Fifi, the Transgendered Hen (crummy pics on Page 3)

[wohneli]

Can chickens actually "morph" into the opposite sex? If so has anyone seen any research on it or how it could be controlled?

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Mine went the other way. I had a barred rock that I swore was a roo. He was bigger than everyone else and had these huge comb and wattles and what looked like saddle feathers to me.

Then I put the new guys in with the old roo who promptly had his way with every single one of them regardless!

My barred rock "roo" settled down and lost his(?) saddle feathers at the molt and began laying eggs a few months later. S/he was later laying than everyone else, and still towers over the others, but she's as girly as can be.....


She still doesn't seem to appreciate it much when the roo favors her with his attentions.....

 

[SpringChickens]

I know that hens only have one functional ovary. If you remove that ovary at a young age, the remaining ovary will actually morph into a testis. If you remove it at an older age, the ovary will morph into an ovotestis; a strange combination of an ovary and a testis. It will produce testosterone, which will cause the rooster feathering and behavior.

Very strange stuff....