Challenge:

Imagine a factory that throws away half of its production… this is how the layer industry operates: each year, commercial hatcheries worldwide produce 15 billion chicks: 7.5 billion are females who can lay eggs, and 7.5 billion are males who have no commercial use and are therefore exterminated after hatching.

The production process of layers is not only a source of animal suffering but is also an environmentally and economically wasteful practice: the industry uses unnecessary energy, water, land, and labor to produce male chicks and creates an unnecessary carbon footprint in the process, only to throw away 50% of its production capacity (the males).

Another major pain point for the industry is the growing regulatory pressure from governmental agencies: starting in 2022, the culling of male chicks in the layer industry has become banned in Germany and France and soon – others will follow. The financial outcome for growers is devastating, resulting in production sites closing down and the surge of a global egg shortage.

At Soos Technology, we strive to support egg producers in their efforts to build financially robust, environmentally friendly, and humane businesses that cater to the world’s demand for a cheap, healthy, and accessible source of protein – eggs.

Impact: 

Our technology increases the production of female layers while using the same resources. We do it without harming hatchability while maintaining chicks’ livelihood and health, and ensuring that females that have undergone the Soos treatment produce the same number of eggs at the same quality as any standard egg-laying hen. SOOS eggs are non-GMO and exempt from novel-food regulations (verified by an FDA-compliant lab).

We improve hatching efficiency and productivity and allow egg producers to operate in substantially higher profit margins while reducing their carbon footprint. As an example, when the ratio of females produced shifts from 50% to 80% female, a typical hatchery can save up to 300 MWh per million eggs incubated every hatching cycle.

We help producers save male chicks, improve their public image, successfully comply with animal-welfare driven regulations, and handle retailers’ demand for humanely produced food products.