AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

I was visiting a very well respected breeder on sunday and in our conversation he said he does not breed his birds to conform to the show standard. Now I won't name the breeder but he does well on the bench yet couldn't care less about the standard and breeds to his likes. I have read many of the standards and have to say there are many Interpretation of it but to me it’s not clear cut. So I was wondering what the breeders of this community think and if you breed to the standards or to your preferences regardless of whether you show fowl or not?

G'day Clarke, I'm surprised you haven't had any replies yet, it's an interesting question. I'll give it a go, to start with I don't show my birds (too lazy, not interested who knows) but I do use the standards when selecting breeding stock. I do sell my birds to the public so I see it as my resonsibility to sell a bird true to type if people are willing to part with their hard earned cash.

Thanks Clarke for the question, it is just this sort of thing that should stimulate serious discussion amongst breeders be they show or just keep the fowls for personal pleasure.
I agree with Purfeather, it is surprising that you have not been swamped with replies unless many are frightened to voice an opinion for fear of being shot down.
I have to disagree with your friend, if he is breeding a variety PURE he is adhering to a standard, unless he is breeding completely contrary to accepted characteristics for a breed or variety.If he is successful on the show bench he is breeding close enough to the accepted standard to appeal to a cross section of judges.
But what he may be doing is breeding to his interpretation of that standard.I'm sure if you asked a 100 people to read a standard you will get many and different interpretations of what they understand it to mean.
This has always been a cause for concern amongst breeders and judges and may be the reason many breeds or varieties have shifted emphasis from one characteristic or another and some are not always recognisable as what the "Old Hands" understood a breed or variety should or used to look like.
With my own breed of Malays, some read the standard to be long in back, others moderate so as to show off the 3 distinct curves or they insist on wide shoulders carried high and prominent.
Some breeders breed to the visual interpretation they take from old photo's or plates as depicted in many old publications.
One example I can give that I have witnessed in my lifetime is that of Cochins,Orpingtons, Australorps and Langshans.
In days past the Cochins was huge and loose in feather, the Orpington was a utility fowl, large and quite close feathered, the Australorp was the Australian Laying Orpington and accepted as a separate breed, it was solid smaller close feathered , the Langshan when I was a child was a small close feathered fowl that laid a large egg and was used as a pure laying breed on poultry farms before the days of commercial crossbreds.
Now we have a movement to remake the Cochin, the greatest difficulty being to get it right for type with the correct size and feather the breed requires.The Orpington has lost it's utility value,got very loose in feather often hiding completely the legs, much like what the Cochin used to be and should be.The Australorp is now larger and much looser in feather like the traditional Orp used to be.The Langshan is now a larger looser feathered softer feathered fowl that fills the void that used to be where the Australorp stood in the line-up of related poultry varieties.
All of these things are coming about because of the many and different interpretations of the written standard or visual observation of what any breed or variety should be.
This observation can be applied to any hard or soft feather breed or variety either standard or bantam.
Just take the time to look and see for yourself, you may be surprised at just what you see, and it will be a very worthwhile exercise in learning more about your chosen breed or variety.

Oaklands your reply is excellent I totally agree it probably the best reply I have seen on any forum to any question well done.

Thank you for the replies so far please keep them coming I think it’s a subject worth discussing in detail. I feel you can still breed pure fowl to your liking without the standard applying but without any form of cross breeding. I think a good example would be pekin bantams were I have seen many good ones but they may not be 'show standard' but the breeders are happy with them.

Just like show/breed standards each has his/her own interpretation of this subject and what it involves and where it could take the various breeds and varieties.
If you are calling birds a particular breed name, are showing them successfully and they are recognisable as that breed/variety you are breeding to a loose interpretation of that breed standard.
If on the other hand you are changing what you breed so as to render it unregognisable as a particular breed/variety then indeed you are not breeding to an accepted breed standard.

When looking for show standard silkies I found it very hard to find any that are truly compliant so I settled for less and will try to work to the standard and see how I go

So did they have serious faults or just minor faults Beamer? I wonder if people find it too hard to repair a line that has too many faults as per the standard.

Can someone post the judging points scoring for pekin bantams please?

I must of over looked this topic. The question asked is a very good one. I will give my answer when i get home from work. Too hard to post while on my mobile phone.