News

We are excited to announce that LOHMANN Deutschland and Respeggt Group have extended their contract for in-ovo sexing in hatching eggs at the Ankum site for another 3 years. This renewal highlights the strong trust and successful cooperation between our teams. 🥚🤝

Please find more information in our press release. 

We are delighted to inform you in this press release that the Dutch hatchery Het Anker has decided to enter into an exclusive partnership with hatchery Beunder in Warder (NL) for in-ovo sexing, using the innovative Respeggt technology. The Beunder family will perform in-ovo sexing exclusively for Het Anker for the next three years and supply them with female hatching eggs.

Please find more information in our press release. 

From left to right: Frank Beunder, Edwin Zeller (Respeggt Group), Rinie Vroegindeweij (Het Anker), Marcel Beunder

Markus Vahlefeld from Kontrafunk in conversation with Carmen Uphoff about Easter and chick shredding, the two sides of the coin 

Easter and chick shredding, the two sides of the coin Podcast by Kontrafunk

Easter without eggs? That’s like Christmas without a Christmas tree! Discover the diverse world of Easter egg dishes with journalist Georg Etscheit in the Kontrafunk podcast. Let’s also take a look behind the scenes: Markus Vahlefeld sheds light on chick shredding in fresh egg production. Find out more in the fascinating interview with Carmen Uphoff, COO of Respeggt. A must-hear for anyone who wants to discover both sides of the coin!

How well known is chick culling among US consumers?

The lifespan of a male chick on a laying hen hatchery is just only one day. Shocking but true and sadly also a littleknown one among consumers in the US. In an article from Altals Obscura, John Brunnquell, founder and CEO of free-range egg producer Egg Innovations and Robert Yaman of Innovate Animal Ag, point out the differences between the European and US markets. According to a 2023 survey, only 11% of US consumers were aware of the practices of chick culling, even thought around 300 millions of day-old male chicks are culled every year in US. After being informed, 73 % felt that the industry should find solution to end chick culling.

What are consumers’ perceptions of animal welfare?

The latest survey by the consumer organisation BEUC highlights how European consumers value animal welfare in agriculture. The results from 8 Member States show that chicks and pigs are perceived as the animals with the worst husbandry conditions. Shockingly, many consumers – 29% of respondents – remain unaware of practices such as chick culling, where millions of day-old male chicks are culled every year. This underlines the need for greater awareness and harmonised legislation in all Member States to ensure consistent animal welfare standards.

Germany shows how quickly a market can change!

Not only was chick culling ended within 2 years. The solution behind it has also changed completely! In 2022, the main solution with 70% was brother layer fattening and in 2023 everything has turned around! 70% of laying hens “Free of Chick Culling” came from in-ovo sexing supply chains. Why is that? The capacities of in-ovo sexing were drastically increased (by us, among others) and the criticism of brother layer fattening became greater. For 2024 we expect an even larger share of in-ovo sexing!

In-ovo sexing is reality

Culling day-old chicks is getting less and less accepted in the modern world. After all, the awareness of animal welfare is gaining ground, particularly in Europe. As the article by Avinews International points out, the introduction of technology to identify an egg’s gender during incubation is a breakthrough in animal welfare, eliminating the need for the controversial culling of male chicks. This ensures only female chicks, destined for egg production, are hatched, while male chicks are spared from being born and face immediate culling. This advancement not only addresses ethical concerns but also exemplifies the positive impact of technology in resolving longstanding issues in poultry farming, marking a significant step forward for the industry.

We are one step further in Norway!

 

For the very first time, laying hens that have hatched “Free of Chick Culling” are being housed into the laying hen farm. Soon they will start laying eggs, thus establishing a new standard: Ending chick culling in the egg shelve in Norway and Scandinavia! Congratulations to our partners Steinslands & Co AS and Nortura!

Last night there was a culinary novelty in Norwegian star cuisine! Brother layer meat!

In order for an egg to really be produced “Free of Chick Culling”, the few male chicks (max. 2%) that still hatch after in-ovo sexing must not be killed! The Respeggt standard stipulates that the brother layers must be fattened for at least 10 weeks and at least up to 1.3 kg. After that, they must be used for human consumption. Our partners in Norway had a great idea for this! Steinsland & Co AS recently had the first slaughter of brother layers and was able to inspire none other than the Head Chef of the starred restaurant Vaaghals and captain of the Norwegian Olympic team: Christer Rodseth for preparing it. Yesterday evening, they dined like royalty together with the farmers who reared the brother layers. What a great experience!

Several high-end restaurants in Norway have shown interest in brother layers, this will be an interesting journey to follow.

 

Respeggt is debuting at the IPPE!

We are excited and proud to have our very own booth at this important event for the very first time. Our colleagues Edwin Zeller Chief Commercial Officer, Carmen Uphoff Chief Operating Officer, Silvin Faulstich Business Development Manager, Niklas Poppelreuter Business Development Manager will be representing Respeggt at the International Production & Processing Expo – IPPE in Atlanta. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase our innovative technology and the solution for a more sustainable and ethical egg production. Our colleague Silvin Faulstich will be presenting at the TechTalk and give a detailed insight into our solution to end chick culling.

 

Aeres Hogeschool (Dronten) visited us

We are very proud of our “Free of Chick Culling” chicks and the technology behind them. All the more reason for us to showcase this achievement and educate the next generation of poultry professionals. We had the pleasure of giving a tour to a group of students headed by Sander Lourens from @Aeres Hogeschool, Dronten(NL). We loved the good discussions on how animal welfare and sustainability go hand in hand here!

 

Update on our new chapter at hatchery Weiss

Stepping into the new year with a bang! We are thrilled to announce that we’ve successfully completed the installation and setup phase of our modular, highly automated technology at hatchery Weiss in Germany. After rigorous testing and fine-tuning, everything passed with flying colours and our technology is now fully operational and ready for production.

 

A new milestone was reached!

One of our latest hatch showed: 93% hatchability, more than 99% female chicks and an incredible number of 2,4 hatching eggs per female chick! Reaching such low numbers of hatching eggs needed for one female chicks shows that in-ovo sexing is not only a solution to end chick culling, it’s a solution to abolish manual sexing after hatch! What as great achievement to end 2023 on a very succefull note!

 

HatchTech selected as US Egg-Tech Prize Finalist

Press release on the winner of Egg-Tech Prize II

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and Open Philanthropy started the Egg-Tech Prize competition to avoid the culling of day-old chicks by using accurate and rapid sexing technologies in the early incubation period. 

HatchTech is selected as an Egg-Tech Prize Phase II finalist, which includes a major award to be used for further research and development in state-of-the-art sexing techniques in hatching eggs. Respeggt is a member of HatchTech Group and will benefit from new research to improve its in-ovo sexing technology.

Hatchery A.C. Weiss installs Respeggt technology

Press release on the cooperation with hatchery A.C. Weiss GmbH & Co.KG

In this press release we inform you about our new cooperation with hatchery A.C. Weiss in Germany. We are very pleased that A.C. Weiss, a family-run hatchery in South Germany, has decided to purchase a Respeggt set in order to be able to offer chicks “Free of Chick Culling” for the German, Swiss, Austrian and Italian market.

The first hatch of chicks at LOHMANN Deutschland

Yesterday was the first hatch of chicks where the newly installed Circuit did a great job leading to 99.5% accuracy ! This moment is more than just a moment of joy, it’s also a testament of our team’s commitment and #innovative spirit. We are grateful to LOHMANN for choosing our solution once again. Many more successful hatches are on the way!

 

Update on our new chapter at LOHMANN Deutschland

We are excited to announce that our machine has been commissioned by LOHMANN Deutschland hatchery. Our machines have passed all testruns, and they are now ready for production. The best part? This process is one of the earliest systems working around day 9 of the incubation, so before the possibility of pain perception. Chicks #freeofchickculling hatched in Germany (5xD) are now available for order.

 

Test Station´s installation at Lohmann Deutschland

The setup of an additional Circuit and Sorter is almost finished! Additionally we are installing a brand new Test Station! Why? Because we are switching from hormone to PCR analysis to detect female DNA. PCR analysis has proven extremely accurate, very easy and simple, cheap and#reliable. Therefore all our systems are upgraded to PCR analysis now. The next step at LOHMANN? Test runs!

 

Our machines have arrived at LOHMANN Deutschland

The new machines have already arrived this week. Thanks to these new additions, the hatchery will increase its in-ovo sexing capacities! The next step? Setup!

 

Press release on the cooperation with LOHMANN Deutschland

In this press release we inform you about our expanded cooperation with LOHMANN Deutschland. We are very pleased that LOHMANN has decided to purchase another Respeggt system for the Ankum location and thus expand its in-ovo sexing capacities with Respeggt.

 

Welcome to the first Norwegian Respeggt chicks!

Today is a day to celebrate the hatch of the first Respeggt chicks at the Steinsland & Co AS hatchery! Another moment that underscores our team’s dedication and the innovations we’ve integrated.A big thank you to Steinsland family for believing in our solution! We are looking forward to many more successful hatches to come! Let’s make Norway “Free of Chick Culling”!

 

3, 2,1 let´s go! 🥚

Following our successful system setup, today marks an important moment for us – the official start of our in-ovo sexing production at Steinsland & Co AS hatchery! From now on a regular production takes place and chicks “Free of Chick Culling” can be ordered. This is a new beginning! Let´s end chick culling in Norway!

 

Day 10 Milestone Achieved

It’s been a productive 10 days at Steinsland & Co AS hatchery! We are happy to announce that we successfully wrapped up the installation phase and our first test runs are taking place. The team is buzzing with anticipation. Kudos to everyone involved for their relentless effort and dedication. Here’s to positive outcomes and continued progress!

 

🚛 Hei, we arrived!

Our trucks have successfully arrived at Steinsland & Co AS Hatchery with our state-of-the-art equipment onboard this Monday. As a second step, our equipment was placed at the hatchery yesterday. We’re gearing up for the next phase – setup.

 

Weser-Ems, Germany’s leading egg price index, switches to reporting eggs “Free of Chick Culling”.

We’re excited to share that during the recent Association of 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿-𝗘𝗺𝘀-𝗘𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗩´s General Assembly of Members, they made a pivotal decision in line with the commitment to transparency and ethical practices in the poultry industry. From week 36, their quotation for German eggs will transition from Type 2 rearing (barn, KAT) to the more ethically sound barn eggs (KAT) “Free of Chick Culling” (Ohne Kükentöten – OKT eggs). The new standard will officially come into effect with the weekly list publication on 8th of September 2023. This will give the topic of ending chick culling a bigger platform and hopefully sets a new standard for the German egg market. We believe in leading by example and hope others will follow this path towards a more humane and transparent poultry industry.

Change of German legislation

The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) modified the existing legal regulation regarding the culling of chicks in Germany. Up from the 1st of January 2024 in-ovo sexing can be performed until day 12 of the incubation process. The latest research done by the Technical University of Munich on how chicken embryos feel pain has been recognized. The legal framework for the legislation on chick culling in Germany now provides planning protection for the egg industry.

Closing of Zeewolde hatchery

This week the last in-ovo sexing of our team took place at the hatchery Verbeek in Zeewolde, the Netherlands. The hatchery will be closed due to the location having a very high incidence of avian influenza.

We would like to thank our local team for their hard work and enthusiasm and look forward to continuing to work with them at other sites. We also want to thank the team of Verbeek for being one of the leaders in in-ovo sexing in the Netherlands and for trusting in our technology as one of the first hatcheries in 2021.

Steinsland & Co and respeggt start cooperation in Norway

We are pleased to inform you in this press release about our cooperation with the Norwegian hatchery Steinsland & Co in Bryne, Norway.
Steinsland & Co is now the first Scandinavian hatchery to install in-ovo sexing technology. Find our press release below. 

New respeggt System Manual online

We would like to inform you about the update of our respeggt System Manual. Changed conditions as well as internal changes have required minor adjustments in our requirements. We hope that with this System Manual we can continue to offer an up-to-date and reliable solution to end chick culling. You can find the new System Manual on our website or you can download it right here.

Arme Brüder – Article in DER SPIEGEL

In the German weekly magazine DER SPIEGEL issue no. 7 published on 11 February 2023, author Julia Koch took an up-to-date look at the ban on chick culling in Germany, explained current procedures of gender identification in the hatching egg and pointed out the changes in the poultry market that can be observed in Germany and Europe as a result of the law.

Duits dilemma rondom eendagshaantjes – Article in NIEUWE OOGST

In the online edition of the magazine NIEUWE OOGS, John Lamers has outlined Germany’s difficult situation in phasing out chick-culling with regard to the tightening of the law as of 2024 and has spoken to our colleagues at EuroTier 2022 about this.

In the article, the currently discussed scenarios and alternatives are examined against the backdrop of economic efficiency and sustainability. The author also points to the possible re-evaluation of the existing Animal Welfare Act in 2023, based on potential new scientific findings on the pain perception of the chicken embryo in the hatching egg.

EuroTier 2022 in Hanover

From 15.11.2022 to 18.11.2022, respeggt participated at EuroTier 2022 and presented its key products and services at their own booth.

With an interactive 3D model of the latest SELEGGT Circuit, SELEGGT Lab and SELEGGT Sorter as well as the respeggt supply chain, visitors of the trade fair could vividly experience the gender identification in the hatching egg with the SELEGGT method and the respeggt supply chain verification with the respeggt heart shaped logo.

Support in case of avian influenza

We would like to update you on the latest change in the respeggt system regarding the handling of avian influenza.

Ceres Award 2022 – Presentation of the Award at the Night of Agriculture in Berlin

On 12 October, the Ceres Award 2022 was presented in a festive gala evening at the Zoo Palast in Berlin. This year, the award in the main category “Farmer of the Year 2022”, endowed with 20,000 euros, goes to Benedikt Bösel, who convinced the jury with his innovative and forward-looking farm concept in Brandenburg, Germany. As category sponsor, we are also particularly pleased about the winner of the category “Poultry farmer of the year 2022”, Holger Hogt, who also keeps respeggt hens on his laying hen farm. Congratulations to all winners and all the best for the future!

Solutions and Implementation of Ending Chick Culling in Germany – aviNews

Our colleague Dr. Ana E. Blanco, Head of Supply Chain Management at respeggt reports in a technical article in aviNews magazine about solutions and implementation of ending chick culling in Germany.

Change of shareholders at respeggt

We are pleased to inform you that as of today HatchTech Group will take over REWE Group’s 50% share in SELEGGT GmbH and respeggt GmbH. As a result, HatchTech will become the sole shareholder of both companies.

This agreement will enable SELEGGT and respeggt to accelerate their international growth by taking advantage of HatchTech’s global network.

geflügelnews.de visits LOHMANN Deutschland in Ankum

In a dialogue interview, Tobias Ferling, Managing Director of LOHMANN Deutschland GmbH and Dr Ludger Breloh, Managing Director of respeggt GmbH talk about the new cooperation between the two companies, about sustainability, the challenges of Germany as a business location and about the possibilities of applying the SELEGGT process in the organic sector.

Hatching of the first respeggt chicks determined in Germany!

After only a four-week installation phase at LOHMANN Deutschland’s hatchery in Ankum, the first 60,000 hatching eggs were successfully sexed with the SELEGGT circuit.

The resulting female chicks will lay respeggt eggs after rearing.

UK retailers blocking moves to end the killing of day-old male chicks – The Guardian article on respeggt and SELEGGT

The Guardian Aktikel by Tom Ambrose about the legal ban on chick culling in UK und Europe

In a detailed The Guardian online article, Tom Ambrose reports on the issue of chick culling in the EU, the solutions available in France and Germany, and the political challenges of the issue in the UK.

HatchTech Incubation Technology acquires REWE Group’s shares and plans to accelerate SELEGGT’s international growth.

👉Read press release (EN)

Changes in the respeggt business model

We would like to update you on the recent changes in the respeggt system. These changes are the result of market developments, technological advances and respeggt’s constant efforts to keep the risks and barriers to entry as low as possible for all system partners.

Here you can find out about all the changes that will be implemented with immediate effect for all new orders received after 01.08.2022.

Piep? – German DIE ZEIT reports on SELEGGT

DIE ZEIT article by Merlind Theile about the SELEGGT process

In a detailed article for DIE ZEIT, Merlind Theile comprehensively summarized the current state of the ban on chick culling in Germany and Europe and differentiated the challenges on the way to a European solution.

How sex selection technology is transforming the egg industry – Poultry News reports on SELEGGT and respeggt

Poultry News article by Chloe Ryan on gender identification thechnologies in the hatching egg

In the online edition of Poultry News magazine, Chloe Ryan reports on current technologies for in ovo gender identification of hatching eggs describing the SELEGGT process and respeggt’s service. The article was also published in print in Poultry Business magazine.

With the installation of a second SELEGGT Circuit, Verbeek Broederij BV has opted for doubling its in-ovo gender identification capacity via the SELEGGT process. This step shows that we were able to prove our solution.

👉Read press release (EN)

Hähne oder Ei? – FOCUS magazine reports on SELEGGT

FOCUS article by Alina Reichhardt about SELEGGT

In a comprehensive report in the July issue of FOCUS magazine, Alina Reichhardt examined the issue of chick killing, its solutions and the political situation in Germany and Europe and described the different perspectives.

A SELEGGT Circuit will be installed in Germany’s largest laying hen hatchery at LOHMANN Germany in Ankum.

👉Read press release (EN)

The latest version of the SELEGGT Circuit is being presented and demonstrated to the public at the VIV Europe 2022 trade fair in Utrecht in The Netherlands.

Thanks to continuous software improvements and process automation the SELEGGT process has passed the 99% accuracy landmark.

SELEGGT Circulus wins silver medal! Our SELEGGT Circulus technology for gender identification in the hatching egg was awarded a silver medal at the EuroTier 2021 Innovation Awards.

SELEGGT GmbH was awarded with the “Innovation Award” silver medal of the Eurotier 2021 for the “SELEGGT Circulus” technology.

Over 1 million respeggt chicks are already in the supply chains and over 6,000 supermarkets and discount supermarkets in Germany, the Netherlands and France sell respeggt eggs.

Since March 2019 the SELEGGT process has been in use weekly. The eggs of the hatched respeggt hens are marketed as respeggt eggs.

SELEGGT operates its own hatchery and offers the chicks to all interested market participants.

At a joint press conference in Berlin, Minister Klöckner, Dr. Breloh and Mr. Kunath (deputy CEO of REWE Group) announce to put an end to chick culling in Germany and offer the chicks to all interested market participants.

In October 2018, Germany‘s first table eggs with the added value “Free of Chick Culling” due to gender identification in the hatching egg were introduced in the Berlin region. The products bear the official respeggt label.

The first successful tests with the new sampling technology “SELEGGT Acus” were carried out. This process is much faster and can be modularly scaled to any hatchery.

The first prototype of the sampling technology and the marker for hormone analysis were presented together with Minister Schmidt at a press conference.

SELEGGT GmbH was founded as a joint venture in March 2017 with the goal of developing a practice-ready solution for endocrinological gender identification in the hatching egg. Based on the research of the University of Leipzig, a procedure shall be developed which ensures the end of male chick culling in the long term. Three strong partners from research and technical development have joined forces for this purpose: Innovative experts from REWE Group and the Dutch technology company HatchTech B.V. and researchers from the University of Leipzig.