Janus the d'Uccle .... Possible Chimera - male and female???

[Mimi13]

Wow, this is one of those things you learn on BYC that you’ll never learn any where else. Truly amazing!

 

[JedJackson]

Very interesting. I've read a bit about these, and apparently this is something that can and does happen with many species of birds. None of the articles I saw knew if such birds were fertile-- that would be interesting to know.

 

[Alexandra33]

I would love to know if chimeras ever produce offspring, as well. My Cooties neither lays eggs nor fertilizes them.

~Alex

 

[Fishkeeper]

They can, yes, if they have an intact reproductive system and their hormones aren't too messed up. However, the offspring won't be any more likely to be chimeras. Gametes come from one of the two gonads, so, if a chicken has the left ovary operational enough to produce eggs, the eggs will inherit the genes from the left half of the chicken. If a chicken has two operational ovaries, but its left side has one set of genes and its right side another, it could lay eggs as different as if they were laid by two different chickens. That's the oddest thing you can get, though. A chimera isn't a particular genetic mutation, it's sort of like if you took two different animals apart and Frankensteined them together.

 

[animalyodelers]

Maybe an interesting antecdote about chimeras and reproduction.

I am a human chimera. I have two different blood types. My father is O positive and my mother is A negative. Depending on the day my blood is drawn I am either O positive or A positive. My left kidney is twice as large as my right, and has 2 collection systems. My left ovary is larger. And, TMI, I have the beginning of a 3rd nipple under my left nipple. I have 5 sets of fraternal twins in my recent family history, so it's believed that I absorbed a twin.

My youngest daughter was also born with a left kidney double the size of her right, and it has 2 collection systems. We don't yet know if she has any other possible chimera traits (except she only has the usual two nipples, luckily!). But it's interesting that she has one.

Just wanted to share because it is a pretty rare subject to come up

 

[Fishkeeper]

That's absolutely fascinating. I suppose your immune system 'thinks' you're A positive, because if it thought you were supposed to be O positive it would attack all the A blood cells and you would die.
How often does it change? I feel like a change like that might indicate that blood production happens on one side of the body at a time, or something like that, which I don't think is a known thing yet. Nobody's really tested how much of someone's bone marrow is active at a time, AFAIK.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

A frontal shot of the face and body would be a better way to tell if there is a split.

 

[Lady Lionheart]

That's absolutely fascinating. I suppose your immune system 'thinks' you're A positive, because if it thought you were supposed to be O positive it would attack all the A blood cells and you would die.
How often does it change? I feel like a change like that might indicate that blood production happens on one side of the body at a time, or something like that, which I don't think is a known thing yet. Nobody's really tested how much of someone's bone marrow is active at a time, AFAIK.

I thought only negative blood types attack positive types. I am RH negative and have to have special injection while pregnant with 3 of my kids. The 4th was also RH negative so my blood didn't attack him.

 

[Cyprus]

I thought only negative blood types attack positive types. I am RH negative and have to have special injection while pregnant with 3 of my kids. The 4th was also RH negative so my blood didn't attack him.

I just learnrd about this in school!
(Sorry, I am fascinated with stuff. Going into the medical field)

 

[Lady Lionheart]

I just learnrd about this in school!
(Sorry, I am fascinated with stuff. Going into the medical field)

I really wish they had more information about RH negative blood types. The only thing you find is that we are reptiles or aliens! And I take offense at that lol