Hi All,
It has been a long time since I posted on here though I have been reading the posts regularly. I got some Partridge Plymouth Rock chicks from Dick Horstman for my friend's daughter. This last weekend they were 11 weeks old so we did our first "evaluation". We had no one to help us so we got out the APA book and used the description and the illustrations to guide us. I can see what you judges mean by you can't tell that much by a photo. What a difference it makes to put your hands on their frames and really feel their structure. There were six cockerels and my friend wanted to cull down to two but we kept three. The cockerels we culled were for the the deficiencies of narrow in the back towards the tail, too high tail set (supposed to be 30 degrees and these were more 50ish), too high a keel/puny chest. None of the cockerels had any cushion. I must say compared to what you get at the feed stores - these "culls" were very high quality and huge! I will do the pullets in a separate post.
COCKEREL #1
This one had a good chest although the pictures don't show it all that well. He was our first "victim" to photograph so we weren't used to handling the birds yet. His chest had a lower keel that filled your hand. His back frame was rectangular and did not narrow towards the tail. He had a flat back. His tail angle was at about 30 degrees. Five points to the comb.
Here is a picture of him from the front:
Cockerel #2
This was my favorite. He had a very broad frame throughout his back. Flat back. Very nice chest that filled your hand. 30 degree tail angle. Five point comb. Most of all, I loved his BALANCE.
Front end:
His very broad back:
Cockerel #3
This one had an exceptional chest. The side photo is deceiving but you really see it in the front view photo. He was smaller than the other cockerels - but - that chest! He had a nicely framed back though not as nice as #2. Flat back. Correct tail angle of 30 degrees. Five point comb.
...and that chest!
We are just starting out so we would certainly appreciate all of your critiques. My friends have been long time toy poodle breeders so we are pick, pick, pick animals apart. These birds will be her daughters project so she wants to learn, learn, learn to breed correctly. She eventually wants to be a veterinarian.
Vickie Schafer
It has been a long time since I posted on here though I have been reading the posts regularly. I got some Partridge Plymouth Rock chicks from Dick Horstman for my friend's daughter. This last weekend they were 11 weeks old so we did our first "evaluation". We had no one to help us so we got out the APA book and used the description and the illustrations to guide us. I can see what you judges mean by you can't tell that much by a photo. What a difference it makes to put your hands on their frames and really feel their structure. There were six cockerels and my friend wanted to cull down to two but we kept three. The cockerels we culled were for the the deficiencies of narrow in the back towards the tail, too high tail set (supposed to be 30 degrees and these were more 50ish), too high a keel/puny chest. None of the cockerels had any cushion. I must say compared to what you get at the feed stores - these "culls" were very high quality and huge! I will do the pullets in a separate post.
COCKEREL #1
This one had a good chest although the pictures don't show it all that well. He was our first "victim" to photograph so we weren't used to handling the birds yet. His chest had a lower keel that filled your hand. His back frame was rectangular and did not narrow towards the tail. He had a flat back. His tail angle was at about 30 degrees. Five points to the comb.
Here is a picture of him from the front:
Cockerel #2
This was my favorite. He had a very broad frame throughout his back. Flat back. Very nice chest that filled your hand. 30 degree tail angle. Five point comb. Most of all, I loved his BALANCE.
Front end:
His very broad back:
Cockerel #3
This one had an exceptional chest. The side photo is deceiving but you really see it in the front view photo. He was smaller than the other cockerels - but - that chest! He had a nicely framed back though not as nice as #2. Flat back. Correct tail angle of 30 degrees. Five point comb.
...and that chest!
We are just starting out so we would certainly appreciate all of your critiques. My friends have been long time toy poodle breeders so we are pick, pick, pick animals apart. These birds will be her daughters project so she wants to learn, learn, learn to breed correctly. She eventually wants to be a veterinarian.
Vickie Schafer
