Comment on Champion AOSB

[John W Blehm]

I agree with Walt that the chest is supposed to be prominent....Note the head/neck position in both pics is forward.  So that may be a cause for a lack of seeing the breast...

Yes.  Most photos don't show a bird's normal stance and I'm sure that is why portraits were used instead of photos in Standards (usually).  When one of my cockerels was facing downhill his back looked more level...even sloping the other way.  Even in the show coops judges often try to get birds to pose correctly to better judge them, but most aren't used to being in those small coops and surroundings. 
 

[Tailfeathers]

Great replies from you both!  Good point Mike about seeing the bird in person and misunderstood and thought you were talking about the pic.  Sorry about that.  I also like that there is some room for variation when it comes to the SOP as that allows each breeder a little room perhaps to distinguish their birds from others.  Right now I've been shooting for slightly above horizontal and mostly consistency.  That's why I like the pic of those two together such as they are.  Even though they are both culls they are pretty close to being identical.  I'll have to try and get a pic or two with my current two cockbirds while their head is up.  I think that will show just a little bit more elevation - but not much.  I have a picture in my head of what I think they should look like and I'm getting real close.  If I remember right, the Wheaten male in the September Virtual Show is just the Type I'm shooting for.  It's the 2nd Place bird that leaves me SMH.

I may be able to scan the SOP Illustration of the BW and then blow it up and attach it here but it's pretty easy to see in the book.  If you look at the BW male pictured, the bottom 1/3 of the Primaries are blue with orange coloration making up the top 2/3 of the Primaries.  From what I've read and been going by in the written portion of the SOP the Primaries and Secondaries should be lined on the outside with "bay color" and not orange thus giving the whole bay one continuous bay color.

[Christina King]

Let's not even talk about the placements of the Silver Ams in the Virtual show this last time! I'm also not a sore loser, especially IF the winning bird is better. All the results did for me was make me wonder what SOP the judge was using... I might try again, have an amazing Black from John ;-) but my own Silvers are not old enough yet. Let's say... It was interesting. But I love to take lots of pictures!

[Stan Alder]

Hey lady! That silver pullet that won the BV is a nice silver 😠 .....😄😄 ...I know the one you are talking about though, and I'll say that except for the color, that was a nice looking young bird, but certainly was not the runner up to John's pullet that I entered 😏

[Mike Gilbert]

I may be able to scan the SOP Illustration of the BW and then blow it up and attach it here but it's pretty easy to see in the book.  If you look at the BW male pictured, the bottom 1/3 of the Primaries are blue with orange coloration making up the top 2/3 of the Primaries.  From what I've read and been going by in the written portion of the SOP the Primaries and Secondaries should be lined on the outside with "bay color" and not orange thus giving the whole bay one continuous bay color.

I could be wrong, but in my mind there is not a lot of difference between bay and orange.   In bantams we used to get some males with black or almost black wing bays in the folded position.  That was supposed to be impossible for male wheaten coloration, but we got it.  Anyway, as long as the wing bay is not black I would not worry a whole lot about the exact shade of bay/orange.   There are too many other things to get right that would have priority.   

[Tailfeathers]

Mike, when I think of "Bay" I think of two things.  The horse color and the Buckeye color.  Looking at the SOP the Eye Color for the Buckeye (same as for the BW & W Ameraucana) is supposed to be a "Reddish Bay" and the Plumage Color is supposed to be a "Mahogany Bay". 

I think the color shown in our emblem is pretty close.  Maybe a bit more orange than what I'm shooting for but very close.  That said, I totally agree with you that there are a whole lotta other things more important to be focusing on right now.  I just wanted to point out that the SOP Illustration is not correct as it shows the Primaries being Blue in the bottom 1/3.  That's not what the written portion says and besides I think it'd be next to impossible to get that.

[Mike Gilbert]

The SOP portraits are not very good in a number of respects.   We were working under a deadline, and the artist had tried several times before coming up with what we have.  I hope they are replaced someday, hopefully with actual photos.