She wants to be a he

[Stavross 16,272]

So I’ve got a couple of hen pheasants on the shoot that are starting to get cock feathering, we have had this in a few birds in the past, I was wondering what makes this change happen so I’ve had a little read up on it but have not found a lot of information on the subject, as far as I can work out it’s a product of intensive breading and  the hen birds that were checked after this were found to have abnormalities in there reproductive organs, I would be interested to know if any of you have come across this or know a bit more about it

[Jarvis 277]

3 hours ago, Stavross said:

So I’ve got a couple of hen pheasants on the shoot that are starting to get cock feathering, we have had this in a few birds in the past, I was wondering what makes this change happen so I’ve had a little read up on it but have not found a lot of information on the subject, as far as I can work out it’s a product of intensive breading and  the hen birds that were checked after this were found to have abnormalities in there reproductive organs, I would be interested to know if any of you have come across this or know a bit more about it

Funny you should post this. We had one shot on our shoot yesterday and a few of the guns were discussing it. 

The first one I ever saw was last season on our shoot so I looked into it. It’s called gynandromorph and it’s where the bird possesses male and female genes. It doesn’t actually mean they have reproductive issues they normally only have the reproductive organs of entirely male or female but just the appearance of both.

i may be wrong but that’s what I read up anyway. 

[shovel leaner 7,650]

Hermaphroditism, it’s quite common . You get one in every 5-10 thousand I’d say . I usually have  one or two about the place . They taste the same and fly the same and cost the same to shoot. 

[stumfelter 3,034]

Can't help you with the answer but we have had a few with hen coloured backs and cock coloured fronts and heads although not as showy as a normal cock bird. I wonder if pheasants  can be hermaphrodites.

[stumfelter 3,034]

3 minutes ago, shovel leaner said:

Hermaphroditism, it’s quite common . You get one in every 5-10 thousand I’d say . I usually have  one or two about the place . They taste the same and fly the same and cost the same to shoot. 

You beat me to it.

[Stavross 16,272]

From what I’ve read they say that it carries both genes and the male gene becomes more dominant as the bird reaches sexual maturity giving it its cock feathers, I haven’t read anything that says that the birds are hermaphrodite but that would make a lot of sense, the other thing that puzzles me is if it can go from hen to cock ( in looks ) why doesn’t it work the other way round as well 

[j j m 6,564]

sounds about right

[The one 8,513]

As long as they fly well and it doesnt affect the taste does it matter ?.

[jiggy 3,209]

On 14/11/2018 at 18:11, Stavross said:

From what I’ve read they say that it carries both genes and the male gene becomes more dominant as the bird reaches sexual maturity giving it its cock feathers, I haven’t read anything that says that the birds are hermaphrodite but that would make a lot of sense, the other thing that puzzles me is if it can go from hen to cock ( in looks ) why doesn’t it work the other way round as well 

They are probably  just all brown when young and a cock wouldn't have established his red feathers so it would look like it was transforming into a male. 

Edited November 17, 2018 by jiggy