The Welsummer Thread!!!! - Page 681

Congrats Kelly!

Engteach~ I say wait until they mature to see if the fluff remains. Sometimes as youngsters the fluff will show until the adult plumage is in. Grey is one thing but white as Fay stated is a no-no. I cannot find anywhere in the SOP book that it is a DQ. White fluff I would think that they would view as a foreign color and would make the fluff a DQ because of its color only.

From the 2010 APA SOP edition

Definition of FLUFF:  (1) Part of a feather composed of barbs growing from the lower part of the shaft which are ot hooked together as in the web, resulting in a soft downy character.

(2) The soft, downy feathering on the inner side of the lower thigh and on the abdomen.

Definition of FEATHER:  (I'm skipping part 1 and 2 as it describes the upper portions of the feather such as quill and where it attaches and such, basically what parts make up the feather and its importance...I'm happy to add it if needed)

(3) The fluff is that portion at the proximal or lower end of the rachis or shaft where absence of the small hooks cause a feather to be soft and downy in character; not visible when the plumage is in natural position. Note -- the color thereof being known as undercolor.

These 3 section form a firm flexible composite unit which varies in shape, color and texture in the various breeds and varieties of fowl.

In the SOP it states under

 Interpretation of Standard:

Color: 

      Undercolor: Proper surface gives identit, beauty and uniformity. Undercolor is also a characteristic of each color pattern. It should be considered but not granted undue emphasis. In very tight feathered breeds (ex. Malays, Aseels, Shamos, Games, etc.) underfluff may show through at junction of back and tail, shoulders, wingbows, etc.

Under Welsummers on page 150 of the SOP it states:

Color - Male

UNDERCOLOR OF ALL SECTIONS: Slate

(Just noticed that undercolor of the female is not discussed...weird)

but any whooooo....it's my interpretation that if the fluff is grey (slate) it is not a DQ as Welsummers are a tight feathered breed.

Also from the SOP:

FOREIGN COLOR: A color in any part of a fowl that differs greatly from the color prescribed by the Standard. A disqualification in some breeds. (pg. 34) and a defect in others, (pg. 32).