In-Ovo Sexing Technology: Ending Male Chick Culling

Technologies that identify the sex of developing eggs before hatching could eliminate the routine killing of male chicks in the laying hen industry.

Key Facts

Approximately 6-7 billion male chicks are killed globally each year at day of hatch because they cannot lay eggs and are not bred for meat production
The most common killing methods are maceration (grinding) and gassing with CO2, both of which involve varying degrees of distress and pain
In-ovo sexing technologies including spectroscopy, hormone detection, and genetic analysis can identify sex in the egg before hatching, enabling female-only incubation
France banned male chick culling from 2023, requiring egg producers to use in-ovo sexing; Germany followed with a ban in 2022
In-ovo sexing eggs may carry a small cost premium but are increasingly available in European retail markets as consumer awareness grows

Welfare Considerations

Male chick culling is one of the most routine and scale-significant welfare harms in the food system — billions of individual birds dying at or before hatching age, the majority by maceration. In-ovo sexing technology offers a complete solution: if the sex of an egg can be determined before hatching, male eggs need not be incubated, eliminating the welfare harm entirely. The technology exists and is commercially deployed. The welfare case for requiring it across the laying hen industry is overwhelming.

What You Can Do

Support in-ovo sexing requirements in countries that have not yet mandated it through advocacy and consumer pressure
Choose eggs from producers that use in-ovo sexing when available in your market
Advocate for food companies with cage-free commitments to add in-ovo sexing as the next step in their welfare programmes
Support the companies developing and deploying in-ovo sexing technology through awareness and demand signalling
Share information about male chick culling and in-ovo sexing alternatives with others to build support for the policy