Hello! For no reason other than that I have only a few days left to meet my goal of 'at least one post per month' this year, may I introduce you to the seldom talked about subject of sex change chickens?!
If this is news to you, it really is a thing - more accurately known as 'sex reversal'. Hens typically only have one functional ovary (the left one) and if it becomes damaged through disease, their right ovary starts to develop in place of it. But it's possible for this to have some tissue characteristics of the testes as well as, or instead of, the ovary.... This becomes an 'ovotestis' which releases androgen, the hormone group which contains testosterone, as well as estrogen - and the hen can start to develop male secondary sex characteristics. It only works that way around - female to male - still genotypically female, as in her genes, but phenotypically male, i.e. with regard to features and behaviours on the outside. Her wattle and comb may grow to resemble a rooster's, her feather pattern can change and she may even crow.
You're welcome!
Ok, really this is just an excuse to post a song which I listened to today for the first time since...well, I think it must have been around 1984, the year of its release. A time, I think, when eccentricity in music had a kind of naiveté about it, something quite unselfconscious; I rather miss the innocent silliness of some of that late '70s/early '80s scene, the John Peel genre! Hull band, Indians In Moscow, had had a successful indie hit with their first single 'Naughty Miranda', and this one came along the following year. It reached the dizzy heights of number 101 in the UK Indie Charts... I guess you could say it was a little niche?
"I've been on Calendar, I've been on Nationwide." Ah, heady days!
Every day really is a schoolday.
ReplyDeleteI am to please!
DeleteWokeness gone mad. God created Rooster and Hen not Rooster and Ken.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations for showing such restraint, Ernie - I've been expecting cock jokes!
DeleteHen related update from Half Man Half Biscuit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kME5VgkIgZU
ReplyDeleteExcellent, thank you SA - there's a lot more to those hens than meets the eye.
DeleteWhen we got out our chicken we were told she was female (galinha). Our neighbour was not convinced (there was even a debate in the local cafe about this) and it turns out he is a cockerel (gallo). I'm not sure if there was been a sex change or if he was a gallo all the time.
ReplyDeleteOoh interesting, George - perhaps you have the perfect example of a sex change chicken?! Perhaps only she/he knows for sure...
DeleteYour search history must make for interesting reading! Thanks for that snippet of info I was probably never going to learn about anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you call an overly confident chicken? Cocky (although that same chicken according to C may just have had a sex change!)
Must admit I do love this kind of thing and now that I've read up about it that fact will stay with me I could also give you a detailed account of a snail's mating ritual and the metamorphosis of a ladybird (illustrated with my own photos) but...........
Delete....oh no, don't go!
I'd not heard that joke before, thanks - the simple ones are the best, I'll remember that too!
I wonder if the hen turned cock could continue to produce eggs despite it’s new secondary characteristics.
ReplyDeleteI believe not, as it's only the left ovary which can produce eggs, and it's if that one gets damaged that the change occurs. Not that I'm an expert in these matters!
DeleteBen
DeleteStrange, I wonder what nature intends for the right ovary?
ReplyDeleteIf the right may change to a testes but equally may not it seems that nature cannot make up its mind. Perhaps development is influence by the hen’s immediate social surroundings. Ie too many hens or cocks.
ReplyDeleteHappy to have piqued your interest in the subject, Ben! I've been looking for answers... seems that many avian species, whilst born with two, only develop have one functioning ovary and there are theories about this being part of bird evolution in reducing their weight to allow for flight. Chickens fall into that category (even though they aren't brilliant at flight, but can get off the ground) whilst apparently many flightless birds like the kiwi and ostrich do still have two developed ones.
DeleteAs for the next bit, and what influences that change, I can't find a definitive answer - but I like your suggestion. I'm going to be looking out now for more studies on the topic. Almost feel like doing one myself (something for retirement, perhaps!)
I'm very impressed with the Indians In Moscow track.
ReplyDeleteI would say that a Sex Change Chicken would also likely be The Best Dressed Chicken In Town...
https://youtu.be/iQ7a3lYm1MQ?si=gqhy3Bxy4xeXmG5n
Glad it impressed you, Rol - I still like it. And thanks for Dr Alimantado's dapper domestic fowl, I'm now trying to remember if you've ever done a Top 10 of chicken songs...
DeleteApparently the answer is yes...
Deletehttps://histopten.blogspot.com/2022/09/snapshots-256-top-ten-chicken-songs.html
Excellent. I'll look out for a part two now!
DeleteI'm 66¼ and just learning this - as CC says, everyday really is a school day. We definitely need those accounts of a snail's mating ritual and the metamorphosis of a ladybird.
ReplyDeleteWe never stop learning do we...? Especially when it comes to nature. But you may live to regret your second sentence, I mean, once you get me started on these things....
Delete66¼ !!
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