Spontaneous gender change in chickens IS possible IF the ovary producing the hormones gets damaged.. only one release egg follicles. A hen CAN grow pointy saddles etc during that condition.. but it isn't super common.
Really? Huh, you learn something new everyday. My bad! I've never encountered a hen growing out spurs. I had a lot of chickens get pretty old but never saw them. Must be unique!
My friend has several older ladies with spurs.. Rocks, Wyandottes, etc. I was surprised the first time I saw it also. It said most common in Mediterranean type breeds. I haven't YET encountered it.
Some breeds have hen feathered roosters.. such as Seabright.. so the saddles don't ALWAYS tell the story.. just often they do.
I would leave them alone.. or consider using the "hot potato" method to remove them IF they appear to be causing any undercarriage damage to her skin.
Also, welcome to BYC!
Good job noticing things on your new birds. They look like lovely ladies.. the 3 I can see. Some birds do have 5th toes that look kinda weird but that definitely spurs!
That being said.. PLEASE don't be so quick to accept an answer just because it CAN make sense.. that doesn't mean it does or that it's correct. Clearly, you were willing to accept this poor lovely lady as a rooster by one persons word with NO actions from HER to back up the thought.. So please take your time, look at ALL the clues, get more opinions and or wait for someone to elaborate a little instead of jumping to the first LOGICAL conclusion.. MANY, MANY things are NOT as they appear with poultry!
