The Wyandotte Thread

[poltroon]

Quote:
My guess is, from photographing our chickens, that it is just how she is standing, and that if I sat and watched her long enough, I could get a picture with a more elevated tail. It might not be right even then, of course.

It is very true that how a bird appears in person and how it appears in photos is going to be different, and I will add that the time of year and how the bird is feeling and behaving that day are also a factor. I'm a greenhorn, but I've definitely seen that much from the chickens we have. The wrong feather falls out and the tail is not so nice, etc.

Pictures especially lie good and bad, but I love hearing comments on my pictures because it is training my eye. These kinds of comments have been invaluable to me because while I've read the standard, it's hard to know what is meant by "medium" when you only have a handful (or worse, just one) of chickens of the same stock to compare from. And, the better my eye gets, and the more I know what I'm looking for, the better I am at seeing various traits on birds in motion and in awkward positions. And then, of course, when I finally do get chances to see other birds in person, I'm ready to process that information and compare it to the ones we have.

I highly recommend the exercise of going out with a digital camera and getting a bunch of shots, ideally from a nice low angle. I find it quite useful for training my eye.

I quite appreciate all the comments and I'm learning a lot.

 

[slybird353]

Quote:
My guess is, from photographing our chickens, that it is just how she is standing, and that if I sat and watched her long enough, I could get a picture with a more elevated tail. It might not be right even then, of course.

It is very true that how a bird appears in person and how it appears in photos is going to be different, and I will add that the time of year and how the bird is feeling and behaving that day are also a factor. I'm a greenhorn, but I've definitely seen that much from the chickens we have. The wrong feather falls out and the tail is not so nice, etc.

Pictures especially lie good and bad, but I love hearing comments on my pictures because it is training my eye. These kinds of comments have been invaluable to me because while I've read the standard, it's hard to know what is meant by "medium" when you only have a handful (or worse, just one) of chickens of the same stock to compare from. And, the better my eye gets, and the more I know what I'm looking for, the better I am at seeing various traits on birds in motion and in awkward positions. And then, of course, when I finally do get chances to see other birds in person, I'm ready to process that information and compare it to the ones we have.

I highly recommend the exercise of going out with a digital camera and getting a bunch of shots, ideally from a nice low angle. I find it quite useful for training my eye.

I quite appreciate all the comments and I'm learning a lot.

Pictures are also a great way for many who live too far from the big shows to get a critique. Keep in mind the APA standard uses pictures and drawings to help explain the standard. I can tell that the pic of the splash blr she is on alert and standing off balance. That picture speaks nothing of her type but does show her great color. However some pictures (like that of your silver laced tail) show traits that will not auto correct with age. Whether you chose to show or not at these big shows speak nothing to the quality of one’s birds. Does anyone really think that the absolute best bird of any breed is going to be at their show? I believe it is more of a cross section of birds from that area.

 

[turbo]

Does anyone really think that the absolute best bird of any breed is going to be at their show? I believe it is more of a cross section of birds from that area.

I think that people travel great distances to go to shows....so if a bird wins at Columbus I don't think it will be representing only birds from the Ohio area but from all over the country...it could be from Canada...The last two BV in SLW at the Columbus show was from New York and Canada.

I agree with you on one thing...just because a bird wins a show does not make it the very best of that breed, it just means the judge at that show, that day thought it was the best bird at the show.

Katy has great SLW and does not go to shows, but that doesn't make them any less good. If she decided to go to a show there is no doubt in my mind that she would do very well with them.

Jerry​

 

[PitterPatterPalace]

Quote:
x2

I definitely know that my hatchery quality GLW & SLW are not show quality, along with other hatchery birds I have... For example, if I could just clip the darn large tail feathers shorter on our Easter Egger & Dominique. Lol!

 

[slybird353]

Quote:
I think that people travel great distances to go to shows....so if a bird wins at Columbus I don't think it will be representing only birds from the Ohio area but from all over the country...it could be from Canada...The last two BV in SLW at the Columbus show was from New York and Canada.
Jerry

Exactly my point! Your house, Bills house (Canada) and Arts house are all within 350 miles. A five and a half hour drive for even the slowest drivers. Of course there is exceptions but as a rule most exhibitors are somewhat close by.

 

[mame1616]

I'm coming from eight hours away. I'm no high-quality breeder by any means, but I haven't been there since the first time three years ago, and I couldn't wait any longer. Next to the Crossroads show, which I'm planning to attend next year, this is the biggest and best! I always tell everyone it's a must-see. I'm sure I won't win anything, but think of what I'll learn from all those experts gathered in one place! I can hardly sleep!

 

[ultasol]

Quote:
You don't want the hen to have so much fluff that you cant see the "Platoons" she is wearing..LOL. You want to see the lacing-feathering on the top part of her legs, so you want birds that dont have too much fluff and that have really short legs...

Jerry

Thank you for putting it in better words. Is there a technical term for showing that portion of the leg.

 

[ultasol]

Quote:
A bunny tail is round and looks well.....like the tail on a bunny rabbit or cochin.

If you use wyandotte cock birds with good stiff tail feathers and nice open tails it helps to eliminate the tail problems, also the feathers in a wyandotte can actually get too soft which gives that bunny tail look and too much fluff, so I try to use a male that has tight feathering...which also gets rid of some of the fluff on the next generation.

The solid colored wyandottes have much softer feathers than the laced birds, but always go with the birds that have the widest feathers in the breeding pen...

Now this is all based on my experience and I am by no means the "wyandotte expert", there was a really good article on breeding SLW's in the last Wyandotte club newsletter, if you could find it you might find it helpful.

Jerry

Ok, I didn't word this correctly. Is there a correlation between bunny tails and pinched tails? Do those with pinched tails frequently have bunny tails or visa versa?

 

[ultasol]

Quote:

 

[ultasol]

Quote:
My guess is, from photographing our chickens, that it is just how she is standing, and that if I sat and watched her long enough, I could get a picture with a more elevated tail. It might not be right even then, of course.

It is very true that how a bird appears in person and how it appears in photos is going to be different, and I will add that the time of year and how the bird is feeling and behaving that day are also a factor. I'm a greenhorn, but I've definitely seen that much from the chickens we have. The wrong feather falls out and the tail is not so nice, etc.

Pictures especially lie good and bad, but I love hearing comments on my pictures because it is training my eye. These kinds of comments have been invaluable to me because while I've read the standard, it's hard to know what is meant by "medium" when you only have a handful (or worse, just one) of chickens of the same stock to compare from. And, the better my eye gets, and the more I know what I'm looking for, the better I am at seeing various traits on birds in motion and in awkward positions. And then, of course, when I finally do get chances to see other birds in person, I'm ready to process that information and compare it to the ones we have.

I highly recommend the exercise of going out with a digital camera and getting a bunch of shots, ideally from a nice low angle. I find it quite useful for training my eye.

I quite appreciate all the comments and I'm learning a lot.

Pictures are also a great way for many who live too far from the big shows to get a critique. Keep in mind the APA standard uses pictures and drawings to help explain the standard. I can tell that the pic of the splash blr she is on alert and standing off balance. That picture speaks nothing of her type but does show her great color. However some pictures (like that of your silver laced tail) show traits that will not auto correct with age. Whether you chose to show or not at these big shows speak nothing to the quality of one’s birds. Does anyone really think that the absolute best bird of any breed is going to be at their show? I believe it is more of a cross section of birds from that area.

I haven't posted nay pictures of my SLW yet. I hope to this weekend if the weather decides to cooperate.