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Feathers: legs should be
“stocking-legged”, with feathers fitting at hock to hide
knuckles from view; feet should have longer feathers,
thickly set so as to leave no bare spots on toes;
feathers should spread from foot rather suddenly,
forming the “slipper.”
Faults:
Tendency to bend too much at hocks when viewed from
side; feathers on limbs too downy and fluffy; short
shanks (inadequate length from hocks to feet);
rough-limbed (long feathers all the way down on legs);
spare-limbed (feet and legs not perfectly covered with
feathers); hinged legs (leg itself or feathering comes
forward at leg inset); stilting (legs, when viewed from
the side are straight from inset at body to feet, thus
forming no bend at hocks); buckling (legs knuckle
forward at hock joint); straddling (legs set so that
they spread excessively or slip sideways when bird walks
or stands, this prevents bird from standing at its full
height and from having proper action when in motion);
ricket-knees (legs which are set apart at inset to body,
then come close together at the hocks, then spread wide
apart at the feet, giving an X appearance when viewed
from front to back, and making the bird look
“knock-kneed”); bent toe (one toe bent back); deformed
foot (two or more toes bent back).
Station and Showmanship:
Free, lively, stretchy, and graceful upright carriage;
eye aligned as close to plumb as possible over ball of
foot; bird to stand erect and comfortable upon its toes,
ball of foot clears the ground; bird should walk with
elasticity of movement with limbs close together, free
from straddling or rolling; crop should be extended,
under full control, and wings held tightly to body when
in action.
Head:
Fine, narrow, and in proportion to body; smooth on top,
blending into the contour of globe.
Eyes: Full and alert expression; white
have bull eyes; pied birds have colored eyes. Cere: Fine
and thread-like.
Beak: Fine; mandibles straight, upper
slightly curved at tip and just over reaches lower.
Wattle: Small and fine in texture; Beak
color is black in blues and blacks, flesh color in
whites and yellows, horn color for others (pale horn in
some dilutes).
Faults:
Skull which is flat on top, too domed or crowned;
features too coarse; pied birds having bull or cracked
eyes; whites having other than bull eyes must class with
A.O.C.; stained or marked beak in whites puts them in
A.O.C. class.
Neck:
Proportionately long, almost one-third the length of
bird.
Faults:
Neck too short to allow for good globe, or too short to
allow for “stretchy” appearance of bird.
Back:
Narrow and long; slightly concave with a grooved line
from base of neck to rump; Rump: Short, narrow, and
tapering sharply to vent – free from excessive “fluff”.
Faults:
Roach or hog-backed; lacking a groove down the length of
back.
Wings:
Folded close and narrow, carried well up and tucked
close to body to show plenty of waist and upper part of
thigh; bottom line of folded wing is parallel to keel;
wing butts small, flat and well-hidden; wings taper into
narrow webbed flights, meeting at a point directly over
the center-line of tail, folding close to tail and
extending near to end of tail.
Faults:
Scissor wings (flights cross to high over back): wing
butts not well hidden.
Tail: Short, carried clear of the ground;
very narrow and tightly folded, giving the appearance of
a single feather. The presence of an oil-gland is
desirable as its absence is closely related to improper
tails.
Faults:
V tail (too broad, always spread without muscular
impulse); fish tail (flares at end resembling the tail
of a fish); wry tail (carried to one side); split tail
(feathers that divide and show a distinct V-shaped
parting in tail).
Size: The smaller and more slender the
bird, the better, provided everything is in proportion.
The ideal Pigmy Pouter should not be substantially more
than 12” in height measured perpendicularly from floor
to top of head.
Colors:
Traditionally Pigmy Pouters are: Pied bar pattern,
pied solid color, or white. For show purposes the bar
classes are: Blue Bar, Brown Bar, Mealy Bar, and their
dilutes: Silver Bar, Khaki Bar, and Cream Bar. The pied
solid colors are: Black, Brown, Red (ash), and their
dilutes Dun, Khaki, and Yellow (ash). Also White and
A.O.C. classes. All rare colors and checkered birds will
be classed as A.O.C. If a sufficient number of a rare
color are entered in a show, a separate class may be
offered at the discretion of the show committee. Also,
small classes may be combined to improve competition or
to expedite the judging procedure. Mismarked standard
colored birds, either too gay or with no markings, must
class with their color and take cuts for bad markings.
Blue Bar: A clear sky-blue with intense
black bars on wings and tail.
Silver Bar: (dilute of blue): A light
silvery-gray shade with dark dun bars on wings and tail.
Brown Bar: A clear light fawn shade with
dark brown bars on wings and tail.
Khaki Bar: (dilute of brown bar): A light
buff shade with pale brown bars on wings and tail.
Mealy Bar: A pale gray with red wing bars;
no bar on tail.
Cream Bar (dilute of mealy bar): A light creamy “ash
white” with dark yellow wing bars; no bar on tail.
Black: An intense jet-black free from bars
and checkering.
Dun (dilute of black): An even bluish-brown (gun-metal)
free from bars and checkering.
Brown: A rich chocolate-brown free from
bars and checkering.
Khaki (dilute of brown): A light
khaki-brown shade free from bars and checkering.
Red (ash): A rich dark red free from bars
and checkering.
Yellow (dilute of ash red): A rich dark
yellow free from bars and checkering.
White: Pure throughout with a satin-like
appearance on neck and free from any color tingeing.
Whites with any colored feathers must class as A.O.C.
A.O.C. A class for any other colors not
included in the color classifications listed above.
Markings: In pied Pigmy Pouters, the designated
color covers entire bird except as follows: white
crescent on globe, horns reach to one-half inch from
each eye; few white feathers (7) on each shoulder in the
shape of a rose, white feathers fall separately and do
not reach edge of wing; primary flights white; white on
all of body below line encircling center of waist; reds
and yellows have white tails – other tails same as body
color.
Faults:
Colored
flight feathers; colored feathers in white portions of
bird; white feathers in colored tails; swallow-throat
(crescent running up to lower mandible); snip (white
feathers on forehead above wattle); bishop-wings (rose
markings too gay extending down to edge of wing-butts or
over edge); ring-neck (crescent meeting behind neck).
Feathers and Conditioning:
In all colors feathers should be a soft silky texture,
not harsh or dry to the touch; short, tight, close, and
an abundance of sheen indicating good health; clean and
complete in plumage. In the show pen a bird should be in
good physical condition and display vigor and alertness.
Faults:
Broken
or missing flight or tail feathers; dirty or stained
plumage; ruffled or sick-acting.
Judging and Major Faults:
TAny
Pigmy Pouter that exhibits a major fault should not be
ranked at the top of its class and certainly should
never be placed Champion or B.O.S. to Champion. Birds
that display major faults should be penalized severely
and ranked accordingly. Faults considered to be in this
category are: Lack of globe; misshapen globe;
over-inflated globe; station too horizontal; buckled
limbs; too “down in the hocks”; split tail; wry tail;
highly “scissored” wings; decided deformity; coloring or
artificial alteration; excessive trimming or plucking.
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