Item #: SCP-3168
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-3168 is to be kept in a standard inanimate-object containment locker at Area-12. Research proposals involving the use of SCP-3168 must be made in writing to site command. Unless required for authorized experimentation or study, instances of SCP-3168-1 are to be euthanized by the time they are three years old; the remains of instances of SCP-3168-1 that are not required for experimentation or study are to be incinerated.
Description: SCP-3168 is a Russian matryoshka 7-layer nesting doll, which induces anomalous mutations in the offspring of the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). When a female chicken ('hen') mates (or is artificially inseminated) while within approximately a 3-meter radius of SCP-3168, and then lays fertilized eggs, the fertilized eggs will contain instances of SCP-3168-1; this effect will only occur when the top halves of SCP-3168's 6 outer layers have been removed and the innermost doll is nested within the 6 bottom halves. SCP-3168's anomalous mutagenic effect affects only hens, such that semen extracted from a male chicken ('rooster') within SCP-3168's range will not produce anomalous offspring if used to inseminate hens outside its range; as well, the anomalous mutagenesis does not persist post-exposure, and hens who have previously been exposed to SCP-3168 are capable of subsequently producing non-anomalous offspring.
Instances of SCP-3168-1 are anomalous organisms which resemble ambulatory houses on chicken legs; Foundation folklorists have noted the similarity to the Russian legend of Baba Yaga.[1]Aside from their legs and feet, the organisms are not composed of biological matter, but rather of standard architectural materials: boards, masonry, nails, etc. Despite their anomalous form and composition, instances of SCP-3168-1 follow the standard chicken life cycle, hatching from their eggs an average of 21 days after fertilization, at which point they are the size of non-anomalous newly-hatched chickens; radiographic and ultrasound examination of SCP-3168-1 eggs reveal the presence of microscopic architectural components as early as 5 days after fertilization. Tissue samples from the legs of SCP-3168-1 instances reveal a genetic match to the parent chickens, and a sex ratio of approximately 50%. Blood is present in the legs; dye tracing indicates that this blood circulates from one leg to the other despite the lack of a heart, and despite the fact that there is no non-architectural connection between the legs. Legs produce heat at a rate sufficient to maintain standard chicken body temperature.
SCP-3168-1 instances will "eat" both standard chicken feed and raw architectural materials by sweeping it into themselves with their open doors. Isotopic labeling has shown that the chicken feed is converted into the lignin of the instances' woodwork. The architectural materials are assimilated into the instances' structures via an unknown mechanism; it is to be noted that these architectural materials are typically insufficient to account for the composition of the structures, both in quantity and in substance (e.g., instances hatched in an aluminum-free environment may nonetheless develop aluminum siding), a conclusive indicator of ectoentropic hylogenesis.
SCP-3168-1 instances are rejected at a rate of 15-20% by hens who have not previously raised offspring, and at a rate of 90-95% by hens who have previously raised non-anomalous offspring.
SCP-3168-1 instances emulate the behavior of non-anomalous hatchling and juvenile chickens, to the extent that their anomalous physiology makes this possible. They are apparently capable of sight (despite their lack of any eyes or brain), and can (as is standard for birds) imprint on researchers who are present at their hatching; they also replicate standard chicken vocalization by rapidly opening and closing their doors and windows (although male instances have not been observed to crow).
SCP-3168-1 instances grow at the rate of non-anomalous chickens until approximately three and a half years of age, at which point they begin to express an anomalous derivative of chicken growth hormone (despite the lack of any glands where such a hormone could be produced); when purified, this hormone can induce ectoentropically rapid growth in non-anomalous chickens and in architectural structures.
A wide variety of architectural styles are represented in SCP-3168-1 physiology. Although the factors determining architectural style remain to be elucidated, 75-80% of SCP-3168-1 instances parented by a given pair of chickens will consistently manifest the same style, with the remainder being an assorted mixture. The breed(s) of the parents does not seem to play a part: for example, when hen 3168-F-417 is bred to rooster 3168-M-131, the offspring have consistently been 75% split-level ranch, while the offspring of that same hen with rooster 3168-M-132 have consistently been 75% Pacific lodge, even though all three birds are purebred Orpington chickens. <4% of instances are non-residential in nature, including but not limited to convenience stores, stadiums, water filtration plants, grain elevators, warehouses, movie theaters, greenhouses, parking garages, and exact replicas of Saint Paul's Cathedral, the Taj Mahal, and the Parliament House of Ghana. Many structures will have carpeting, plumbing fixtures, and electrical wiring; however, furniture is rare. All locks on instances with the same parents will be openable by the same key (or proportionately reduced copies thereof).
Incident Log: In June 2005, an unrelated containment breach led to the collapse of a retaining wall at Area-12, where a brood of six instances of SCP-3168-1 were being raised for study. Five of the instances were killed when the wall fell on them; however, debris from the wall was misidentified as having come from the sixth instance, which instead escaped into the wild. In December 2011, the instance (conclusively identified by tissue samples and architectural matching) was recovered 800km away, after it fell through river ice and drowned; it was 8.5 m tall.
Acquisition Log: SCP-3168 was obtained from a raid on a Marshall, Carter and Dark storage facility; accompanying provenance documents showed that a former GRU-P agent traded it to MC&D in 1998, in exchange for having his gambling debts forgiven.

Footnotes
1. SCP-352 has expressed ignorance of SCP-3168, but did not respond to further questioning.

« SCP-3167 | SCP-3168 | SCP-3169 »