This story begins serendipitously enough. A few years ago, an employee in the poultry industry described to Dr Clinton some peculiar chickens on nearby farms. These rare chickens were bilateral gynandromorphs; half male and half female. Like my eclectus, these birds were neatly divided down the middle between their male and female sides, almost as if two individuals of opposite sexes had been stitched together.
These “half-siders,” as poultry farmers and aviculturists often refer to bilateral gynandromorphs, are rare, but have been seen in a number of avian families, ranging from finches to pigeons to parrots.Chickens are one of my favorite animals, so it goes without saying that I think this is amazing.
