Show Silkie Pics

[Wolfefarmyard]

Oh my ......I do know..

Then why not share, so they know what to look for?

 

[NNYchick]

It is difficult to give good feedback on how a bird meets sop by looking at a picture you can kind of get an idea of balance but that’s it. Here are a few of the things I learned to look for. How close it comes to meeting the breed standard which is everything from the tip of the beak to the end of the tail. The first 30 pages of the SOP list defects that can’t always be seen in a picture right number of toes add spacing, right comb, skin color, foot feathering etc. Then look for balance of the bird. You can see the three circles but you can also see the U shape between the crest and the cushion. Nice round chest, high wings forming a smile shape above the thigh, with the primary feathers of the wings folding neatly under the secondaries and the secondaries should then mix in with the cushion. Legs not to long for the body.
Other things that make judging from a picture is you don’t know age, livening conditions etc. Silkies in a show cage have been bathed, primped and kept in a conditioning cage to keep feathers pristine. I will try to find a before and after primping for a show there is a huge difference when bathed, blow dried, and pin feathers hand stripped.

 

[NNYchick]

This is not my bird or pictures but it an example of how different a bird can look after show primping.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Some others here have provided good information so I'm not going to repeat what they said. The only other thing I'd suggest is actually visiting some poultry shows and purchasing a SOP book that covers silkies.

It's very hard to judge a bird fully from a photo. By seeing show quality birds in person and getting tips from judges, you can then go home and compare your own birds.

Here's one of my girls that won first in her class, best of Bantams and reserve champion of show

She is by no means perfect! Non of my birds are. What they lack in, they make up for in other features.

Before her wash:

After/during her wash:

At the show/after show:

 

[FishMtFarm]

Another thing to check on your birds is split wing. That is a big DQ and once it’s bred into your flock, it’s hard to remove. Open the wings up and if you have a gap in the primary fight feathers then you have split wing. Here is an example on a buff silkie.

I appreciate all the nice comments on my short lived breeding flock. In unfortunately could not keep predators at bay not matter how tight I made my runs and coops. Then I had someone on here who bought from me, and two months later filed a claim against me saying I sold her a sick bird. After doing a little research and a lot of legal battle with her, I won cause I found a post on here from her that she had Mareks disease in her flock, before she even bought from me. Needless to say she caused me a lot of BS and grief and made me not wanna deal with breeding and selling. Only takes one jerk.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Another thing to check on your birds is split wing. That is a big DQ and once it’s bred into your flock, it’s hard to remove. Open the wings up and if you have a gap in the primary fight feathers then you have split wing. Here is an example on a buff silkie.

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I appreciate all the nice comments on my short lived breeding flock. In unfortunately could not keep predators at bay not matter how tight I made my runs and coops. Then I had someone on here who bought from me, and two months later filed a claim against me saying I sold her a sick bird. After doing a little research and a lot of legal battle with her, I won cause I found a post on here from her that she had Mareks disease in her flock, before she even bought from me. Needless to say she caused me a lot of BS and grief and made me not wanna deal with breeding and selling. Only takes one jerk.

I guess it's 'lucky' for some people that split wing is allowed for showing over here where I live. It's just classed as a fault rather than a DQ I believe. Not really lucky for breeders though.
Silkies with it still won't get very far though unless they are exceptional in all other ways.
I find it interesting how different countries standards allow different things!

I'm sorry to hear about your flock and the incident. That is honestly a shame it ended that way for you and spoilt your experience

 

[FishMtFarm]

I guess it's 'lucky' for some people that split wing is allowed for showing over here where I live. It's just classed as a fault rather than a DQ I believe. Not really lucky for breeders though.
Silkies with it still won't get very far though unless they are exceptional in all other ways.
I find it interesting how different countries standards allow different things!

I'm sorry to hear about your flock and the incident. That is honestly a shame it ended that way for you and spoilt your experience

Ooo, I should rephrase that. I think it is only a fault but a major fault. Crap, now I can’t remember.

 

[Cyprus]

Ooo, I should rephrase that. I think it is only a fault but a major fault. Crap, now I can’t remember.

No, it's a DQ

 

[HuffleClaw]

To the OP ~ while your birds are close, I don’t believe they are exactly to the SOP. I’d like to see more "poof" to them, and your second bird pictured seems to have a red tinted comb - Silkies should have mulberry colored combs.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Ooo, I should rephrase that. I think it is only a fault but a major fault. Crap, now I can’t remember.

Don't worry, standards can be confusing at times but I think you were right.

No, it's a DQ

As Cyprus says and from what I have learnt, it is a DQ in the American showing standards, but a fault in the European Standards.

It's difficult to know for sure what's accepted or not though as it sometimes depends on the show itself. In some shows a porcelain silkie might win first or second even though it's not a recognised colour etc. As they say...judges decision is final