Bunny Tail?

[firedove]

I'm soaking up as much Wyandotte info as I can since I'm starting keeping them this year. People keep mentioning the undesirable "bunny tail." Can anyone post me a picture of what this bunny tail looks like so I know what to look out for?

Thanks!

 

[Black Feather]

A 'bunn' or 'bunny' tail on a wyandotte is a tail that actually lacks the main tail feathers. The main tail feathers have gotten so short or 'soft' that they are more like a cochin than a wyandotte. It looks like a little round 'bunn' on the bird. A wyandotte tail is supposed to have 'shape' to it.

These birds are kind of bunny tailed:

This one I would say is more correct:

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Very good illustration Urban Coyote!

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

One of my mentors with wyandottes said that when you view them from behind the tail should look like a tepee not a quanset hut. What he meant by that is that the main stiff tail feathers should for a tepee and have some cushion feathers to round it off alittle but not too much. I have seen many many bunny tails in wyandottes and some of them look just like a cochin with clean legs and a rose comb.

 

[Yardegg]

Firedove,

I feel your concern. I have some Partridge Wyandotte Bantams that look pretty good -- with that one exception. Last summer my two kids each showed a cockerel and a pullet. The judge just dismissed them out of hand for being "bunny tailed." He was referring to the pullets, but somehow dismissed the cockerels as well. I guess it was guilt by association. I admit that the standard calls for a different shaped tail, but that makes it really easy for judges to just pass them by, even if they are otherwise "perfect" specimines. Having been to a few open shows, I've looked at a few Wyandottes and can tell you that finding one that looks like the picture in the Standard of Perfection is nigh on to impossible. It's a shame though, because the breed has so much to offer, and (in my opinion) so much potential. Keep breeding for correct conformation, and don't give up.

Yardegg

 

[pipermark]

The real bad part is that it depends on the judges as well. The standard call for the tepee not the Quonset hut, yet I have seen judges pick wyandottes with a bunny tail. Now, i am not a judge , so it could be the "bunny" tail bird, in all other ways was superior to the other, so by points it was still the best bird, but my un-educated eye thought both birds were pretty spot on standard.

I have also noticed the same thing with Silkies by the way, judges picking by a certain look, rather than by the standard.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Quote:
I know what you mean about the silkies. It seems that some breeders are just breeding for crest. I remember at a show I went to last year there was a silkie that was champ bantam and it was in a cage next to a LF RIR cock and it wasnt much smaller than the LF RIR.

 

[Black Feather]

Quote:
That's right on the money as well!

UC

 

[firedove]

Thanks! That really helps. I'm starting the hard way with a pack of hatchery chicks. I had been looking for a Wyandotte breeder in my area but couldn't find one and I'm not equipped to incubate at this time so hatching eggs were not an option. I want 15 Wyandottes to keep but I ordered 27 hoping that I can pick out some decent ones from the bunch.

I haven't shown any chickens but I've been showing rabbits for 10 years and the same problem abounds with judges. Each judge has their personal opinions on what should be the highest point feature, even if that isn't how the standard splits it. The breed that I have shown, Mini Lops, actually have two very different "types" that can be shown. One is more gradually sloping and the other is round like a basket ball. The gradually sloping type is more per the standard, but most judges prefer the round ones.

 

[pipermark]

Firedove , the best place that I have found quality birds is at shows. I have never been in the position to purchase their best, but their culls have the "best" genetics in them, it just takes some work to get it back out.

Honestly, to me thats part of the fun as well. Taking a group of "off" birds and by bringing one or two ringers , and many hatches, ending up with a good group of breeders.