4-H-er thread!

[prizepete]

I agree to change the topic. I just signed up on Wednesday.

cool!

Cochins are waiting at the post office!!

Yay! Let us know how they are doing! our post office is amazing! They called us the minute my pair got there and they said they where really quiet so they were a little worried! They Where FANTASTIC! they are also pretty good with eggs

 

[BantamSlave02]

cool!


Yay! Let us know how they are doing! our post office is amazing! They called us the minute my pair got there and they said they where really quiet so they were a little worried! They Where FANTASTIC! they are also pretty good with eggs

You are lucky that you have a good post office, mine can have a few issues

 

[I Love Layers]

You are lucky that you have a good post office, mine can have a few issues

Mine is rural, and I know someone who works there. She offered to bring them out to me

 

[I Love Layers]

I'm in love with her cushion though!

 

[BantamSlave02]

I'm in love with her cushion though!

Ooooooo I'm in love with them! Cochins are so big and fluffy. I want to get a LF Cochin roo from a breeder, just because of the sheer mass and regalness of them.

 

[LilJoe]

Hello I am hoping to join 4-H next year! I'm not sure if my school does livestock though.

Anyways, I was wanting to know if my pretty boy was show quality, because I don't know what to look for.

Name:???
Breed:Lavender Orpington
Gender:Cockerel

He's much larger now.
His tail feathers have grown out more so have his saddle feathers. Also his comb and wattle are MUCH larger now.

 

[waddles99]

Hello I am hoping to join 4-H next year! I'm not sure if my school does livestock though.

Anyways, I was wanting to know if my pretty boy was show quality, because I don't know what to look for.

Name:???
Breed:Lavender Orpington
Gender:Cockerel

He's much larger now.
His tail feathers have grown out more so have his saddle feathers. Also his comb and wattle are MUCH larger now.

Not show quality. Sorry. Back is waaaaaay too long, tail way too high. He's still young but lacks the heavyset body type of a good orp. I wouldn't bother showing him, too many faults. Sorry. I bet he's fun to have around the flock and nice to look at, but he isn't exactly "show quality". Sorry

Here is a link to a pic of a buff cock that got reserve champ English at a pretty competitive show for reference: http://www.unitedorpingtonclub.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=35696787 Note the almost nonexistent back, and how long and gradually sloped the tail is. Also look at the body shape.

In most cases with orpingtons, the pullets are the ones that do the best. Hens, cocks, and cockerels all usually lose to pullets.

My advice to you is this. Go out and find a quality breeder, tell them you are in 4H, and see if they can get you some started birds that have been evaluated properly. Don't waste your time with hatcheries. I know I dont.

 

[junebuggena]

Hello I am hoping to join 4-H next year! I'm not sure if my school does livestock though.

Anyways, I was wanting to know if my pretty boy was show quality, because I don't know what to look for.

Name:???
Breed:Lavender Orpington
Gender:Cockerel

He's much larger now.
His tail feathers have grown out more so have his saddle feathers. Also his comb and wattle are MUCH larger now.

First of all, Lavender isn't an APA recognized color for Orpingtons, and for good reason. Most Lavenders look nothing like what an Orpington is supposed to look like, your boy included. Orpingtons are supposed to have a very round shape, almost like a walking beach ball. The majority of Lavenders don't even come close. It's a variety that is in desperate need of dedicated breeders working on the overall conformation. While you may enjoy your boy, he has far too many faults to ever be a contender at a higher level, and he isn't a good candidate for breeding. Lavenders and Blues are all the rage right now, and too many novice people have tried to cash in on breeding and selling substandard birds.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Our fair let's us bring cross birds, because it is more of a backyard bird show, however, this person asked what breed she was, and he replied that he knew for sure that that was what she was. Sizzles can be judged, because they are judged to the Silkie standard except for the feathers.

Everything depends on the lens one is looking through. Via the SOP, pg. 29, "Awarding Prizes at Poultry Shows," #1: "Only such varieties as are recognized and described in the Standard of Perfection are eligible to compete in sweepstakes. This includes all varieties of chickens, turkeys, and waterfowl."

So, the first question is whether or not a show is APA/ABA sanctioned or not. A show that isn't APA/ABA sanctioned can do whatever it wants, but that removes the event from the purview of the APA/ABA. Thus, when one says, "our fair let's us bring cross birds.." one is saying that that particular fair is extra-APA/ABA, and thus the rules of the game do not apply. "Sizzles" are not judged within an APA/ABA context; within an APA/ABA context, they are considered culls.

Now, I'm not saying your fair can't do what it wants; indeed, by all means, have at it. However, an APA/ABA judge is only a judge within the context of the APA/ABA rules, and her/his judgments derive their validity via their proximity to the SOP.

At no point, is a judge responsible to know anything about anything outside of what is required by and described inside of the SOP. Some of the very top judges in America have only a rudimentary understanding of genetics. Understanding genetics and judging by the SOP are not the same thing, nor are they interdependent.

Thus, whoever this judge was, he/she has zero responsibility to this bird within the context of the APA/ABA than to mark it as a DQ, which also goes for sizzles. That's just simple reality. They are DQs. Now, most judges know not to expect the same level of quality and knowledge when judging a non-APA/ABA sanctioned event, because the rules do not apply in the mentality of the exhibitors. However, once that is the case, he or she is just making it up as he goes. Outside of the SOP, there is no basis for judgment outside of opinion, and that opinion might be based on myriad things. It's the perfect environment for someone to become offended because there are no parameters in the first place.

For this reason, there are judges who simply won't judge a non-sanctioned event. One is faced with random "rules" which lack any backing, random point systems not supported by the SOP, birds of pessimal quality that one has to figure out how to say something nice about or there are broken hearts and disappointment to clean up, and then, when it's all said and done, someone with vast knowledge is going to go online and proclaim how underqualified or disappointing they are as a judge because of their failure to recognize the exact nature of a mutt-prodigy of two hatchery birds.

Again, let every fair do as it will and have the fun it wants, but should avoid trash talking a judge for not being hip to one's personal requirements.

 

[BantamSlave02]

Everything depends on the lens one is looking through. Via the SOP, pg. 29, "Awarding Prizes at Poultry Shows," #1: "Only such varieties as are recognized and described in the Standard of Perfection are eligible to compete in sweepstakes. This includes all varieties of chickens, turkeys, and waterfowl."

So, the first question is whether or not a show is APA/ABA sanctioned or not. A show that isn't APA/ABA sanctioned can do whatever it wants, but that removes the event from the purview of the APA/ABA. Thus, when one says, "our fair let's us bring cross birds.." one is saying that that particular fair is extra-APA/ABA, and thus the rules of the game do not apply. "Sizzles" are not judged within an APA/ABA context; within an APA/ABA context, they are considered culls.

Now, I'm not saying your fair can't do what it wants; indeed, by all means, have at it. However, an APA/ABA judge is only a judge within the context of the APA/ABA rules, and her/his judgments derive their validity via their proximity to the SOP. 

At no point, is a judge responsible to know anything about anything outside of what is required by and described inside of the SOP. Some of the very top judges in America have only a rudimentary understanding of genetics. Understanding genetics and judging by the SOP are not the same thing, nor are they interdependent.

Thus, whoever this judge was, he/she has zero responsibility to this bird within the context of the APA/ABA than to mark it as a DQ, which also goes for sizzles. That's just simple reality. They are DQs. Now, most judges know not to expect the same level of quality and knowledge when judging a non-APA/ABA sanctioned event, because the rules do not apply in the mentality of the exhibitors. However, once that is the case, he or she is just making it up as he goes. Outside of the SOP, there is no basis for judgment outside of opinion, and that opinion might be based on myriad things. It's the perfect environment for someone to become offended because there are no parameters in the first place.

For this reason, there are judges who simply won't judge a non-sanctioned event. One is faced with random "rules" which lack any backing, random point systems not supported by the SOP, birds of pessimal quality that one has to figure out how to say something nice about or there are broken hearts and disappointment to clean up, and then, when it's all said and done, someone with vast knowledge is going to go online and proclaim how underqualified or disappointing they are as a judge because of their failure to recognize the exact nature of a mutt-prodigy of two hatchery birds.

Again, let every fair do as it will and have the fun it wants, but should avoid trash talking a judge for not being hip to one's personal requirements.

Ok, I apologize for trash talking our judge, and starting this whole rant on the thread. Let's please change the topic before the moderators shut us down.