I just ran across this thread this evening and have read thru most of it. Very Frustrating. THe purpose of the SOP is a GOAL. It covers the physical characteristics of a bird, from color to body weight to physically correct. It in no way measures egg production, vigor, thrift, weight gain, etc. A winning bird is truly gorgeous, and a breeder has every right to be proud of this accomplishment: it took hard work to achieve this. However, I am always concerned when the "utility traits", if you will, are second to color. They should be FIRST, IMO. I breed horses and sheep. I gave up on breeding purebred sheep when I saw the "best" at the show were always singles. A single grows much bigger and faster when there is no sibling to hog the ewe's milk. I bought the purebred registered ram that was placed in the middle of the class--he had everything I was looking for including twinning. Also, there is a breed of sheep that does not show in an effort to promote twinning as a top selection criteria as well as mothering characteristics. As for the horses, I breed registered stock. I have some of the best stock and I have bred to some of the best. Because the primary focus of the Selection Committee is on ability and soundness of legs and lungs and breeding soundness(poor fertility gets a stallion banded from breeding) ; breeding in a pretty head eventually would be addressed, and the body type is a work in progress; out crossing is allowed seeking exceptional talent in sport. All functional traits, rarely is color addressed. That's my soap box rant! A beautiful bird is a gem; but I need one that can put eggs on my plate and meat in my crock pot. It's probably not going to be a show bird.
