These chicken breeding terminology definitions are based on definitions from "
Start Where You Are With What You Have," by Ralph Sturgeon; the Merriam-Webster dictionary;
The Poultry Consultancy and other sources.
Breed - birds that meet a written "Standard" description. Often called a recognized or accepted breed.
Purebred - a breed that shares the same genetic makeup, although it would be next to impossible to be "pure" (homozygous) for every trait.
Standard bred - birds that are bred to a "Standard", but not necessarily claimed to be "purebred".
Pedigree - birds with a recorded linage over several generations are considered pedigreed. This is mainly used in commercial hybrid flocks.
Variety -
generally relates to the color and pattern of a bird's feathers. There can be many varieties within a breed.
Strain or Line - birds of a certain breed and variety that aren't closely related may be of different strains or lines.
Mixed breed - when at least one parent bird is not a recognized breed. Several, often unknown, breeds may be involved.
Crossbreed & OutcrossAlthough there are various definitions for these two terms they can be confusing when we are not using common definitions for them in our discussions. I think it would be clearer to use terms like, strain-cross, variety-cross, breed-cross & species-cross to make it obvious what cross mating is being discussed. They would then all just refer to the different levels of "crossbreeding".
Crossbreeding - "mating two...individuals from (two) totally different breeds"...crossing recognized breeds and/or mongrel chickens. Crossbreeding has the word "breed" in it, so when I read it I relate it to crossing Breeds, even though it is used as a verb. Crossbreeding can also refer to crossing two different species to create a hybrid, but generally we are only talking about one species here - chickens.
Outcrossing - crossing (mating/breeding) different strains/lines or even varieties within a particular breed...crossing birds of the same recognized breed, but not from the same flock (strain/line). It is a way of bringing "new blood" and genes into a flock.
Inbreed & LinebreedInbreeding is "the controlled mating of brother to sister, mother to son, father to daughter" to preserve and fix desirable traits & eliminate unfavorable ones. Inbreeding could be viewed as the strictest form of Linebreeding.
Linebreeding is the tool most often used by breeders. Linebreeding is mating "first cousins, nieces with uncles, grandparents with grandchildren and so on" within a line or stain. Keep in mind definitions may vary and even though Inbreeding can be seen as close Linebreeding generally think of Linebreeding as somewhere between Inbreeding and Outcrossing.
Commonly Used AbbreviationsC = Cock, a male one year or older
H = Hen, a female one year or older
K = Cockerel, a male under one year old
P = Pullet, a female under one year old
BB = Best of Breed, RB = Reserve of Breed
BV = Best of Variety, RV = Reserve of Variety
AOV = *Any Other Variety,
LF = Large Fowl
AOCCL = Any Other Comb Clean Legged (bantams only)
AOSB = All Other Standard Breeds (large fowl only)
ABA = American Bantam Association
APA = American Poultry Association
F1, F2, F3, etc. The "F" stands for
Filial = The offspring of genetically different parents. F1 (also written as F
1) designates the first filial generation of chicks hatched from parents of different/contrasting genotypes. Mating two F1 birds produces the F2 generation, mating two F2 birds produces the F3 generation, etc.
At poultry shows only cocks, hens, cockerels and pullets are entered into competition. Those are the proper terms when exhibiting.
For breeding purposes we don't always distinguish between cocks and cockerels or hens and pullets. Sometime age doesn't matter. Often we will use the terms male and female just to distinguish sexes. Rooster may be used here also for male.
*More on AOVAmeraucanas are not entered in shows as AOV. All chickens are always entered under their proper variety name whether recognized or not. AOV seems to be an abbreviation that causes a lot of confusion. It is defined in the APA Standard as "All Other Varieties, or Any Other Variety", but that is it.
If you only raise/breed wheaten Ameraucanas then AOV could include all varieties except wheaten to you or in conversation. If a black Ameraucana wins Best of Breed (BB), then AOV could include all the losing varieties. Other than the definition given in the APA Standard, I haven't read anywhere where they use it.
For most of us longtime Ameraucana exhibitors AOV has historically meant to mean any variety that isn't one of the recognized varieties. With, black, blue, blue wheaten, brown red, buff, silver, wheaten and white being the only varieties that are recognized/accepted by the APA/ABA, lavender, splash, and All Other Varieties are considered AOV, by us, at our sanctioned meets...but once again never entered as "AOV"...always by the variety name.
Our club may give out awards for Best AOV and Reserve AOV. When two or more AOVs are competing at an Ameraucana meet we want the judge to pick the best and reserve AOV and there is a place on our Meet Report Form for the show superintendent to fill in that information. This extra judging isn't something the APA/ABA asks for or cares about. It is only for our club. Other breed clubs sometimes request "special" judging at their meets also. Just as we also request for judging of Champion and Reserve Champion Ameraucana Over-All, between the BB & RB bantams and large fowl at our National Meet.
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