Tail feathers?

[suzanneandlucas]

I have twelve two week old chicks - all with growing wing feathers, but only some seem to have tail feathers - is this because some are just further ahead, or a sign of something else?

 

[lauralou]

What breeds are they?

I have 4 different breeds, and they feathered in at different rates. My gold sex links were very slow to get their feathers, but were always large, healthy chicks.

 

[ebonykawai]

My rooster is a month old and still has almost no tail feathers, lol. Not saying yours are roos, they do all develop at a slightly different rate. That's what I noticed with my reds.

 

[Red]

We had one chick who had no tail feathers at all, and he was also feathering out slowly everywhere else too...I think chicks just feather out differently from each other

 

[chickiepoo]

If they are all of the same breed it could be the first indication of differences between pullets and cockerels. If they are different breeds, I don't know. Except if you see difference in the tail feathers within the same breed, same thing with the cockerels and pullets. I have read, haven't observed it yet, that in some breeds pullets will get tail feathers before the cockerels.