Potential Suitors

[Lee G]

These are the males I’m considering pairing with my favorite black pullet (E/e+ S/s+)
Any and all comments are most welcome. 

First up is a light blue cockerel, 9 months old and weighing 5lbs 11oz 




I like this male’s stocky shape and vigor foremost, and his tail and feet are decent too. He also ran a rather peaceful bach coop throughout winter, maintaining dominance without being heavy handed. Although he doesn’t like to be handled much, he will tolerate it and has never shown aggression. What I don’t like is his narrow feather width, sloppy comb, or eye colour (which is a bizarre shade of half bay and half orange, though I don’t think it shows in this picture…I’ll see if I can find an up close shot of his head to show what I mean...)

Up close of head, showing weird eye colour

[Lee G]

Second is another blue cockerel, 8 months old, weighing 5lbs 8oz





Shape is good, but I’d like to see more length of back and a fuller tail. I love his head though. And feet are nice too. Personality wise he’s a sweetheart and adored equally by the hens and I. He also stood high in the pecking order of the all-male coop over winter. What I don’t like is all the under fluff, or his short back…maybe not such an ideal second choice for her? 

[Lee G]

Next is a black cockerel, 8 months old and weighing 5lbs 6oz





He’s got decent type, a full chest and lovely, lush tail, which are exactly the traits I’m hoping he’ll pass on. Personality is more cautious, and he’s hard to catch (or photograph) being very spry on his feet. I don’t like his downward sloping back…or how low he carries his wings. He does have a good head as well.

[Lee G]

And last but not least is a silver cockerel, 9 months of age, and weighing 5lbs 6oz
(I’d be looking to get some pure silvers from this match, the pullet being split E/e+)





I like his length of back and nice, wide pelvis. Good temperament too. I’m not so keen on his narrow head, and his tail seems a bit low and off-balance compared to the rest of his body. Not sure he’ll be a good match in the tail department, but I sure do dig his back…Geesh. I swear I’m not fixated on backs, really I’m not…lol

Thank you for looking!

[Mike Gilbert]

The black appears to be the most correct of the four.   He has a nice full front end and a good tail angle, even though the transition is a bit abrupt.  They are not supposed to be level on top, just slightly sloping.   His slope may be a little much, but he's not that bad. 

[Lee G]

Thank you so much Mike. I really appreciate your comments and expertise.  I know how difficult it can be to judge fowl by a few snapshots in time. So much can remain unseen and needs to be felt/seen in person. It really is a hands on job.

I like the black k's curves myself. When you say they're not supposed to be level on top, you mean males should be slightly elevated at the shoulders, not the back right? My ideal male shape happens to be the wheaten avatar on the AA homepage, and in the top left corner of the forum. I wonder if he would be considered to have a medium length back?
Man, there is always so much to learn. I love it!! 

My new plan is to pen the black cockerel with the black pullet and hatch at least a couple dozen chicks. Knock on wood they mesh well and make some fantastic offspring. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated. 

[Mike Gilbert]

I like the black k's curves myself. When you say they're not supposed to be level on top, you mean males should be slightly elevated at the shoulders, not the back right? My ideal male shape happens to be the wheaten avatar on the AA homepage, and in the top left corner of the forum. I wonder if he would be considered to have a medium length back?

I will have an article in our first newsletter dealing with some of the finer points of type.  By elevated at the shoulders, I mean water should flow from the base of the hackle toward the stern.   Many of the birds that seem to be winning these days are too level, including the bird that won the APA national in Knoxville last November - if the photos I have seen are correct, and photos can be deceptive.   Another pet peeve is Ameraucanas that are too fluffy and heavy looking, as though someone had injected Wyandotte or Orpington blood into them.   Those are not correct to the Standard.

Yes, Rusty really outdid himself when he created that male blue wheaten cockerel John has in the upper left corner.    That depiction is just about as good as you are going to see according to the intention of the Standard, and is what we should all be shooting for in our male birds in my opinion.    Here is a pic of one I bred that I feel comes fairly close.  But his wings are way too low and you can find other faults with him as well.

[Tailfeathers]

I'd just echo Mike's comments and say I like the profile the top black pic is showing and the top blue pic isn't bad either.

[Lee G]

Mike, that sounds great! I shall look forward to reading the article in the AA’s first newsletter. 

By elevated at the shoulders, I mean water should flow from the base of the hackle toward the stern.

I like how you put that. 

Yeah, I have a few birds with different amounts of fluff. I’ve noticed they seem to be more loosely feathered in general when compared to the others. The second blue cockerel I posted above is actually a good example of this. Fluff also seems to be something I have to actively select against, but I wonder if that comes in part from living in cooler climes? My flock tends to naturally drift towards bulking up in the fall/early winter, though thankfully not everyone shows it…not unless you’re parting feathers anyways. heh Well I do prefer to see medium feather width on my birds, they don’t always cooperate!

And I can’t help but love a broad back and beefy body to go along with it.  Heavy looking no, but good, solid bone structure and meat in all the right places is a whole different story imo. I am in full agreement that breed traits need to be correct to standard, and that means shaped right and balanced as a whole.
   
Rusty is truly an artist. I admit I often look at that picture, as it speaks volumes to me. And while perfection may be the dream, that blue wheaten bantam male you posted looks pretty darn close in my books. His top line is lovely and I can totally picture water flowing from stem to stern.  Such a beautiful sheen too…and a strong, regal head. Nicely done indeed.


Thank you Royce. I appreciate you sharing your opinion.    As said in another post, every critique helps! The first blue cockerel pictured is going to be my second choice to pair with my black pullet. He feels good and solid, and none of what you see is fluff either. Long, straight keel and meat all the way to the tip! Another nice thing is that I know he hatched from a shiny blue egg, and his sisters are proving to be good winter layers, as was his mother. I was going over my log books and noted his father had some mild leaky iris pigmentation as well, which unfortunately he seems to have inherited in some fashion. All of his sisters have normal eye colour, so maybe a sex-linked gene of some kind is at play? I need to investigate this more.