The Buckeye Thread

[poltroon]

The only certification I can think of is the NPIP certification for disease. I kind of like Walt's certification though.

I am not a poultry judge but I have done other kinds of judging. That kind of experience leads me to understand that when there are a lot of great contenders, all kinds of variables will come into play, including subtle things like the lighting in the hall and at specific cages, the exact time of year/condition of feathers, and whether the bird is pleased to interact with the judge when he comes by.

But in terms of the breed as a whole - if you want these birds to be competitive for the championships - the best thing we can do to promote it is to encourage people to show ... even if they think they will be bringing the only Buckeyes.

Our goal should be that winning Best of Breed in Buckeyes is a meaningful and big deal award at every show.

Every time a judge encounters Buckeyes, he gets more experience with the breed and more confident about what a good one looks like. If you're showing the only Buckeye and you're going for Champion American against a Rock that was BB over 100 other Rocks, it's going to be pretty challenging for that judge to say he's going to go with the Buckeye if this is the first one he's judged. But, on the other hand, if he judged 30 Buckeyes on the other side of the country earlier in the year, and he can see this one is better than all those, that will only help. The verbal feedback my daughter has gotten on her birds has in part been based on what judges have seen in other regions, which has been very helpful to her in encouraging her to go forward.

So I will continue to congratulate anyone showing a Buckeye, with any results.

 

[fowlman01]

The only certification I can think of is the NPIP certification for disease. I kind of like Walt's certification though.

I am not a poultry judge but I have done other kinds of judging. That kind of experience leads me to understand that when there are a lot of great contenders, all kinds of variables will come into play, including subtle things like the lighting in the hall and at specific cages, the exact time of year/condition of feathers, and whether the bird is pleased to interact with the judge when he comes by.

But in terms of the breed as a whole - if you want these birds to be competitive for the championships - the best thing we can do to promote it is to encourage people to show ... even if they think they will be bringing the only Buckeyes.

Our goal should be that winning Best of Breed in Buckeyes is a meaningful and big deal award at every show.

Every time a judge encounters Buckeyes, he gets more experience with the breed and more confident about what a good one looks like. If you're showing the only Buckeye and you're going for Champion American against a Rock that was BB over 100 other Rocks, it's going to be pretty challenging for that judge to say he's going to go with the Buckeye if this is the first one he's judged. But, on the other hand, if he judged 30 Buckeyes on the other side of the country earlier in the year, and he can see this one is better than all those, that will only help. The verbal feedback my daughter has gotten on her birds has in part been based on what judges have seen in other regions, which has been very helpful to her in encouraging her to go forward.

So I will continue to congratulate anyone showing a Buckeye, with any results.

Right on! This is the attitude that will promote the Buckeye breed.

Walt

 

[fowlman01]

Hey Walt; I figured this subject matter would bring you around. I agree that any kind of certification is a joke purely ran by a scam artist! It's sad that this type of thing is being done. The guy who is doing it knows who he is and if any of you have fallen for his scam; I hope you learned from it!!

As for the use of "champion"; you consider "best of Breed" a champion? That's interesting......I see your point in your explanation. Does the SOP offer that explanation? I see it as a tool to peddle a bunch of birds!! So if a person wants to sell birds and get their name on the map with a "champion" title, all he has to do is buy a rare breed, raise them for 8-10 months, go to a couple shows; get a couple "best of breed" cage cards and now he can say he has champion birds....no matter the details?!?! You know this happens and you know what I'm getting at. I think that term is thrown around to often.

Aren't national shows usually pretty big? What were you showing to only have 5 birds in the class? Bill Wulff often tells me that you only need 1 bird on any given day and he is right.

I do agree with you about having generations of success but I disagree with the use of young birds; young will only get you so far, IMO. What matters to me is how they mature and maintain themselves year in and year out along with reproducibility. A well bred cock bird will ALWAYS beat a well bred cockerel if the two birds are equal. That cockerel won't have a cock body and that will be his disadvantage. Although I've done well in the fall shows; I find the shows in the fall to be no comparison to the spring shows when the cocks are in full bloom!! Anybody can raise young fowl for 8-10 months and show them but can they maintain the show quality of their fowl 2-3-4 years of age? Heck, I know a bunch of guys that raise LF breeds that have a hard time getting their birds to live let alone breed past 3-4 years old. Everybody sees this aspect differently though?!?!

I just returned from a show so I hadn't checked in for a while.

It's the ABA/APA that considers BB the champion of the breed. It's just fact. It can be the only bird in the class and if the judge thinks it is "worthy" it is the Champion. It doesn't mean anything to me, it's just the way it is. I wouldn't burn up a lot of band width on that discussion though. A well bred young bird and a well bred old bird each have different things to offer a judge. I would not use a young bird for breeding just because of the changes that can occur. The more you do this the more you will learn about showing. What I am saying is that if a young bird beats those old birds that are so good .....it shows potential. Someone may have ONE great young bird too. I'm talking about a breeder that can beat old birds with young birds on a regular basis. I think that shows some real breeding power...........not all those young birds will develop into champs, but it shows that it is not a 1-2 bird reputation.

It was a gray Call duck. They don't do Call ducks in Columbia SC. 5 old engl game judges picked the duck over the chickens and started poultry war . The ABA wanted to ban bantam ducks from competing against the chickens. Moral...never bring a sissy bird to the south and kick the the OEGB's all over the place at a National meet. Best part is that the judges were OEGB judges........still went for the duck. lol
I would call that duck a Champion.

w.

Walt

 

[Minniechickmama]

What a fun story, Walt. I am still trying to get the hang of figuring things out with ducks, much harder for me to evaluate than chickens.

 

[Blueface]

I agree about not spending to much band width on the subject and I'll leave it with saying most real good cock birds won't be in good feather during the fall and early winter months (Oct, Nov, Dec, and Jan) so it's hard to compete against early hatched cockerels. I guess that's mostly why I enjoy the spring. Thanks for your insights.

That duck.....sure enough, a champion but he's also had some luck that day

 

[fowlman01]

I agree about not spending to much band width on the subject and I'll leave it with saying most real good cock birds won't be in good feather during the fall and early winter months (Oct, Nov, Dec, and Jan) so it's hard to compete against early hatched cockerels. I guess that's mostly why I enjoy the spring. Thanks for your insights.

That duck.....sure enough, a champion but he's also had some luck that day

that duck had a lot of luck. It was champion waterfowl at that little show by you that is called the Ohio National. I retired her after she beat 40,000 birds in her career. ...A very lucky duck indeed! She also may have been a decent duck...huh?

 

[Blueface]

that duck had a lot of luck. It was champion waterfowl at that little show by you that is called the Ohio National. I retired her after she beat 40,000 birds in her career. ...A very lucky duck indeed! She also may have been a decent duck...huh?

Yeah, I believe I have heard of the Ohio National.....right up the road from me. It has the same ol' judges since 1915 . Did you actually count the ducks? That's more than a couple but less than a few. You must have showed her for several years. You know what they say, you can't keep a good bird down?!?! I'd say she was decent. Have you had another one like her?

 

[fowlman01]

I have never had a gray female Call duck like her but I have had better white Calls and east Indies than her. The 40k wins were the totals gained by beating mostly chickens. She was super grand champion of the show in several states and lots here in California. Pretty much done in 4 years of showing and reaching frequent flyer status.i don't name birds but I guess I should have called her "lucky".you can win one show by luck but not as many as she did with lots of different judges. Look through any PP from 87-89 and you will find her and the war that she started in the ABA. She was killing the chickens in these National shows so the ABA didn't want bantam ducks to compete against the chickens for best of show. Needless to say I was having a lot of fun.

w

 

[slfarms]

It was a gray Call duck. They don't do Call ducks in Columbia SC. 5 old engl game judges picked the duck over the chickens and started poultry war . The ABA wanted to ban bantam ducks from competing against the chickens. Moral...never bring a sissy bird to the south and kick the the OEGB's all over the place at a National meet. Best part is that the judges were OEGB judges........still went for the duck.   lol
I would call that duck a Champion.

w.

Walt

Now that's a funny story. What I would give to have been standing there to watch that happen. The OEGB boys are cut throat. I love them as they get fired up.

 

[Blueface]

That's great Walt! Sounds like you really enjoyed it as well as rocking the boat! In 1987, I was 7 years old. In those days, I was into my He-man action figures.