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Freaky the hen rules the roost after her sex change
By Richard SavillFreaky the hen spent the first eight months of her life laying eggs and attracting the attentions of a rooster. But last September the silver-laced Wyandotte started crowing at sunrise and being aggressive. She has since developed the full comb and wattle of a cockerel. She has put on weight and engages in simulated mating. Only the equipment to produce offspring is missing. Her owner, Jo Richards, 42, of Saltford, near Bath, said: "One morning, out of the blue, she just started crowing. I have kept chickens for years but never heard of such a thing." Victoria Roberts, the Poultry Club of Great Britain's honorary vet, said Freaky's condition was "very, very rare - about a one in 10,000 event." She said: "I have been keeping poultry for 35 years and seen it only twice. "Only one ovary normally functions in a chicken, the left one. If that is damaged, by a tumour, for example, the other one kicks into life. The right ovary can begin to develop as a testis, producing testosterone which influences the male characteristics. "These include the colour and shape of the plumage and a wattle and comb. Sometimes they even crow, but they can't fertilise eggs." She added: "Sex change chickens are rare but they have been around for centuries." An old proverb says that "a whistling woman and a crowing hen are neither fit for God nor man." Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-04-24 |
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