Study on how chickens keep their cool

Its head looks like a turkey's, its body resembles a chicken's. Now scientists can explain why one of the poultry world's most curious specimens has developed such a distinctive look. The Transylvanian naked neck chicken - once dubbed a Churkey or a Turken because of its hybrid appearance - has developed its defining feature because of a complex genetic mutation. Supressed feather growth. University researchers at The Roslin Institute found that a vitamin A-derived substance produced around the bird's neck enhanced the effects of the genetic mutation. This causes a protein - BMP12 - to be produced, suppressing feather growth and causing the bird to have an outstanding bald neck. Implications.
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