Saddle feathers?

[johnnalei]

Could someone explain to me what saddle feathers are and how I can tell if my young chickens have them? Do all breeds get them? Thanks

 

[MomOf15]

So glad you asked cuz I've been wondering the same thing

 

[M To The Maxx]

All chicken breeds have saddle feathers but only roosters do. That is one way you can tell if you have a rooster or hen.

 

[Bring]

I thought hens get saddle feathers too, just that they are not as pointed.

 

[M To The Maxx]

Not that I know of.

 

[Bring]

oh, sorry, forgot to answer. THey are the feathers right behind the wing but before the tail feathers. ROosters get long, pointed saddle feathers. IF you go to the home page of BYC then on the left side of the page they have the learning center button, click it and then go down to chicken anatomy, they have a pic of roos and hens. YOu can see the saddle feathers there.

 

[M To The Maxx]

Roosters do have saddle tail feathers too.

 

[johnnalei]

I see. And at what age do saddle feathers generally start to show?

 

[M To The Maxx]

I noticed the saddle feathers on my roosters at about 2 months old.

 

[fordmommy]

I think they start to show somewhere aroun 16-20 weeks. I'm going to look for a pic to show you the difference. I didn't know until I started looking here too.