Can someone help me understand hackle feathers and saddle feathers??

Hackle feathers are the pointy neck feathers, Saddle feathers are the feathers towards the rear that turn downwards toward their bumm.

Hackles are right around the neck if you see roosters going to fight they puff them up. Saddle feathers are the weird dangling feathers by the tail.

They aren't extremely pointy.  However, when compared to a hen, you can see the difference between the rounded bottom of a Hen's hackle (lower neck/shoulder) and a Roosters.  A Hen's will be rounded like the end of a Spoon.  In a hen with a multi-colored feather you won't always notice it as rounded until you lift one feather off another and look at it with your finger under it for background. (Such as in a laced breed)

The Rooster will have a pointed feather, it will be thinner than a hens and come to a slight point at the end instead of a rounded end like a spoon.  So if you lift the feather up and see a point instead of a completely rounded feather, you have a rooster.  Sometimes you can't tell if there is a pattern on the feathers, or with them laying against each other.

Laney

It's a bit young, give them a few more weeks and the first ones on the roo's will start emerging.

Here is a pretty decent diagram in the BYC Learning Center.  Keep in mind, different breeds can easily be pretty different than this.  It's just a general diagram.  Got into a wrangle with someone who swore that a EE we saw couldn't be a roo because he had tiny little wattles and a small comb, even though he clearly had rooster sickles and hackle feathers.  LOL    There's some breeds I just stare at because I can't quite figure out all the oddities, still this is a good diagram.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-anatomy.html

I found this on the net. and it might help...


I believe that the 'pointy' feathers of the hackle and saddle is produced by a male hormone. Some times in breeds like the Campines, Hamburghs, Sebrights, and Henny Game the roosters can have a Hf
(Henny Feathering) gene but RIR's shouldn't have it..
Sometimes it takes a little longer to tell.. I know my RIR's are close to 3 1/2 months old till I can tell for shore. ( The line of RIR's I have mature real slow)...

Chris