hey mary, this is justin. probably the only one who broke down his cages today...teeheee. great show and had an awesome time. had a a question. my buff orp roo got a 2nd place red ribbon..where does that exactly place him? 2nd place as an orp or 2nd in his entire class
Justin, thanks for the cage help! Like I said, those were three cages I didn't have to break down, so that was a help to me! It was really great to meet you!
I answered you through PM, but I'll repeat here for others so they know when they next attend a show:
- A 2 in a circle means your bird was the second best cock.
- The next marks you would have seen would have been BB or RB - Best of Breed or Reserve Breed
- If he won a place in the class, there would have been Best Eng or Res Eng on the card, meaning Best or Reserve English, which is the class the Orpingtons are in.
- The birds with those remarks make it to Champion Row, where they are judged again against all of the other winners from the other classes. By this time, they are judged four times, so you can see what a great accomplishment it is to become Grand Champion of the show.
There can also be BV or RV - Best or Reserve Variety. That is a slightly higher placing because it judges all birds of that variety, no matter the age or the sex. I get those frequently because I have unusual varieties. (Don't be impressed - I'm often the only one.) Also, some varieties are not accepted into the standard, so although they can be BB, they can never go higher than that until that variety is accepted.
So, for example, my cochin pullet had these marks: 1 in a circle, with BV-RB. That means she was the best pullet, the best variety (black mottled - the only one, but not an accepted variety in the LF) and the reserve for her breed, which I was pretty happy with, as there were several birds in the breed. She did not place in the class - only two birds ever do that in any class. In the Asiatic Class are Cochins, Brahmas, and Langshans. The American Class is the largest with thirteen breeds. It is a big deal to win that class!
There are always other marks left by the judge that only have meaning to them - little check marks and other comments. Sometimes they are there to remind the judge that he has already judged that bird - a big help in a large class - or to remind him why he did or did not choose one bird over another, so he doesn't need to keep taking the bird from the cage. Sometimes defaults can only be seen once the bird is handled. The only way to know is to ask them - respectfully! Never confront a judge about their decision. Tell them you are still learning and would like to know what to look for in the future, and to explain why he would choose one bird over another. When asked this way, many judges are happy to give instruction. I have learned a great deal from them over the years - take advantage of their learning. Just keep an eye on your aisle when they are judging so you know who to look for when they are finished for the day. Don't ask them until then, because they are very busy going from one class to another. (If you miss the judge, you can ask in the show office, but at the end of the day they will be frantically trying to tally scores, so try and identify him yourself.)
