The present disclosure concerns a system (100) for determining a gender of a fertile egg. The system utilizes measured data (20) indicative of radiation responses of an egg to illumination with at least two wavelengths. The radiation responses include transmissions of the illumination through at least a portion of the egg and/or reflections of the illumination from the egg. The system (100) is configured and operable to process the received measured data (20), to determine the variation over time of a relation between the intensities of the radiation responses at the at least two wavelengths, and to generate gender data based thereon.

An egg management support system (1) in the present invention includes a receiver (11) and a storage (12). The receiver (11) receives from an information processing apparatus (2) at a hatchery (4), biological information of an egg measured before hatching and incubation performance obtained for a chick that has hatched out of the egg. In the storage (12), the biological information and the incubation performance are stored in association. Thus, the egg management support system capable of effectively making use of information obtained from the hatchery can be provided.

An egg identification system for determining viability of an avian egg is provided. Such a system includes an emitter assembly configured to emit electromagnetic radiation having a predetermined wavelength toward an egg. A detector assembly is spaced-apart from the emitter assembly and configured to detect electromagnetic radiation transmitted through the egg. A light controlling assembly is positioned proximate to the emitter assembly. The light controlling assembly includes an absorbing layer configured to absorb electromagnetic radiation at the predetermined wavelength. The absorbing layer defines an opening through which electromagnetic radiation emitted from the emitter assembly is capable of passing therethrough toward the egg. A processor is configured to process an output signal of the detector assembly to determine viability of the egg. An associated method is also provided.

The present invention relates to a method for determining a characteristic of one or more eggs in an automated manner, comprising the steps of: a. extracting a sample from one or more eggs in an automated manner; i. holding and transferring the sample through one or more instruments to a unit for holding one or more samples; ii. ejecting an aliquot from the sample by applying sound or light energy to at least an amount of the sample; iii. entraining the ejected aliquot in a gas or liquid stream; and iv. transporting the ejected aliquot to a mass spectrometer using the gas or liquid stream; and b. analyzing the sample or an aliquot thereof in an automated manner in a mass spectrometer for the absence or presence and the amount of one or more molecules, to determine one or more characteristics of the egg.

Disclosed is a device for contactless measuring of an embryo's heart rate in an egg whereby infrared light is sent in the egg by one light source, and the reflection of that light is detected by one or more light sensors and converted into a signal representative for the heart rate, whereby a shield is provided to avoid light that is reflected on the egg shell interfering with the light sensors. The shield is provided at the light source and not at the light sensors, whereby a light tube is provided between the light source and the egg and the light tube is internally dimensioned and positioned such that a focused light spot is directed on the egg, and the light tube is dimensioned and positioned such that light reflected on the surface of the egg on the level of the light spot cannot directly reach the light sensors.

The invention relates to a method for classifying spectra of objects having complex information content after recording of the spectra involving the use of a method for preprocessing data and of a method, associated with the data preprocessing, for classification with the calculation of a classifier. After the recording of the spectra and the preprocessing of the spectra, a multiple classification method is thereby performed with at least two different methods for the data preprocessing of the spectra and the method, assigned to the respective data preprocessing, for classification. After the recording and the data preprocessing of the spectra, the following steps are thereby carried out: a calculation of multiple classifiers of the series per type of data preprocessing; a determination of the classifiers of the series with iterative adjustment and validation; a calculation of probabilities of the class association, with all classifiers of the series or classifiers being equally incorporated into the determination of a classification result.

An incubation tray is disclosed, including an enclosure with a plurality of egg placements for carrying eggs for incubation within an egg incubator. The incubation tray includes a tester unit including plurality of inspection modules in the enclosure associated with the plurality of egg placements. The inspection modules, each includes radiation emitter(s) and sensor(s), and are configured and operable for respectively inspecting the plurality of eggs located in the egg placements, by irradiating the eggs with radiation from a lateral side of the eggs and measuring a radiation response coming in response to the irradiation from a lateral side of the eggs, giving rise to measured data indicative of conditions of the eggs. The measured data may be processed to determine dynamic and static parameters of the radiation response from which a physiological development stage, and growth of the embryos within the eggs can be estimated.

The present invention relates to a method for spectroscopical in-ovo gender determination of fertilized and incubated bird eggs comprising the steps of:

a. providing a number of passages in an egg shell of an egg for allowing entrance into an interior of the egg and/or exit from the interior of the egg of electromagnetic waves suitable for spectroscopy,
b. introducing electromagnetic waves into the interior of the egg
c. detecting electromagnetic waves exiting the egg;
d. analysing, by spectroscopy, of the exiting electromagnetic waves at at least one passage of the number of passages; and e. determining the gender of a chicken embryo.

An apparatus to identify upside-down eggs of a batch of eggs includes a heating module configured to expose an air cell in each egg of the batch of eggs to a radiation flux. The apparatus also includes an imaging module with a thermal camera configured to capture thermal images of the batch of eggs when the eggs are not exposed to the radiation flux. The apparatus further includes an analyzer module configured to detect the presence of a heated zone in the air cell of each egg from the thermal images and identify upside-down eggs based on the presence of the heated zone. A method to identify upside-down eggs from a batch of eggs includes heating the batch of eggs with a radiation source, such as an infrared source, so as to generate a hot zone inside an air cell of each egg without significantly heating the rest of the eggs. Thermal images of the eggs are captured while the eggs are not exposed to the radiation source, analyzed to detect the presence of the hot zone and to identify the upside down eggs.

A pathogen reduction tool implementing a method of processing eggs at a poultry hatchery is provided. Such a method includes setting a production quantity of avian eggs in a setter incubator, the eggs being maintained in a plurality of egg flats. The avian eggs are removed from the setter incubator on a predetermined day of incubation, such predetermined day being during about day nine to day twelve of incubation. Subsequent to removal of the avian eggs from the setter incubator, the avian eggs are subjected to an egg detection system on the predetermined day to determine which of the avian eggs are viable and non-viable. The non-viable avian eggs are removed from the egg flats on the predetermined day. The viable avian eggs remaining in the egg flats post-inspection by the egg detection system are incubated through hatch.