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

[z3lda3]

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.

so what age is best to judge? Or is there cockerel judging, rooster judging?
He’s about a year old in the pictures.
I think he’s the most beautiful bird! Of course I don’t do SOP, but I think it can be addictive. I’ve got 5 roosters, different breeds, and I’m thinking “hm what if I breed this one with that hen? Or this one with that one”? I feel a rabbit hole coming on..

 

[Bawkbok]

wing carriage wasn't good,

could you expand on what this means, please and thank you.

 

[z3lda3]

I learn something new everyday..the way she is holding her rooster, I thought would easily suffocate them because they don’t have diaphragms. I carry mine like a football but facing forward, with my hand between their legs. Guess I’ll try the backwards hold.

 

[Amer]

so what age is best to judge? Or is there cockerel judging, rooster judging?
He’s about a year old in the pictures.
I think he’s the most beautiful bird! Of course I don’t do SOP, but I think it can be addictive. I’ve got 5 roosters, different breeds, and I’m thinking “hm what if I breed this one with that hen? Or this one with that one”? I feel a rabbit hole coming on..

There are four categories for age and sex at show
Cock and Hen are at least a year old Cockerel and Pullet are less. But to look their best you show birds at at least 6 months old, in some breeds it's more (like d'Anvers where the old specimens do better because they have better beard and neck development.)

 

[z3lda3]

There are four categories for age and sex at show
Cock and Hen are at least a year old Cockerel and Pullet are less. But to look their best you show birds at at least 6 months old, in some breeds it's more (like d'Anvers where the old specimens do better because they have better beard and neck development.)

Wow this is so interesting! Thank you

 

[Amer]

could you expand on what this means, please and thank you.

Wing carriage means how the bird holds it's wings. In many breeds the wing is supposed to be fairly horizontal from front to tip (like Chanteclers) but in others the wing tips are held lower (like d'Anvers.)

 

[Amer]

This is like the only photo I can properly judge because she stands so nice

Perfect head. Nicely lopped single comb, good depth of breast and wing carriage, close feathering (not fluffy), legs set at the middle of body. The body is well developed. The tail coverts (small feathers on the base and sides of the tail) begin to rise at the center of the back, giving a nice swoop to the tail. The only problem is the tail angle should be higher (I don't remember the exact angle for Leghorns) and the tail should be well spread.

 

[ChaosMom]

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

Awkward View attachment 4102078

I find this fascinating, because this tail doesn’t look awkward to my uneducated eye at all!

I figured that along with advertising that a roo is a male of breeding age, a high tail would also help the flock know where the rooster was, especially in brush or high grass. For instance, if a predator was sighted, it would make it easier for the hens to know where to run. (I tend to think in terms of evolution when speculating on appearance or behavior.)

 

[Bawkbok]

What a pretty bird. Thank you for that descriptive explanation - very helpful.

 

[Amer]

I find this fascinating, because this tail doesn’t look awkward to my uneducated eye at all!

I figured that along with advertising that a roo is a male of breeding age, a high tail would also help the flock know where the rooster was, especially in brush or high grass. For instance, if a predator was sighted, it would make it easier for the hens to know where to run. (I tend to think in terms of evolution when speculating on appearance or behavior.)

Jungle fowl tend to have lower tails: about 45 for males (ok, that's average) maybe 15 for hens (quite low) They are pheasants, after all
I think the showy tail is sexual selection.