Help Needed - BYC Breed Pages Cleanup

[Nava]

here'a one you can delete
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=273330

 

[Coopa Cabana]

Quote:
I've been trying to think of how you can appease everyone - both those seriously into purebred, standardized breeds, and those that just love their backyard pets. I understand that both are equally important to BYC.

I also think it is wrong to open up the stardardized breed section into a Wiki-type page. I personally would be very upset if I spent the time and energy to put together a factual breed description, with accurate pictures, only to have personal comments added, as well as pictures added which may not be accurate breed portrayals. We've seen this time and time again on the breed threads, with someone very proudly posting pics of their first ever ________ breed of chicken that they just bought at a swap, only to have that followed up by 1/2 a dozen posters coming on and saying, 'Sorry, but that's not a ________'. It happens a lot. I don't want them adding those pictures to the breed pages, and I don't want anyone to see those pictures on the breed page when they are using the breed pages as a reference tool.

For Chickens, here's my thought - Three Sections:
1) One section for Standardized (APA/ABA) Breeds (to include both Bantam and LF):
2) One section for Non-Standardized Breeds (to include everything else - non-standardized breeds, hybrids, crosses, etc); and
3) One section for the Varieties (Plumage Colors).

I will leave comments on how to address the Waterfowl and Other Fowl to those more familiar with them.

Also, I think the Breed Page Template should be revised once the final decision is reached on how the breed pages should be indexed.

If the Template were revised adequately, then sections #1 and 2 above could probably be combined.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Good feedback!

We'll definitely find ways to ensure quality control on the first level / main breed pages.

Regarding the three sections you suggested, I understand what the purpose of those categories would be, but instead of:

Standardized (APA/ABA) Breeds
-Bantams
---- Breed 1
---- Breed 2
-----Breed 3

-Large Fowl
---- Breed 1
---- Breed 2
-----Breed 3


Non-Standardized Breeds
-Bantams
---- Breed 1
---- Breed 2
-----Breed 3

-Large Fowl
---- Breed 1
---- Breed 2
-----Breed 3

Varieties
Variety 1
Variety 2
Variety 3
Variety 4


We'll probably go with something like:


All Breeds:

-Bantams
---- Breed 1
-------- Variety 1
-------- Variety 2
---- Breed 2
-------- Variety 1
-------- Variety 2
-----Breed 3
-------- Variety 1
-------- Variety 2

-Large Fowl
---- Breed 1
-------- Variety 1
-------- Variety 2
---- Breed 2
-------- Variety 1
-------- Variety 2
-----Breed 3
-------- Variety 1
-------- Variety 2

At the "Breed" level will be the curated and standards information and pictures
At the "Variety" level will be a mixture of submissions from various people.

Honestly, while organization is VERY urgent right now (which makes it important) the real problem is populating all the information. We can have the world's best organization, but unless peeps are willing to produce images and information that is up to the level of the "standards" then the organization doesn't really matter much. It's actually been very difficult to get peeps to submit this stuff over the years.

So, we'd love to have the problem of having too many perfectly created breed pages and then be forced to sort and organize them properly... but right now we're just focusing on getting the basic structure in place that will allow us to build out the system over time.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Quote:
I think Nifty has it. The "cover" page would be per the Stanadrd with photos of only birds that meet that standard. The sub-pages would have comments from breed owners along with photos. Those photos may not win at a poultry show, but would be representataions of backyard flocks.

Maybe the breed pages could also have a link to the Breed Clubs websites. This would assist newbies. If the Breed Club officers would monitor these breed pages they can offer assitance when needed. I know some think they are too good for BYC, but we have many judges and officers of the American Poultry Association that are BYC members. Even the current President of the APA is a BYC member!

Its looking great Nifty. Can't wait to see the new breed pages!

 

[Coopa Cabana]

I agree with Jim that it would be great if the main breed page could have a link to the official breed club website. I know BYC has rules about links to other poultry sites, but I don't think the official breed club websites are the same as BYC, so they wouldn't be in competition with BYC. I think they would be complimentary with the BYC breed pages.

Rob, I like the way the format is shaping up. If I'm understanding it correctly, members would not be able to edit the main page, but the sub-page behind each breed would be for member comments, pics, contributions, etc. I like that, and think it is a win-win for everyone.

However, I still think the way the Varieties are presented needs further discussion. The way the APA/ABA Standards books are written works well. The breeds are listed with the conformation (type) requirements, and then the recognized Varieties for that breed. There are VERY BRIEF notes with the accepted varieties, mostly detailing beak, shank, leg color, etc. But the actual Plumage Colors are all listed separately in a different section of the book.

The reason behind this is that a Splash bird must adhere to the same Plumage description no matter what breed it is (there are very few exceptions particular to specific breeds). So the plumage of a Splash Cochin is the same as a Splash Orpington or Splash Old English or Splash Silkie. Blue Cochins must adhere to the same Plumage description as Blue Wyandottes. Lemon Blue is the same in all breeds. Blue Laced Red is the same in all breeds. And so forth. And it doesn't matter if it's Bantam or Large Fowl.

When you see peeps talking about "Project" colors, for example Mille Fleur Cochins, they are working toward having the Mille Fleur plumage breed true and consistently in Cochins, so that they can apply for recognition by the APA/ABA (which is a very lengthy process). But while they are working on the project colors, they must work toward achieving the already accepted Plumage Color for the Mille Fleur Variety.

If I'm working to develop "Purple Polka-Dot" Cochins, then I'm free to have them look like whatever I want them to look like, as "Purple Polka-Dot" is not a recognized Plumage Variety.

So if you list by Variety (Plumage Color), you can have all members contribute pics of various breeds of that color. If I want to know what a proper Lemon Blue bird looks like, I may see Lemon Blue Old English, Lemon Blue Cochins, etc.

And it will be extremely helpful to have chick pics for identification on both the Main Breed pages, as well as the Variety pages. As we know, many BYC peeps order mixed lots of chicks from hatcheries, and good chick pics will help them identify what they have.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

I have to agree with what all has been posted since I was last on.

The ideas and formate are looking great.
I also agree 100% that the main breed page should be "of the standard " for the breed. It should be done by an accredited breeder or club member for that breed.. Like I was saying, someone who actually knows the ins and outs of the breed in detail. Doesnt have to be an exact copy of the offical standard, just that persons own words, but accurate in detail.

From there ,sub pages could be added for any individual who wants to post on the breed. But it should be listed in a way that people realise the main page is the "hard facts" sub pages are individual views and experiences...something along those lines at least. Maybe on these pages, "project" birds for the breed could be listed too, like the mille cochins, or my 30 some odd d'anver and bantam phoenix projects. While these are not "standard" birds just yet, it will give folks an area to go to where they can possible learn how to do their own projects within a breed. We need more working on stuff like that anyway. Project birds are very important within a breed for several reasons. One, of course someone has to make them before they can be entered into the standard, 2) it adds new blood into a breed which is very important for the strenght and vigor of a line, 3) new, rare colored stuff tends to catch peoples eye more and draw them into working with poultry...

anyway, all the ideas are looking good.
Nifty,
I know yall have your hands full, let me know if I can be of any help.

If you are doing waterfowl pages too. I can help with call ducks and any of the migratory waterfowl, as well as wild turkeys and peafowl too if they are getting pages

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Great feedback and discussion!!!!

We'll go about this in stages. If we find that we get to the point where the main "standard" breeds have good quality pages and images (and maintained that way) then we can explore building out the system to have additional hierarchical levels and organization.

We'll have a LOT of work to do once we convert to the new system, so we appreciate all the offers to help... we'll definitely take you up on it!

 

[Coopa Cabana]

Whatever happened to this project? I can't find any of the old sub-breed pages(articles) that were written on Cochins. Just one main breed page and a bunch of "reviews". Was everything deleted??

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Thanks for asking! All the "sub-pages" have been converted into articles/pages that are owned by the members that created them. We tried to have them linked to from within the "main" breed pages, but ran into some problems. We are debating if we should use the "tagging" feature to link the "sub-pages", or link to them directly from the main breed pages, both, or neither.

 

[Coopa Cabana]

I had a couple of Cochin breed "sub-pages" that I had created - I can't find them anywhere - not even under my Articles in my Profile. (The only ones there are the ones that were part of "My Pages".) So does that mean they were deleted?