BREEDING FOR THE LONGTAILS - the tail feathers of the hen

The feathering of a fine long-tailed rooster came from his mother! Even though we place much emphasis on the males of the Longtails, their feathering was inherited to the greater part from their mothers. Please note the information I've gathered for you here.

	I am grateful to Mr Jenkins of the USA for these two images. They show very highly developed Longtail feathering in that they demonstrate very well-developed sickles and coverts. This type of feathering will give one the best roosters.
	This hen also shows excellent feathering, but also shows the much older form of Phoenix, influenced by that of the Onagadori, in that the back line is falling, the legs are somewhat short.
	This shot of the tail of an exceptional Ismer-line Red Duckwing Phoenix shows exceptional fullness, with many mutant sickles, and excellent length. This kind of feathering is NOT TO BE CONFUSED with hens that are hormonally imbalanced which show actually cock-feathering. At first glance, these hens seem like exceptionally feathered Phoenix, but upon closer examination, one can see clearly that the feathers have testosteron-influenced pigmentation.
	Here is another shot from Mr Jenkins from America, with a Yokohama hen with exceptional sickle development! Once one gets used to this type of feathering, this characteristic stands out easily.
	This is an excellent example of the feathering in the tail of the hen that will breed fine cocks! Do not be too quick to discard those hens which display some spur growth. This, contrary to popular opinion, is not connected with infertility, as is cock-feathering. Some of my best breeder hens have spurs, so if you have some excellent Phoenix or other Longtail with spurs, and if they lay well for you, these are usually the hens that give the most luxurient growth of sickles in their sons!

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