GENERAL: The Pigmy Pouter is intended to be a miniature English Pouter. The importance of a graceful sweep of outline in a Pigmy Pouter in full show cannot, with any degree of correctness, be reduced to figures. The excellence of the specimen depends upon the harmonious combination of the properties enumerated rather than their values taken separately. Therefore, reaching conclusions by scale and judging by points is held impracticable and deprecated. However, to designate relative value to the various properties, a scale of points is offered as an aid to the judging process.
GLOBE: Round in form, proportionately large in comparison
with the size of bird; equally distended at all parts; is not over inflated
so that beak can rest comfortable upon it; emerges from waist with a sudden
angle; shows slight fullness at back of neck.
Faults: Flat globe; long globe (appear to spring from
inset of legs); lack of globe (no globe while being judged or after reasonable
coaxing by the judge); globe carried to one side; globe over-inflated (causing
bird to lose control and stagger or fall backward).
WAIST: Long, slim, and well-defined; the greater the
length from lower part of globe the better; breast narrow and convex (V-shaped);
keel long, straight, and well-defined.
Faults: Round, barrel-shaped; short waist (legs set
too far forward on body); thickness of girth.
LIMBS: Long, straight, and close together from junction
of body to hocks; set back on body sufficiently far to allow room for the
much-desired long waist; entire limb fine in bone; slightly bent at hocks
when viewed from the side; bird must stand tall, stretchy, and upright
without being tilted forward by its tail. Thighs: Close together and starting
from a position well back on body so that the joint is completely concealed
when bird is standing at “attention”, giving the appearance of a continuous
sweep from junction of globe with waist to feet. Shanks (Legs from hocks
to feet): Adequately long and turned slightly out, allowing enough room
for feet to clear each other. Feet: Inclined slightly outward (opposite
of pigeon-toed), with toes spread, not doubled under or cramped. 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 CONDITION: 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: Any 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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