Rooster Confusion

[crazyfeathers]

Hi,
I'm no stranger to roosters and for the most part can identify them before they crow but I am stumped. I have a hen who hatched out 10 chicks last spring, she is a Barred Rock mix and on the large side. There are 3 possible roosters, all 3 have different combs which is not unusual due to them being mixes, (now forgive my ignorance) all 3 have the slender, longish, feathers off to each side of their backs right in front of the tail, does this mean all 3 of them are roosters or can hens have them too? What are the chances that the 3 that look like her and that I really like turn out to be roosters. I tried to find an identification chart so I could tell you exactly which feathers I am talking about but failed. If I did not explain myself clearly let me know and I will try to get pictures tomorrow. Thank you in advance for some enlightenment.

 

[Pyxis]

It sounds like you mean saddle feathers and yes, if they have long, thin, pointy saddle feathers, they are roosters. Sometimes roosters can be hen feathered but hens never have rooster feathers.

 

[crazyfeathers]

I also forgot to mention that 2 of them appear to have rooster tails but the third has more of the squared tail. All 3 have those questionable feathers that I am speaking of. thanks

 

[crazyfeathers]

Well that was a quick response, Thanks Pyxis. I guess I will have to figure out which handsome rooster to keep then. It was just confusing due to the shapes of the tail. Saddle feathers, I will look that up so I'm not so ignorant next time. I appreciate your help.

 

[Pyxis]

No problem! And good luck, I know it can hard to pick which to keep. You might want to post pictures though, just to be safe, so you don't accidentally give away a hen. Although, if your hen is barred and the rooster she was bred to is not white or barred, the offspring are sex linked, meaning all male chicks hatch with a spot on their heads and are barred, while females hatch with no spot and are not barred. This is 100% accurate, so if your hen's mate was not barred or white, all barred offspring are males.

 

[Ms Perkins]

I'm not sure if they all are boys. I have a hen with long saddle feathers and a short tail. You might post pics

 

[crazyfeathers]

Pyxis that is great information! The male she was bred with was an Easter Egger, I have a Turken Rooster too but since I didn't get any naked necks I guess he didn't partake in the mating lol. I am going to post pictures tomorrow.

 

[BantamLover21]

It sounds like you mean saddle feathers and yes, if they have long, thin, pointy saddle feathers, they are roosters. Sometimes roosters can be hen feathered but hens never have rooster feathers.

x2

Photos would help.

 

[Wyandottes7]

It sounds like you mean saddle feathers and yes, if they have long, thin, pointy saddle feathers, they are roosters. Sometimes roosters can be hen feathered but hens never have rooster feathers.

X3

 

[enola]

I'm not sure if they all are boys. I have a hen with long saddle feathers and a short tail. You might post pics    

We would like to see your hen with saddle feathers......