CSU - Chicken State University- Large Fowl SOP

[cluck-cluck]

Some people think it is just esthetics, but it is more than that. I lived on my uncles chicken farm for a year back in the 50's. He called chickens with pinched tails "unthrifty" and culled them. It is not just the feathers....they go where the structure/skin of the bird goes. The back end is to narrow for the bird.
To meet the APA Standards the bird can't be just a bag of feathers. There are a lot of chicken parts that need to be right to do well in a big show.

Walt

Could you please elaborate on this? I am curious because it seems leghorns which are great layers and "thrifty" with food have pinched tails. I don't understand why a pinched tail would be so bad (except in the show ring or for breeding) Did your uncle exclusively breed for show?

 

[fowlman01]

Could you please elaborate on this? I am curious because it seems leghorns which are great layers and "thrifty" with food have pinched tails. I don't understand why a pinched tail would be so bad (except in the show ring or for breeding) Did your uncle exclusively breed for show?

The Leghorns my uncle had back in the 50's are not the hatchery type or egg laying type you see now. My uncle raised Leghorns primarily for fryers, he knew nothing about showing chickens.......and the hens for laying. They looked like the exhibition Leghorns of today in general body type. They were big birds. Egg laying birds now are hybrids and they do have pinched tails and they do lay very well.......for a very short time. The frame is to narrow for the bird and the organs are crammed into a small space that is not good for the chickens general health. "Thrifty" meant it was a viable good producing bird, not how much it ate. Egg laying chickens now are disposable laying machines, so no one really cares if they have a pinched tail. The average age of a bird here is 10 yo, birds with pinched tails generally don't last a very long time.....especially in a egg laying situation. A pinched tail is an outward manifestation that the birds frame is to narrow....whatever it's use or how well it seems to produce. Breeding for production is usually at the expense of the bird.

Walt

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Hey Walt, Frank Reese Jr posted this on Facebook this morning. Can you name the breeds without looking down and reading the answers? This was a test Frank was taught as a child by Hy Patton.



Quote: Frank Reese Jr.

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: Do all birds have the tail feathers that spread out like shown before? Or is it only for certain breeds? Just curious because I hatchery PR's and none have tail feathers that spread out like that......they wont be a year old till May so maybe when they moult that will change?

 

[fowlman01]

Do all birds have the tail feathers that spread out like shown before? Or is it only for certain breeds? Just curious because I hatchery PR's and none have tail feathers that spread out like that......they wont be a year old till May so maybe when they moult that will change?

No, not all breeds have tails that are spread out like that. Almost all hatchery birds, regardless of the breed, have pinched tails. Hatcheries don't spend any time trying to keep the birds with the conformation the various breeds should have. Most of the birds they sell are for egg laying....many look the same to me, with the differences being the color of the bird. If it looks like your birds have a pinched tail, that probably will not change at any age.

Walt

 

[fowlman01]

Jim,
many of them look quite different now.

w.

 

[Fred's Hens]

There is a logic to most things. What we "see" on the outside, relates to what skeletal structure exists beneath. For example, a nice wide tent and wide rear provides space for egg production, digestion and reproduction. Space for the organs we cannot see. The deeper keel provides for most space for organs and can potentially provide for more breast meat. If the legs are set too close together, a common fault, the entire internal body of the bird gets compressed into a narrow channel. A proper head bespeaks intelligence. This is just a farmer talking, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[fowlman01]

You are correct Fred!

w.

 

[armorfirelady]

Th

Do all birds have the tail feathers that spread out like shown before?  Or is it only for certain breeds?   Just curious because I hatchery PR's and none have tail feathers that spread out like that......they wont be a year old till May so maybe when they moult that will change?

No, not all breeds have tails that are spread out like that. Almost all hatchery birds, regardless of the breed, have pinched tails. Hatcheries don't spend any time trying to keep the birds with the conformation the various breeds should have. Most of the birds they sell are for egg laying....many look the same to me, with the differences being the color of the bird. If it looks like your birds have a pinched tail, that probably will not change at any age.

Walt

Thank you. I keep looking at my hens and they have tails like what you describe as pinched tails. I def like the tails on the NH reds shown here. When I get new ones in spring I would like to get some that are not hatchery stock

 

[Mumsy]

Th
Thank you. I keep looking at my hens and they have tails like what you describe as pinched tails. I def like the tails on the NH reds shown here. When I get new ones in spring I would like to get some that are not hatchery stock

Ditto. Just went out and looked at my four pullets. Pinched tails on three. Keep the class going. Knowledge is power.