The world's first low-cost in-ovo sexing solution to finally end chick culling

Introduction

Omegga - World’s first low-cost in-ovo sexing solution to finally end chick culling.

Problem Statement

In the egg-laying hen industry, over 7 billion day-old roosters are killed each year because male layer chickens neither lay eggs nor produce enough meat to be profitable.

Solution Overview

Omegga developed a cost-effective, non-invasive, spectral imaging solution for automating sex detection of chicken embryos in the eggs. This technology aims to avoid the unethical practice of chick culling by enabling hatcheries to:

• Remove early male eggs from incubators.
• Only hatch female-layer chicks.

Technology Details

The Omegga technology is based on absorption spectroscopy and tracks sex-specific biological indicators (proprietary method), enabling:

• Cost-effective, non-invasive, automated determination of an egg's sex.
• Alignment with ethical practices.
• Support for sustainable farming.
• Compliance with emerging regulatory requirements against male chick culling.

Team and Development

Our team of 9 entrepreneurs, SW/HW/Bio engineers, data scientists, and veterinarians developed the technology and built & tested a first, small-scale industrial prototype.

Future Steps

Now we must create large-scale prototypes for full automation and optimize classification algorithms to minimize costs, for which we need EIC support.

Impact

Once implemented, it will boost resource efficiency and animal welfare in the poultry industry.