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

[Mrs. K]

wing carriage wasn't good, but the lack of breast, narrow head, lack of prominent brow

Wing carriage - do you mean in the picture of the one you didn't keep - they seem to hang down, not more parallel to the ground?

Lack of prominent brow - can you explain or show in a picture?

Where do you measure the head? What shape should it be if you are looking straight down?

 

[Sic]

Wing carriage - do you mean in the picture of the one you didn't keep - they seem to hang down, not more parallel to the ground?

Lack of prominent brow - can you explain or show in a picture?

Where do you measure the head? What shape should it be if you are looking straight down?

Yes on wing carriage. Looking at width of the skull. Here's a picture of a nice looking chantecler to compare, if you scroll in you can see the browbone above the eye

 

[townchicks]

I have played with chickens for years - meat birds, layers, dual purpose, hatching...there are many aspects to this hobby, so even though you don't breed...yet.

Oh, that would be true, if I could have a rooster. That aspect of chicken owning I have to do vicariously, which admittedly, is much easier!

 

[Mrs. K]

To me that is really a beautiful bird.

So if you were describing or giving reasons - what do you like about that bird, what are his weaknesses, his strengths?

Mrs

 

[NatJ]

Hatchery birds in general have a lot higher tails than Standard Bred birds. Since show birds are rarer, the average tail angle is higher. Show breeders select for lower tails on many breeds because they are more balanced.

When you say a lower tail is more "balanced," do you mean it looks better to a person? Or do you mean it performs better for the chicken?

Or to put it another way, if someone just wants mixed-breed chickens that are healthy and productive, at what point does the tail position matter? Can it be completely ignored? Or is there some extreme position that is actually bad for the chicken?

in all breeds the tail transition should be smooth, unlike in many hatchery birds.

Again, is this just aesthetics, or is there any way in which the chicken benefits from this?

A tail angle has no bearing on health, but a bird that has a high tail because it leans forward too much or has too short and not a well filled back does not have ideal health and production.

I don't quite get what you are saying here. It sounds like sometimes the angle of the tail does have something to do with the health & productivity of the chicken and sometimes it does not?

 

[Amer]

When you say a lower tail is more "balanced," do you mean it looks better toa person? Or do you mean it performs better for the chicken?

Or to put it another way, if someone just wants mixed-breed chickens that are healthy and productive, at what point does the tail position matter? Can it be completely ignored? Or is there some extreme position that is actually bad for the chicken?


Again, is this just aesthetics, or is there any way in which the chicken benefits from this?


I don't quite get what you are saying here. It sounds like sometimes the angle of the tail does have something to do with the health & productivity of the chicken and sometimes it does not?

The angle of the tail vertebrae doesn't matter but a high tail looks unbalanced to our eye.

If the tail is high because the bird is physically unbalanced (front end lower than back end) then it is bad.
A smooth transition to a high tail looks better aesthetically and it means the bird doesn't have a short, shallow, sloping back, which means better production capabilities. (Some ornamental breeds like d'Anvers do have short backs and a sloping carriage but their back is broad and well-filled.)
Awkward

Elegant

 

[Amer]

A high tail angle doesn't affect health as far as I know. That's what you see on all the production hybrid hens. But also, they're bred to produce so much they die after only a couple years so...

 

[z3lda3]

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

I know zip about SOPs, but I have roosters. I’ve read yall talking about tails, but what if he doesn’t have one? I mean it’s more of a poof. Here’s Gomez, a Cochin. (Supposedly). It would be so helpful if chicken would stand still for more than 2 seconds at a time.

 

[Amer]

I know zip about SOPs, but I have roosters. I’ve read yall talking about tails, but what if he doesn’t have one? I mean it’s more of a poof. Here’s Gomez, a Cochin. (Supposedly). It would be so helpful if chicken would stand still for more than 2 seconds at a time.

I have a ton of pictures but even though I'm a county fair judge and I try to get a picture in profile chickens don't care they're just going to stand however they want.
So none of my pictures are actually good examples. It's impossible to properly judge birds through pictures.
However, I can say your bird is too tall and sloping in type for a Cochin. His back and wings should be horizontal and his tail should be almost as high as his head (his neck would be shorter too.) His body needs to be deeper and he must be much fluffier. He looks younger in the first picture. He looks adorable. He has a good head: solid beak and skull, nice proportional comb and wattles.

 

[Bawkbok]

Fantastic video, Ted, thanks for sharing!