In-OVO Sexing

What is In-OVO sexing and why it matters

  • In-ovo sexing refers to determining the sex of a developing chicken embryo while still inside the egg (“in ovo” = “in the egg”).
  • Historically, in commercial egg production, male chicks from layer lines — which can’t lay eggs and are inefficient for meat — were culled (killed) shortly after hatching.
  • Worldwide the scale of this culling was enormous: billions of male chicks a year.
  • In-ovo sexing offers an alternative: by identifying male embryos before hatching, hatcheries only incubate female eggs — avoiding the need to hatch and then cull male chicks.

In short: in-ovo sexing is an important step towards increasing animal welfare in the poultry industry.

Orbem — What Makes Their System Stand Out

The Orbem system delivers on the key requirements for a modern, more ethical hatchery practice:

  • Contactless and Non-Invasive – Orbem determines the sex of embryos without opening or perforating the eggshell, preserving full integrity of the egg.
  • Based on MRI + AI Imaging – Their technology uses accelerated MRI combined with deep-learning algorithms to scan and classify eggs around day 11 of incubation.
  • High Throughput & Scalable – Orbem’s system can handle up to 24,000 eggs per hour, making it viable for a commercial hatchery supplying hundreds of thousands of chicks.
  • Works for Different Egg Colours / Breeds – Whether eggs are white or brown, or come from different poultry breeds, the system works reliably.
  • No Negative Impact on Hatchability – According to Orbem and its partners, the process does not reduce hatch rates, meaning chick quality and survival are preserved.

Because of these reasons, Orbem’s in-ovo sexing technology allows us to combine welfare-conscious practices with efficient, professional supply.

What This Means for You (Our Customers)

We can offer ALL our breeds at day-old using Orbem’s in-ovo sexing:

  • All our breeds can be sexed using this system, this makes us unique within UK day-old chick suppliers.
  • This supports animal welfare initiatives, by reducing or even eliminating male chick culling on our end.
  • It also potentially increases supply-chain transparency and traceability: every chick can be traced back to an in-ovo sexed egg and hatchery source.
  • For farms or customers concerned with ethics, sustainability, or consumer demand for “responsibly produced poultry,” these chicks represent a step forward.

The Bigger Picture — How In-Ovo Sexing Is Changing the Poultry Industry

The adoption of in-ovo sexing is growing rapidly across Europe and beyond.By choosing in-ovo sexed chicks, you help:

  • Reduce or eliminate widespread male-chick culling.
  • Align with evolving consumer expectations around animal welfare and ethical production.
  • Lay the foundation for more advanced practices like on-farm hatching for layers — something that becomes more viable with pre-sexed eggs.

We are proud to be part of this transition, and committed to offering you not just chicks — but chicks hatched under better, more considerate, and future-ready standards.

If you’re interested in ordering chicks from our upcoming batch, or want more specific details about breed, batch size or delivery, we’re here to help.

Together, we’re putting welfare and quality first — from egg to chick.

Piggotts ORBEM Chicks
In-OVO sexing on all our breeds of chicks are now possible in the UK!