SOP's Can you help, or do you want to learn?

[Skyeknight]

How can you accurately measure the height of a chicken? Is it like with mammals that you only measure up to shoulder height? What does the SOP say about this?

 

[Sic]

How can you accurately measure the height of a chicken? Is it like with mammals that you only measure up to shoulder height? What does the SOP say about this?

The height of a chicken is measured from the base of its feet to the top of its head when standing upright.
(For specific breeds, such as the Indio Gigante, a different method is used where the chicken is stretched out on a flat surface, and the measurement is taken from the tip of the beak to the tip of the longest toe. However, this method is not typically used in the Standard of Perfection for most breeds.)

 

[Skyeknight]

The height of a chicken is measured from the base of its feet to the top of its head when standing upright.
(For specific breeds, such as the Indio Gigante, a different method is used where the chicken is stretched out on a flat surface, and the measurement is taken from the tip of the beak to the tip of the longest toe. However, this method is not typically used in the Standard of Perfection for most breeds.)

So how do you make sure the bird stands upright? When I try to measure my birds their neck bends all over the place. And are combs and crests included or not?

 

[Mrs. K]

I looked up wing bow.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-are-the-wing-bows-on-chicks.541512/

Third frame down, they have a diagram.

 

[Mrs. K]

I am just eating this all up! It is amazing how much I really don't know, after having kept chickens for years.

 

[Amer]

How can you accurately measure the height of a chicken? Is it like with mammals that you only measure up to shoulder height? What does the SOP say about this?

The American Standard of Perfection doesn't list any measurements except weight. The lengths are comparative, not exact.

 

[Sic]

I looked up wing bow.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-are-the-wing-bows-on-chicks.541512/

Third frame down, they have a diagram. View attachment 4103866

Google Translation is "Wing blades not protruding" so I'm just assuming it's reference to the wing bow and that the wing is set high but does not extend or protrude above the backline. It's just my best guess translation

 

[Sic]

So how do you make sure the bird stands upright? When I try to measure my birds their neck bends all over the place. And are combs and crests included or not?

To the top of the skull. Why do you want to measure their height? The best way I can think of is to use something similar to a wicket that we use to measure the height of dogs, might be less stressful to the chicken?

 

[Sic]

So with regard to what you've asked for

Bruges Fighter
General appearance

Very large and heavy gamefowl with an almost horizontal body position. Despite the rather sparse body feathering, the decorative feathering of the rooster is well developed. Challenging and fearless in character. The fighter from Bruges has a large figure that radiates strength. He used to be a formidable opponent in the arena. The variety grows very slowly. Bruges fighters take eighteen months to fully develop.

Characteristics
- slow growing breed that only reaches maturity at 18 months but has excellent meat quality

- the hens lay quite well and the cream colored eggs weigh about 65g

- they are not ideal as brooders

- some strains in Belgium are still very combative

Appearance rooster

- head: very powerful with a large and wide flat skull and strongly protruding eyebrows

- face: unfeathered. fine in weave, color depending on the color variety

- beak: powerful and curved, color depending on the color variety

- wattles: rudimentary, preferably missing

- earlobes: very small, color depends on the color variety

- eyes: placed high in the skull, deep-set by the protruding eyebrow, with dark eye rim, lively, bold and challenging in expression, color depending on the color variety

- neck: long and powerful, slightly arched

- trunk: rectangular, powerful and fairly elongated. Posture, little raised with a horizontal to slightly sloping backline

- back: very broad, flat, horizontal to slightly sloping, broad loins. Shoulders very broad and well filled

- chest: broad and quite deep but not protruding, powerfully muscled, sternum very long and deep-lying

- wings: strong and well drawn, quite high and almost horizontal. Wing bows not extended

- tail: well filled and only slightly opened, medium length, angled carried at about 20 degrees. The numerous medium-length sickles are slightly curved

- lower thighs: strongly muscled, well defined plumage

- walking legs: medium length, thick, powerful, sufficiently spaced and parallel. Equipped with sturdy and well-developed spurs. Slate blue to dark blue depending on the color variety, darker in young animals

- toes: long, strong and well spread, also the hind toe long has good ground contact. Same color as the walking legs

- nails: well curved, color depends on the color variety

- feathering: closed, hard and quite tight with little down development. The ornamental feathering, on the other hand, is well developed

- hackle: well developed, fairly long but not too full, reaching up to the shoulders and the back

- saddle: well developed, well filling transition to the tail

- skin: light, bluish skin tolerated

8 month old Cockerel - with a year more of growth to reach maturity at 18m
(Pictures are just what I have, none on level ground or surface)

Edit to add faults
Minor faults:
Too little muscular chest; shoulders too narrow; strongly sloping back; wings carried too low; leg position too high; too light leg muscles; leg position too narrow; eye or beak color too light; leg color too light; white in the earlobes; too little pigment in the face; black skin.

Major faults:
Much too small stature; traces of yellow pigment in the beak, legs or skin; yellow or pearly white eyes; white earlobes; absence of dark pigment in the face in the dark color varieties.

Some random Internet photos (not my photos and not my birds) for comparison.

 

[Sic]

Found a cellphone video from November, when my Bruges cockerel was 4 months old. I'll try to get new, but for now I believe video is much better than pictures, even if the video looks like it was shot on a potato