trimming tails

I was under the impresion that you ha to trim the tail of the cock bird, but only the older birds
Dave

Normally you shouldn't need to trim the actual tail feathers. However, most fancy birds have a lot of extra, fluffy feathers around the vent and behind the legs. Those are what really get in the way, not the tail itself. You can trim those feathers around the vent on both birds to help with fertility.

I am not an expert with Fantails of any kind, but I am pretty sure triming and pulling tail feathers is pretty standard practice. I cut an inch or so off the tails of some of my English Trumpeter cocks, along with triming some of the other feathers underneath as has been mentioned. Maybe a fantail breeder should be sought out for advice but I think many of them do it.