Method for In-Ovo Fertilisation Determination and Gender Determination on a Closed Egg

A method for determining fertilization and sex in ovo on a closed egg, comprising the method steps of:

• a) positioning a closed egg,
• b) candling and/or illuminating the egg by means of at least one light source using light in the spectrum of visible and/or near-infrared light,
• c) recording an image of the candled and/or illuminated closed egg by means of an optical recording system and evaluating the captured data of the generated image by means of an evaluation unit,
• d) calculating the position of the cardiovascular system situated in the egg from the evaluated data of the camera image by means of the evaluation unit,
• e) setting a detection unit above the calculated position of the cardiovascular system by means of a positioning unit,
• f) exciting the blood situated in the cardiovascular system by means of an excitation unit,
• g) detecting and selecting the blood-specific absorption spectra and the blood-extrinsic absorption spectra by means of a capturing unit,
• h) determining fertilization, wherein the following method steps are performed after fertilization has been established,
• i) compensating the spectra with blood-extrinsic information by a compensation method by means of the evaluation unit,
• j) classifying the blood-specific absorption spectra by means of a multiple classification method for determining the sex.