Body style, conformation, SQ etc

[cariboujaguar]

I am thumbing through a hatchery catalog and have noticed different body styles... Some breeds are round and plump like orphingtons, australorp, wyandottes... Some have tails (talking about hens here) who fan out beautifully and some simply come from a straight back to a tail that is even with the back and to a point then tapers down to their 'bottom' like Delawares, and some are all rounded with no real tail feathers (are these rumpless?)
Some have round chests, some pointy, some have long necks, some short and squatty... is there anywhere that describes in detail conformation in chickens as per breed standards, or must I look up every singly club breed description? I would be interested to know what some of these 'traits' are called, like in goats the space between the does legs where an udder is or will be is called an escutcheon...
thnx

 

[houndit]

The standard of perfection has all that information. It is pretty expensive but well worth the price. Rumpless is a bird that actually does not have a tail. The most common one is the araucana. Here is a picture of rumpless araucanas http://feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/Arau/BRKArauTrue.html
Hope this helps.

 

[cariboujaguar]

oh and what is a tarsi? Thanks for the link, cute birds!!!

 

[houndit]

Tarsi. I honestly do not remember right now. When I think of it I will let you know if someone else has not already.

 

[cariboujaguar]

Oh and what is 'parent stock' ? I guess I'll just use this thread to post all my many questions so I can stop making stupid threads asking stupid questions LOL

Also can you feed chickens oatmeal? Like the breakfast kind? I have a huge bulk amount of it that noone is eating around here so i thought I'd give it to the hens if it's ok for them

 

[Krys109uk]

Pictures in a hatchery catalogue are probably more like the birds of the given breed are supposed to look, rather than what they will actually look like.
A good place to start looking at the various breeds is Feathersite. for most breeds there are some photos of exhibition quality examples of the various breeds. When you find one that takes your fancy you could look into the breed in greater depth.

 

[halo]

The Standard of Perfection is well worth purchasing, and will answer all your questions and then some, with a lot of pictures and text. And it is NOT expensive, its only $14 directly from the APA.

 

[houndit]

Holy cow!!!! I payed $76 for mine and I thought I was getting a good deal.

 

[sara]

Quote:
I believe the 14.00 version is a paperpack black and white version. I'm sure you got the hardcovere colored one

I thought they were about 50.00 though..

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Quote:
Parent stock are the parents of the birds (chicks) that a person or hatchery is attempting to sell.

Oatmeal is a good treat for birds but should not be their main diet.