Hard tail barb with no feathers?

[chickenchaser10]

Hi all, my frizzle rooster has a very strange, hard barb coming in that doesn’t seem to have any feathers in it. It is thin and hard, almost like a smaller nail, but it’s coming out of his tail. Is this normal? he has been wincing occasionally and idk if it’s general molting discomfort or this very strange, hard barb. Any advice is helpful. Thank you

 

[aart]

Could it be a new pin feather?
Could be some kind of deformity.
Doesn't surprise me that a frizzle could have a funky feather follicle issue.