Development of a spectral setup for determining the sexual dimorphism of the bird embryo

Abstract

Humane culling of embryos before incubation and one-day-old chicks in the first days of incubation is the most important unsolved problem in the production of poultry products. A number of European countries have laws prohibiting the destruction of one-day-old male chicks and are developing restrictions to limit the destruction of live embryos in avian eggs after 6 days of incubation. A spectral setup for determining the sexual dimorphism of an embryo in a bird egg has been developed based on the MV1-D2048x1088-HS05-96-G2-10 hyperspectral camera with the possibility of illuminating the object of study with an adjustable radiation source. This installation has been tested for functionality. It has been established that the mass, area, volume and shape factor of the eggs do not correlate with the sex of the embryo of the egg before incubation. Informative wavelengths have been determined for further research to determine the sexual dimorphism of chicken egg embryos in the first days of their incubation: 640, 660 and 688 nm.