SOP's Can you help, or do you want to learn?

[z3lda3]

So here is a question;

would it be possible to breed a show quality bird over time with just a hatchery quality stock? my guess is probably unlikely, but possible, considering the weirdness of chicken genetics (which is *awesome*)


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I went down this rabbit hole of what endangered birds I would love to keep and breed to help protect; you can find the link for all heritage and conserved livestock here I fell in love with Faverolles (they are only on Watch status, but still, they are on status) and unfortunately I don't think it's smart for me to keep them here in NC as they aren't heat hardy and it's hot from April to September here and June/July/August are particularly brutal.

I am getting some Campines, Dorking and Lakenvelders in June. Mayhaps I will choose from those.

Do you guys want to pick apart my hatchery quality roosters? Chuck I think is quite beautiful; Splash with Red Leakage.

View attachment 4103601View attachment 4103602View attachment 4103603View attachment 4103604

He’s beautiful! And can concur as a fellow North Carolinian it’s HOT!!! And just going to get hotter

 

[thistlewick]

It is possible, just more time consuming, expensive, difficult, and frustrating than buying quality stock to begin with.

Oh see my AuDHD brain just wants the challenge, it sounds fun - not difficult.

By the way, ya'll can spend hours with this genetics calculator!

 

[Mother of Chaos]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/attachments/pxl_20250110_160748561-2-jpg.4103603/
I love Chuck’s strut!

 

[Amer]

So here is a question;

would it be possible to breed a show quality bird over time with just a hatchery quality stock? my guess is probably unlikely, but possible, considering the weirdness of chicken genetics (which is *awesome*)


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I went down this rabbit hole of what endangered birds I would love to keep and breed to help protect; you can find the link for all heritage and conserved livestock here I fell in love with Faverolles (they are only on Watch status, but still, they are on status) and unfortunately I don't think it's smart for me to keep them here in NC as they aren't heat hardy and it's hot from April to September here and June/July/August are particularly brutal.

I am getting some Campines, Dorking and Lakenvelders in June. Mayhaps I will choose from those.

Do you guys want to pick apart my hatchery quality roosters? Chuck I think is quite beautiful; Splash with Red Leakage.

View attachment 4103601View attachment 4103602View attachment 4103603View attachment 4103604

He is a beautiful rooster.
It may just be how he's standing in these photos but he looks a little unbalanced. Is he front heavy (causing him to lean forward) or is it the pictures? That would be improper skeletal structure (sometimes caused by legs being set too far forward, sometimes other causes.
And is this a slipped wing (could be skeletal or due to weakness) or just how he's holding it in this instance?

 

[Amer]

Oh see my AuDHD brain just wants the challenge, it sounds fun - not difficult.

By the way, ya'll can spend hours with this genetics calculator!

Well if extra years spent and hundreds more hatched to get the same results is fun for you then by all means!

 

[Amer]

He is a beautiful rooster.
It may just be how he's standing in these photos but he looks a little unbalanced. Is he front heavy (causing him to lean forward) or is it the pictures? That would be improper skeletal structure (sometimes caused by legs being set too far forward, sometimes other causes.
And is this a slipped wing (could be skeletal or due to weakness) or just how he's holding it in this instance?

I really don't believe he has the faults I named but now you can see how trying to learn how to judge from a photo is very fruitless.

How I learned to judge is a method very specific to me that probably wouldn't work for anyone else.

I would find a reference photo (or several) of the breed, not ideal, but standing in profile at eye level and then draw the bird to the standard description for the breed. Drawing them gave me a mental library of not only how each breed is supposed to look but also how they are supposed to feel. Also, it made me better at drawing. I wasn't a good artist to begin with but now I've drawn every chicken breed in the Standard.

 

[Amer]

I haven't drawn them all to the Standard though, sometimes I'd just copy the reference (a lot faster.)
Other times, I'd try to copy the standard only to come back later and realize I failed. But that was learning too, because I learned how to recognize proportion to begin with.

Medium isn't a measurement, it means "not large or small in proportion to the bird."

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I really don't believe he has the faults I named but now you can see how trying to learn how to judge from a photo is very fruitless.

How I learned to judge is a method very specific to me that probably wouldn't work for anyone else.

I would find a reference photo (or several) of the breed, not ideal, but standing in profile at eye level and then draw the bird to the standard description for the breed. Drawing them gave me a mental library of not only how each breed is supposed to look but also how they are supposed to feel. Also, it made me better at drawing. I wasn't a good artist to begin with but now I've drawn every chicken breed in the Standard.

What a great way to learn confirmation! (if that term is used as part of SOP.)

Edit: wait, is it conFORMation?

Edit again: yep, conFORM

 

[Amer]

What a great way to learn confirmation! (if that term is used as part of SOP.)

Conformation is an acceptable term but it isn't used as often as "breed type." Type denotes shape in the standard of perfection.

 

[Sic]

I have read two separate posts on SOP's which I have found very interesting. But truthfully, I rather find the SOP's about as clear as mud. Just what do they mean, what do you look for?

I think that if people would post pictures of different breeds of roosters, and what they see compared to the SOP's it might be very educational for those of us who are interested, but have no ideas as to what we really are looking for.

I am really hoping this would be an online chicken show with critiques.

For example, I have been reading about the angle of the roosters tail. 30 degrees. I cannot be envisioning this correctly as most tails on roosters seem to be much greater than that - 70 to 90?

I am hoping that even people without pure breeds might post pictures, just so that we can all get a bit more critical on beaks, toes, breasts, legs and wings, along with combs and colors.

I am a retired teacher, haha - I have given you all a lesson assignment.

Mrs K

So with regard to what you've asked for

Bruges Fighter
General appearance

Very large and heavy gamefowl with an almost horizontal body position. Despite the rather sparse body feathering, the decorative feathering of the rooster is well developed. Challenging and fearless in character. The fighter from Bruges has a large figure that radiates strength. He used to be a formidable opponent in the arena. The variety grows very slowly. Bruges fighters take eighteen months to fully develop.

Characteristics
- slow growing breed that only reaches maturity at 18 months but has excellent meat quality

- the hens lay quite well and the cream colored eggs weigh about 65g

- they are not ideal as brooders

- some strains in Belgium are still very combative

Appearance rooster

- head: very powerful with a large and wide flat skull and strongly protruding eyebrows

- face: unfeathered. fine in weave, color depending on the color variety

- beak: powerful and curved, color depending on the color variety

- wattles: rudimentary, preferably missing

- earlobes: very small, color depends on the color variety

- eyes: placed high in the skull, deep-set by the protruding eyebrow, with dark eye rim, lively, bold and challenging in expression, color depending on the color variety

- neck: long and powerful, slightly arched

- trunk: rectangular, powerful and fairly elongated. Posture, little raised with a horizontal to slightly sloping backline

- back: very broad, flat, horizontal to slightly sloping, broad loins. Shoulders very broad and well filled

- chest: broad and quite deep but not protruding, powerfully muscled, sternum very long and deep-lying

- wings: strong and well drawn, quite high and almost horizontal. Wing bows not extended

- tail: well filled and only slightly opened, medium length, angled carried at about 20 degrees. The numerous medium-length sickles are slightly curved

- lower thighs: strongly muscled, well defined plumage

- walking legs: medium length, thick, powerful, sufficiently spaced and parallel. Equipped with sturdy and well-developed spurs. Slate blue to dark blue depending on the color variety, darker in young animals

- toes: long, strong and well spread, also the hind toe long has good ground contact. Same color as the walking legs

- nails: well curved, color depends on the color variety

- feathering: closed, hard and quite tight with little down development. The ornamental feathering, on the other hand, is well developed

- hackle: well developed, fairly long but not too full, reaching up to the shoulders and the back

- saddle: well developed, well filling transition to the tail

- skin: light, bluish skin tolerated

8 month old Cockerel - with a year more of growth to reach maturity at 18m
(Pictures are just what I have, none on level ground or surface)

Edit to add faults
Minor faults:
Too little muscular chest; shoulders too narrow; strongly sloping back; wings carried too low; leg position too high; too light leg muscles; leg position too narrow; eye or beak color too light; leg color too light; white in the earlobes; too little pigment in the face; black skin.

Major faults:
Much too small stature; traces of yellow pigment in the beak, legs or skin; yellow or pearly white eyes; white earlobes; absence of dark pigment in the face in the dark color varieties.