Bilateral duplication of the ceca in a domestic chicken.

Bilateral duplication of the ceca in an adult chicken was observed. One characteristic in addition to the duplication was excessive enlargement of one cecum, which contained 336 grams of cecal contents. Undeveloped and developed eggs were also retained in the oviduct because of oviductal atresia. There are few reports of anomalies in domestic fowl (1,2,3,5). Most studies of the incidence of abnormalities in domestic fowl have been assessments of case collections. This paper reports a rare congenital abnormality of the ceca in a domestic chicken, unreported before in the literature, together with atresia of the oviduct and retention of undeveloped and developed eggs in the oviduct.