Our Ella solution

A groundbreaking technology

In Ovo was founded on the premise of finding a solution to the long-standing practice of culling male chicks the day they hatch – because they do not lay eggs. After many years of research and development, we now have a market-ready solution – Ella.

Ella is a machine that determines the sex of an egg instead of a chick, ensuring only females are hatched, thereby preventing the culling of male chicks. A fully automated, inline solution, Ella can determine the sex of an egg on day 9 of the incubation period. When developing this machine and technology, we worked closely with the sector so that hatcheries could easily integrate Ella.

how it works

What if we told you that we have the technology to stop chick culling?

There is a chance that it will raise many questions about how it works, and what it looks like.

That’s why we produced a shiny new video to tell it for us. Just press the play button!

1 Unique biomarker

We have identified a unique, proprietary biomarker that can distinguish females from males inside the egg at an early stage of development.

2 High-speed sampling

Together with Demcon, we developed a machine that can extract tiny samples from eggs at high speed.

3 Mass spectrometry

Using the world’s fastest mass spectrometer, we analyse the concentration of our biomarker in the samples within a second so that female eggs can then be immediately returned to the incubator.

the benefits to hatcheries

Ella is the fast, inline solution that screens on day 9

Ella ensures only females are hatched, thereby preventing the culling of male chicks.

As chicks hatched with Ella are cull-free, they are more valuable. Implementation of Ella is an animal welfare improvement that also offers the opportunity to increase a hatchery’s margins.

Determines the sex of an egg on day 9 of incubation
Screens both white and brown eggs
Produces millions of female chicks per year
Works inline, so only the female eggs return to the incubator
Fully automated line that includes candling, sorting and backfilling to reduce labour
Increases your incubation capacity, as male eggs are removed on day 9
Designed to have minimum impact on hatchery process
Installed and serviced by In Ovo

Get in touch

Always one step ahead

Ella was introduced into production in 2020. Although we have since made many improvements, we are always aiming for more.

We regard Ella not just as a super-efficient machine but also as an invaluable technology and aim to stay ahead of the game when it comes to key specifications such as speed and accuracy. Each installed Ella system will be updated with new improvements to ensure your hatchery always has a state-of-the-art solution