks,” said Hillary Hendrickson at animal welfare nonprofit Mercy for Animals. “Macerating male chicks soon after they hatch is still standard in the egg industry. NestFresh is one of the innovative companies turning the tide and working to change the status quo.”
Commercial viability
But is this commercially viable, and will US consumers pay extra for eggs produced via this technology, especially at a time when they are already grappling with huge grocery bills?
Sencer told AgFunderNews: “The speed is good, it’s 20,000+ eggs an hour, which is tremendous, whereas other [in ovo sexing] processes involve putting a hole in the shell, which is much slower. So for us, from a financial standpoint, the Cheggy system [from AAT] really is the only one that makes sense. It only works for brown eggs, but that’s our specialty.”
He added: “The companies will not discuss the cost of the machinery, which they lease to hatcheries, but we’re talking about $1.50 per chick extra. We pay now about $1 a chick, so with the tech, that’s $2.50 a chick. Once you factor in how many eggs a chicken lays over its lifetime we’re talking about a premium of a few cents per dozen.
“I know awareness [of male chick culling] is low [in the US] right now, but we’re not talking about hundreds of chicks, we’re talking about billions. Just like cage free started as a specialty, this will start in the specialty space but I’m hopeful [that it will gain traction]. I saw the cage free movement get started a number of years ago, and I feel this is the next thing.”
The messaging is still under discussion, he said: “We’re going at a very slow pace as I want to make sure that animal rights people are comfortable with what we say. But I do feel that this is really something that needs to happen.”
Ultimately, he said, the most compelling approach to this problem is tech enabling firms to sex eggs as soon as they are laid (see the bottom of this article), which would save hatcheries the cost of incubating male eggs altogether.
“When that happens,” said Sencer, “then the male eggs could be used for liquid eggs just like normal eggs [fertilized eggs won’t grow into embryos if they are not incubated] and there’s no question as to whether they feel pain; that’s also the real financial answer, and there are teams working on that.”
“This innovative approach eliminates the need for male chick culling, aligning the industry more closely with modern consumers’ expectations for responsible animal stewardship.” Robert Yaman, CEO, Innovate Animal Ag
High-throughput screening
But is in ovo sexing commercially viable, and will US consumers pay extra for eggs produced via this technology, especially when they are already grappling with huge grocery bills?
Sencer told AgFunderNews: “The speed is good, it’s 20,000+ eggs an hour, which is tremendous, whereas other [in ovo sexing] processes involve putting a hole in the shell, which is much slower. So for us, from a financial standpoint, the Cheggy system [from AAT] really is the only one that makes sense. It only works for brown eggs, but that’s our specialty.”
He added: “The companies will not discuss the cost of the machinery, which they lease to hatcheries, but we’re talking about $1.50 per chick extra. We pay now about $1 a chick, so with the tech, that’s $2.50 a chick. Once you factor in how many eggs a chicken lays over its lifetime we’re talking about a premium of a few cents per dozen.
“I know awareness [of male chick culling] is low [in the US] right now, but we’re not talking about hundreds of chicks, we’re talking about billions. Just like cage free started as a specialty, this will start in the specialty space but I’m hopeful [that it will gain traction]. I saw the cage free movement get started a number of years ago, and I feel this is the next thing.”
The consumer messaging is still under discussion, he said: “We’re going at a very slow pace as I want to make sure that animal rights people are comfortable with what we say. But I do feel that this is really something that needs to happen.”
Ultimately, he said, the most compelling approach to this problem is tech enabling firms to sex eggs as soon as they are laid (see the approaches outlined at the bottom of this article), which would save hatcheries the cost of incubating male eggs altogether.
“When that happens,” said Sencer, “then the male eggs could be used for liquid eggs just like normal eggs [fertilized eggs won’t grow into embryos if they are not incubated] and there’s no question as to whether they feel pain; that’s also the real financial answer, and there are teams working on that.”
“We see this movement as part of a major paradigm shift to correct a longstanding industry challenge in egg production.” Mimi Stein, executive director, Humane Farm Animal Care
In ovo sexing: gaining traction in Europe… slower progress in the US
Research from US nonprofit Innovate Animal Ag (IAA) suggests that in-ovo sexing achieved market penetration of almost 20% in the EU by April 2024.
In European markets, regulatory interventions have spurred the industry into action, with Germany, France and Austria (with some exceptions) banning the culling of male chicks and Italy planning to phase it out by 2026. There has also been some activity in other markets without such regulations, notably Norway, with leading hatchery Steinsland & Co recently installing in-ovo sexing technology from Respeggt.
The path to commercialization in the US
US producers, who are not under pressure from government to end the practice of culling male chicks, have been slower to engage, with little incentive for companies to invest in solving a problem that most Americans do not know exists, according to survey data from Innovate Animal Ag.
United Egg Producers (UEP), which accounts for 90% of US egg production, called for the elimination of day-old male chick culling in 2016 but issued a statement five years later arguing that “a method that meets the food safety, ethical standards and scalable solutions needed for the United States is not yet available.”
According to organizers of the Egg-Tech Prize, a global competition to find high-tech solutions to end male chick culling, none of the finalists has yet been able to meet all the criteria, which include strict thresholds on speed/throughput (15,000 eggs/hour) and accuracy (98%+ at day eight or earlier) to create a “a scalable, commercially viable solution to male chick culling worldwide.”
While mainstream egg producers may be watching and waiting for now, however, the “path to commercialization in the US starts at the high end of the market where consumers have shown they are willing to pay a price for higher quality, higher welfare organic or pasture-raised eggs,” IAA CEO Robert Yaman told AgFunderNews.
Sex determination techniques
Currently, in-ovo sex determination technologies can be grouped into six buckets, says Innovate Animal Ag:
1) Non-Invasive Imaging (already on the market): Looking through the shell of an egg to determine the sex of the embryo inside.
German firm Agri Advanced Technologies (AAT) — which has machines in seven hatcheries in six countries — uses hyperspectral imaging to determine the color of the embryo’s feathers, which can sex eggs of brown layers, since males and females have different colored feathers.
Fellow German firm Orbem, meanwhile, combines AI with MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), to examine the organ development of embryos to detect physical differences between the males and females without penetrating the shell, and can work with brown and white layers.
Omegga, another German startup, is developing a non-invasive technology where an imaging machine is installed directly inside the incubator to capture spectroscopic images over the course of several days, potentially working much earlier in the development process and eliminating the need to remove eggs from the incubator to be sexed.
While non-invasive imaging is fast, simple, and cheap, says Innovate Animal Ag, the downside is that for the commercialized tech at least, you must wait until a relatively late stage in the embryo’s incubation (12 days) to ensure accuracy.
However, a study indicating that chicken embryos can’t feel pain before day 13 of incubation has prompted the German government to amend its legislation* on male chick culling to allow for in-ovo sexing up to and including day 12, which would permit imaging techniques such as those deployed by AAT and Orbem when the legislation comes into full force in January 2024.
2) Allantoic sampling (already on the market): Extracting a drop of liquid from eggs around day nine of incubation and testing it for biomarkers that enable it to sex the egg.
This is a high-throughput approach currently commercialized in Europe through the Respeggt brand deploying technology from In Ovo, PLANTegg and Seleggt and highlighted on eggs sold in leading retailers including Carrefour, Rewe, and Edeka.
It is generally more expensive than non-invasive imaging, but can work earlier on in the incubation period.
3) Genetic editing: Using gene editing to give male embryos a genetic marker that allows them to be easily identified (eggXYt), or to stop growing entirely (Huminn). Only the males carry the genetic trait, so females and the eggs that make it into the supply are not genetically modified.
While any approach using genetic engineering can present regulatory or consumer challenges, it enables non-invasive, rapid sex detection before eggs enter the incubation process, whereas most other approaches are only viable several days into the incubation process.
4) Volatile analysis: Detecting sex-specific volatiles that escape through the eggshell.
5) Spectroscopic imaging: Taking images of embryos via tiny holes in the shell. This is more complex and expensive than non-invasive imaging but can be effective at an earlier stage of incubation, claims Innovate Animal Ag.
6) Sex reversal: Israeli firm SOOS Technology is exploring techniques including changing humidity, temperature, and sound vibrations to switch the sex of embryos from male to female, which if validated, would be an exciting solution, although the technique is still in its infancy.
