About ROOST

Roost is an egg scanner that scans fertilized chicken eggs for their gender. It was developed to counter the practice of chick culling in the egg industry. Male chicks cannot lay eggs and are gruesomely disposed of, often via grinder, because hatcheries have no other use for them. This practice has contributed to the discussion of whether fair animal treatment and accessible food are mutually exclusive or if the desire for eggs justifies the mass death of baby chicks. Roost navigates this area of contention and provides a surprising compromise: ethical food. Because Roost is designed with in-ovo sexing technology, it can identify male eggs before they hatch. Designed as a set of robot arms, each arm of Roost has a unique function. The main arm, signified with a pointed elbow, is the scanning arm that determines which eggs in a batch are male. The secondary arm has a selective clamping mechanism that separates the eggs scanned as male. In practice, this allows male eggs to be separated from an egg batch before incubation and geared for more utilitarian purposes, including influenza vaccines, animal feed, and cleaning products. Roost creates an opportunity to both mitigate brutality and find benefit in the eggs that would have otherwise been disposed of. Roost also encapsulates what I believe design is truly capable of. Where research, science, and creativity may often focus on solving “big-picture” issues, Roost capitalizes on an optimistic “make a difference” mentality to resolve an issue many may not be aware of.