What is this "tail" my Jersey Giant has grown?

[Smartie_Pants]

I wasn't sure where to post this, so if this isn't right please forgive me. LOL.

Anyway, I have a JG (yellow bottomed feet) that multiple people here and in other forums told me was a hen. She was born around the last week of May and I got her in early June. Just recently these feathers have sprouted and are growing almost straight up.

(Sorry that the pic isn't very good. When she sees the camera come out she takes off running.) Is she really a roo? I know they are late-developing but isn't this a little too late for that?

I looked up pics of JG hens on feathersite and none have this feather thing. What's up with her?

 

[cjeanean]

that's interesting....how old?

 

[Dustin Biery]

By my calculations of the time frame give by the OP, I would say she is between 5 and 6 months old. Her other features look girly. I say they are just random feathers that will molt out.

 

[Smartie_Pants]

Quote:
Well, she was born at the end of May so... basically 6 months.

 

[L&Schickens]

I have 2 black hens from ideal (JG hens) that have the same tail! I have 2 white and one other black that have a short full tail. I was wondering the same thing about mine. Mine are 4 months old.

 

[Smartie_Pants]

L&Schickens :

I have 2 black hens from ideal (JG hens) that have the same tail! I have 2 white and one other black that have a short full tail. I was wondering the same thing about mine. Mine are 4 months old.

I bought these from a couple, so I'm not sure if they are from a hatchery. They get most of their chickens from a hatchery though so if these aren't, their parents probably were.​

 

[Birch Run Farm]

Looks like a girl to me!

 

[estpr13]

Smarty pants. My Jersey Giants are about 4 weeks younger than yours. All the males have combs and wattles larger than yours. She looks like a hen. I'll have to watch my hens for tail feathers like hers.

 

[mikarod]

It's a pullet....but I think there was either something genetically or nutritionally wrong to produce that tail going up. (Maybe stress caused the tail to come in weird??)

Probably genetic.

 

[cyanne]

I can't say why this would happen, but I did have a couple of pullets who put out one or two crazy tail feathers like this. I got all worried because I thought they might turn out to be boys, but in each case the feather eventually just dropped off through the natural shedding process and never came back.

BTW, both were Andalusians (one blue, one black).