Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[EweSheep]

Wouldn't Jean like to be a judge????????????

 

[LoveMyChicks-Tabitha]

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They are beautiful!

 

[speckledhen]

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They are beautiful!

Thank you! Sadly, Charlotte passed away recently. We really miss her around here.

 

[fowlman01]

pips&peeps :

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Judges are usually well protected while judging, but you should have access after the judging. I would recommend contacting the show staff while the judge is working and let them know that you would like to talk to the judge when he is finished. This way you don't interrupt anything and they will hopefully tell the judge that you want to talk with him after the judging. Some judges just don't want to talk to the exhibitors, but IMO it is part of their job to explain their placings if asked. Not only explain their placings, but they should be helpful as they are representatives of the APA/ABA while they are doing their job.

Judges are people....so you get some that are not social, some that are not confident in their placings etc, etc. Not all doctors are good doctors, not all lawyers are good lawyers and not all judges are good judges. What I like to see in a judge is a person who is consistent, pays attention and teaches. I think most judges are good judges and are willing to discuss their placings.

Keep in mind that judges only have a minute or less to make a decision about the bird they are handling. Owners have had the time to look at their birds for months and know every intimate detail of the bird. Many exhibitors also do not know what is important in judging. The type is number one, so you may see birds place high that in your opinion are off colored or have some other imperfection. As an example some people get overly hung up on some color points or how many points on a single comb and other things that really don't make that much difference point wise. Most people really have no idea how birds should be placed. They also have no idea what the bird really looks like opened up and examined......they only see what they can see from outside the cage. You can't judge a bird from outside the cage!

I highly recommend that everyone read pages 3-34 of the APA SOP. Most people never pay attention to that section and it is the most important part of the Standard.
If you read that section, you will have a much better understanding of why a bird is placed. If you know that section the judges placements will make much more sense.

Walt

Hey Walt,

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to come to BYC and help us get educated on judging birds! So THANKS!!!!

I have always found that the judges were very approachable at all the shows I have been to. It may be hard to get to them because they are always being spoken to; someone is always trying to pick their brain.....

Not a problem. Most judges have no problem spending time with people after the judging.

Walt

 

[pips&peeps]

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Heck no!!!! I have barely scratched the surface on ameraucanas.

 

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

pips&peeps :

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Heck no!!!! I have barely scratched the surface on ameraucanas.

uhhhhhhhhhh - you'd know better than at least some! Just saying​

 

[fowlman01]

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Great post. The refs are sometimes in a place where they can't see everything or a judge may miss something because he/she is distracted. Most the mistakes that I have made......that I know about, were because of a distraction. Someone interrupted the flow of judging.

Passing a judging test is not easy and there are many that have to retake the test..one in mind was four times. Some can pass the test, but not apply the SOP to birds. They take a showroom test, but that is not like the real thing.

Again exhibitors many times assign too much weight to things that are relatively small point deductions. Some colors in females are never right, but their type is good enough to carry them through with good placings. Golden penciled females Hamburgs should never win anything because they are never marked correctly...at least I have yet to see one correct. Why? I have no idea, but they place anyway.

Your breed, the AM's do not always get a fair shot at higher placing because some judges don't think they will ever see a good one. This is not true because there are a lot of good AM's. Some judges in open shows are only licensed as ABA judges and they sometimes don't know anything about large fowl...or waterfowl and turkeys.

Hey things can happen in a show, but it always seems to even out at the end. I sometimes win when I shouldn't and I sometimes lose when I shouldn't, but it seems to even out. Just make sure that the traits in your bird that you attach a lot of importance to are actually that important. Read the first part of the SOP.

I think everyone should judge at least once. That always seems to change a persons perspective of judging.

Walt

 

[EweSheep]

Judging is HARD work, believe me and sometimes the teacher and I were at odds disagreeing why he should not place HIGH on an Arab that looks like a QH conformation. He is a QH man and he is a respectful teacher even I may not see eye to eye on things but it is mutual.

Too much work, too much pressures and stress, traveling...you have to LOVE the job in order to survive. It may not pay well but the rewards are greater when you hit a bird with a grand champion that majority agreed with your decision. Yes, you will get a few enemies but they gotta respect you for that too.

 

[Ivywoods]

Walt-Thank you for the compliment on my post. That means a lot to me.

 

[stevin]

hello all,
here are my Silver Ameraucanas. they are 18 weeks old and got these from John Blehm who was great to deal with.
i'm having a difficult time deciding on which roo i will keep, any suggestions would be great. The biggest of the roos has a few brown feathers on his side that i'm hoping will fall off as he matures. has anyone had any experience with this?

here is the big guy:

here is another roo:

and the girls: