HEN WITH MALE CHARACTERISTICS 



Photograph of the hen that crowed, just before being killed. Notice the partial develop- 

 ment of the narrow hackle and saddle feathers. (Fig. 1.) 



tics both ill her appearance and actions. 

 The growth of feather stnbs between 

 the toes during this last molt, while not 

 characteristic of male, evidently indi- 

 cated a change in her constitution for 

 there had been no indication of any- 

 thing like this at any time previous. 



She was killed in the laboratory dur- 

 ing November, 1915, and a careful ex- 

 amination of the rejiroductive system 

 made. The oviduct throughout its en- 

 tire length, including Fallopian tubes 

 and uterus, had atrophied, consisting of 

 a wrinkled mass of fibrous connective 

 tissue. The lower glandular portion of 

 the oviduct had shrunk to the size of 

 an ordinary match and was tough and 

 hard. 



Fig. 4 is that of a normal ovar\- in a 

 completely dormant state, that is after 

 the hen had l)een setting on eggs for 

 three weeks. This same ovary in cross 

 section showed the follicles and the o\a 

 in all stages of development, normal 

 connective tissue being present in the 

 344 



spaces between the follicles. Extern- 

 ally there are no indications of any fol- 

 licles, but there were scars of ruptured 

 Graafian follicles. In the ovary of the 

 hen that crowed there were no follicles ; 

 the entire ovary showed complete cystic 

 degeneration. It was a mass of connec- 

 tive tissue cells surrounding the large 

 cystic cells. Scars of apparently nor- 

 mal Graafian follicles were present. 

 The large cystic cells were all more or 

 less filled with secretion granules. 



Siiminary. — A ])crfectly normal 

 White Wyandotte hen. after having two 

 years of normal life in which her repro- 

 ductive functions showed above the av- 

 erage, lost this capacity and in a short 

 time acquired all of the characteristics 

 of the male both in appearance and 

 actions. Upon dissection the cause of 

 these changes was found to be the cystic 

 degeneration of the ovary, the entire 

 organ having lost its normal structure 

 and instead filled with a mass of con- 

 nective tissue and cvstic cells. 



