Challenging the Standard

[SunnyCalifornia]

Has anybody here ever written to the APA or the ABA about a standard that you feel is needs to be changed, or is unnecessary? If so, what was it, and how did it turn out?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I doubt that a single input would have much, or any affect other than possibly a polite letter of response. You really need a large group of ABA or APA members (and probably the breed club) to make any impact.

What is your concern?

 

[exop]

I'd like to amend the OP's request with a broader request: If anyone here has been part of a group lobbying effort that successfully changed the standard, please relate what you did and how it turned out. Or if the lobbying effort didn't work, what do you think went wrong...

Best - exop

 

[TK Poultry]

From what I read on some of the boards some people are lobbying for the wrinkles in the use Self Blue and Lavender ironed out.

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

Quote:
Yes, that would be a better request for sure. My "conflict" strays into taboo subjects here on the forum, so I'd rather not start a discussion about my concern, but rather any advice or experience in approaching the APA/ABA about changing standards.

 

[pips&peeps]

As a single individual you will not be heard. If you belong to the breed club to which chicken you are referring to, then you would start there.

 

[TK Poultry]

Jean- speaking of breed clubs and having a stance. did the ABC decide whether the Lavenders would be entered in the standard as Lavender or Self Blue or will you get to choose?

 

[pips&peeps]

We are talking with the APA about it.

 

[exop]

Whether to use "lavender" or "self blue" seems like a pretty minor issue, a choice of words - and the words already mean exactly the same thing. It's telling that it would be a big deal, a momentous issue to pick one or the other. In a reasonable world, the breed could have a variety called "Lavender / Self blue" without the APA blinking an eye.

I take it the current standard is unreasonably resistent to change?

In the early 1900s the Dominique club was enfuriated with the poorly written APA standard for the Dominique, and especially with an awful breed illustration that was included in it... The level of organized dissatisfaction, among breeders of what even then was a breed in declining numbers, was such that the standard was rewritten and a much better illustration by Arthur Schilling took the place of the old one.

Has anything like that happened recently?

 

[pips&peeps]

Quote:
Yes, they are resistant to even the Lavender/Self Blue title, but so are my members. We even suggested naming our birds Lavender and referring to page "XYZ" to see the self blue description and that has been "poo pooed" on. The problem with self blue in our eyes is that the lavender color has nothing to do with the "blue" gene/color. It is very confusing to new people and we would just prefer to name our variety lavender so ther is no confusion.

I can say, the APA has been open to discussion about it where the ABA has not.