laurmurf Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 here's a mad article i found that i thought might amuse you all Dowsing Eggs An Old Time Skill for Hatching Pullets Dowsing eggs is a very simple and old technique to tell if the eggs you’ve collected are going to hatch into a rooster or a hen. Here I’ve believed that you can’t easily tell the gender of chicks and determine whether they are a boy or a girl chick until they start to produce a comb – but why not try and sex the eggs before you put them to hatch? It has apparently been used for a long time in Japan for sexing chicks, even in an assembly line, so that means lots of eggs. What a great thing to know in advance, before going to all the work of hatching, brooding, raising and feeding a clutch, only to find out that the majority are roosters. Here’s the theory: you can tell the sex of the chick before you even start to incubate them by dowsing the egg using a small object on a string – some dowsers use strictly a special crystal, but anything will work, even a bolt or a pebble with fishing line tied around it, or even a wedding ring. Put the egg on a flat surface away from other eggs. Hold the pendulum over the egg. Hold it completely still and then watch to see what the object does. If it ends up going around in a small circle, the egg holds a rooster. If it goes across in a straight line, the egg will hatch into a hen. It will show duds, or infertile eggs by not moving at all. Some people recommend you 'suggest' what you want - show me male, show me female, before starting the dowsing. I’m still experimenting with dowsing eggs to see if it works and gives a better percentage of hens, eliminating the problem of dealing with those pesky roosters. I’m keeping an open mind, while staying skeptical! Read more: http://www.drought-smart-plants.com/dowsing-eggs.html#ixzz1Np90ww64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenewchick Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 That's what I done with my hatching eggs. I done all the eggs a few times getting the same results time and time again before putting them into the incubator. I still don't know the true results but think it does seem to work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 There's a 'thing' for sale on ebay which I guess works (if it does work) on the same principle. Can't help but think though that we wouldn't ever get unwanted cockerels if this really did work? It would be great to hear your reslts, the newchick - keep us posted!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...