Use infrared rays to determine the sex of eggs

TeraEgg technology uses infrared light combined with complex algorithms to analyze signs of sex and reproduction right from the early stage of embryonic development of chicken eggs.

Each year about 300 million male chicks are killed as soon as they hatch at the hatchery, and globally it is estimated at 7 billion. This is considered as the selective process of the livestock industry, giving priority to hens capable of laying eggs, disposing of weak health animals . Young roosters are considered "useless" because they cannot lay eggs, slowly. grow, not give a lot of meat when rearing in an industrial environment.

This makes Matt O'Hayer - the owner of Vital Farms farm in Austin (Texas, USA) feel shocked because he is building a large-scale chicken model right on the grassland to help them walk freely, enjoy a lot "standard of welfare". O'Hayer contacted several other hatcheries to find a way to save the chicks but did not receive any response. So he switched to finding solutions by technology platform.

TeraEgg is not the only technology developed to prevent chasing chickens.

Result O'Hayer has developed TeraEgg technology using infrared light combined with complex algorithms to analyze signs of sex and reproduction right from the early stage of embryonic development. Thus farms can remove male eggs or have high infertility before being introduced into incubators. These eggs will be brought back to the market and sold to ordinary people.

"This brings many benefits from ensuring animal welfare, optimizing production to reducing food waste. We are working with Israel's high-tech Novatrans to establish a subsidiary. Ovabrite can commercialize TeraEgg by the end of 2017, " said O'Hayer.

Paul Shapiro - Vice President of the American Humane Society said that TeraEgg is a technology that promises to help millions of animals avoid terrible fate. Shapiro added that the Egg Producers Association, which accounts for 95% of chicken farms nationwide, has decided to use the technology when it is technically and economically feasible to end the destroy chicks in 2020.

TeraEgg is not the only technology developed to prevent chasing chickens. For example, Egg Farmers of Ontario co-operated with McGill University professor Michael Ngadi to study embryonic sex determination techniques, expected to be released later this year. The German government also funded a similar technology research project. Or a Dutch start-up is embarking on the In Vovo project with the ambition that if it succeeds, it will save more than 3 billion chicks worldwide.