|
Young Cock #204 Bred & Exhibited by Rayford J. Lewis The
Standard for the American Flying Tumbler pigeon The following description is used as a base to judge for the "ideal," perfect AFT. It is not intended to represent what has already been achieved, rather what a breeder should strive to achieve. OUTLINE BREAST: The breast must be semi-circular, with good width but should not exceed three and one half inches measured horizontally from the center of the wing butts. It must be full and prominent with good height. When viewed from the side it should extend beyond the wing butt 1 inch maximum, when measured from the top of the wing down vertically 1 inch, then a line drawn horizontally from that point forward to the edge of the wing butt. The 1 inch maximum is then measured from that point forward horizontally. From that point the breast should fall in a semi-circular shape down to the base of the legs. HEAD: The head must be semi-circular, starting with the feathers above the beak continuing in a high prominent arc, widening and declining gracefully into the upper back of the neck. When viewed from the front the frontal must be broad and deep. In general, it should be round and prominent. When viewed from the side the frontal should start at the top of the beak rise up and forward with good height, then turn rapidly toward the crown, as the frontal meets the crown there must be a gradual arc flowing to the backskull. The backskull should have good depth declining gracefully into the upper back of the neck. It is important to note that there should be no break in this outline from the turn at the frontal till it meets gently with the upper neck, at no point should there be flatness or an abrupt change. The neck should flow into the back with a small amount of break, and, should be short and of sudden taper from the base of the neck widening rapidly to the back, but should not appear bully. BACK: The back must be wide at shoulder, but should taper suddenly to the rump and vent region. When held in the hand the body should feel triangular and give the sensation of slipping through the hands. The back muscles should feel hard and firm, not soft. LEG: The legs must be straight, and of moderate length, and appear small for the size of the bird. They should be two inches apart, and should be in vertical line with the eye. FEET: The feet should be red in color. The toes should be straight. The toenails should be black for blacks. Almonds and its sub-color can be varied in color. All other colors should have toes colored to match their beak. All toes should be the same color except almonds and their sub-colors. And toes not matching would be a half point deduction per toe. EYES: The eyes must be pearl. Any other color would disqualify a bird as a true A.F.T. The eye must be circular, and set in the center of the head. The eye must appear shiny and alert, with no blemishes on the black portion known as the pupil. BEAK: The beak should be small, one half to three-quarters inch FEATHER COLOR: The color of the feathers of all parts of the bird must be clear and a deep uniform color over all the body except on the neck and breast where there may be found an iridescent hue, which denotes good health. The feather should be tight and in the mid range between hard and soft in texture. All colors, patterns, and markings shall be allowed. QUALITY: The quality of the feather should be healthy, and show that the breeder has taken the time to properly prepare the bird for the show. There should not be bug damage, and no broken feathers. During the months of the moult, missing feathers will be allowed. FEATURES STATION: Proper station should be an erect standing bird, with the eye as close to being in vertical line with the ball of the foot as possible. The tail tips should be one half inch off the floor and flights should rest atop the tail, never held below. TEMPERAMENT: A.F.T.s should be alert and interested in what’s going on around them. Many are so tame it can be surprising, many will show little or no fear, and this should never be taken as aggressiveness, but rather looked on as a spunky attitude. When picking a bird out of a show cage, a bird should never be approached with the hand from above. The bird should be picked up from underneath, with a slow approach coaxing the bird into a corner then sliding the hand under the bird palms up, and wrapping the thumb around the bird’s back. When properly cage trained most will stand for a handler with protest or flight. SIZE: The size should be small (9 oz. And under). When measured by the show cage bars an A.F.T. should be maximum of nine inches horizontally, eight inches from the base of the foot to the top of the head, and four inches in width across the breast. These measurements are for cocks, and hens should be smaller. When two birds have equal points the smaller bird should always be rewarded the win. NOTE: NON-PERFORMANCE IS A DISQUALIFICATION
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
