Sometimes I get so tortuous tackling questions from reader and social - media follower that I forget to interact with poultry people nigher to home . Orinmy nursing home . I was diligently at workplace on a photography project when my phone beeped . It was a one - word textbook from my husband , Jae : Quality ?
There was perfectly no setting , so I beat over it for a few seconds , then fit back to work . A few minutes afterwards , “ Well ? ? ? ” popped up in my text notification . I briefly wonder if he somehow was questioning what I was doing on Photoshop . I typewrite back , “ Well what ? ? ” and resumed edit photos , only to have my Echo blast at me , “ Ana , come up here ! ” moment after .
I troop upstairs to my married man ’s office , where he sat , frowning at one of his monitor . peculiar , I glint over his shoulders . An eBay listing for think of eggs occupied the screen . I was a bit frustrate as to why Jae would be looking at hatching egg , since I ’m the one that manages our poultry farm . Jae then jab a fingerbreadth at the itemization and demanded , “ What the ( beep ) do they mean by preferent quality ? ”
Sometimes I mistakenly acquire that , since we co - own our poultry farm , Jae also share my depth of cognition regarding all things fowl . In world , he builds and repairs the coop , finances the operation , and has no cue what any of our birds ’ names might be . At least he can separate duck’s egg from chicken from turkey . He gets a little miffed when I talk about CJ ’s prank or that Azure ’s neck require Blu Koting , since he has no approximation whom I ’m talk about .
I can only ideate what he think “ preferent timber ” meant .
The Definition of Quality
Competitive breeders of chickens , however , fully perceive the substance of quality . Quality has nothing to do with how many eggs a hen lays or how succulent a broiler ’s meat might be .
tone refer to only one thing : how closely a bird aligns with its strain ’s Standards of Perfection . print by theAmerican Poultry Association , the Standards of Perfection detail every last trait a bird must display to be look at a lawful example of its strain . Height , weight unit , carriage , body soma , feather convention , feather colour , peel color , shank semblance , eye vividness , hooter color , earlobe color , type of comb , even number of toe — all of these characteristic and more are list for each recognized breed and miscellany .
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Show Quality
A bird that meets most — or , rarely , all — of the Standards coiffe for its breed is debate to be show quality . Show - caliber birds are the most extremely prized domestic fowl specimens , as they present well in rivalry and are most likely to win top loot at poultry exhibitions .
Understandably , show - quality birds also bring the gamey prices amongst domestic fowl fancier . Even show - lineament bird can be quite a bit , going for five , six or seven times the price of a even chick … or even higher ! If you are calculate to induct in show - quality birds , be aware that most reputable breeders will not sell show - timbre hatching eggs because they can only rate the chicks once they have hatched and bollix up out .
Breeder Quality
Those wishing to lift a specific strain of wench — for fun , for net profit or to assist in preservation efforts — can trust on breeder - calibre chicks and/or adults to get their flock underway . Breeder - quality Bronx cheer have slight differences from show - timbre birds . These diversions are typically insensible to all but the exercise poultry expert eye .
A duo of toenails might be the incorrect color , the comb might be too little , or the wattles the faulty ghost of red . imperfection like these would disqualify birds from competition . But they are satisfactory in birds designated to breed and propagate the variety show .
Yes , it would be preferred for the nigh - perfect show - quality birds to serve as sires and dam for succeeding flock , since improving the strain is the ultimate finish of any domestic fowl keeper . Breeder - caliber birds are more wallet favorable , however . And it is quite possible that , by introducing different bloodlines , breeder - quality Bronx cheer may get show - caliber birds in succeeding generations .
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Pet Quality
Pet - timbre Bronx cheer are your run - of - the - mill , everyday bird , the form sold by hatcheries , provender stores and by most backyard breeders .
There ’s dead nothing amiss with Gallus gallus with this lineament ranking . They lay , mark , pasturage , and behave just like other bird of their breed . They just do n’t have the wow cistron that show - lineament chicken display or even the quality that breeder - quality birds have .
In fact , most show - timbre fowl stock breeder would pluck pet - caliber chickens from their spate , viewing these as a hurt to the stock . Fortunately , most backyard - flock and hobby - farm owner do n’t take their Gallus gallus by the Standards of Perfection but by other factors , such as egg production , weather condition hardiness and docility .
If you are provoke a microflock or a small peck for egg , substance , or society , pet - tone poultry is just right for you .
As for Jae , I think he tune me out once I explained that there are three key qualities when it come to domestic poultry . I suppose it ’s only mediocre , since I ’m sure I also go glassy eye when he hear to excuse the choices of Natalie Wood for our coops . We ’ll each stick to what we be intimate better .
