These are the comments and results of Day Fourteen of the March Madness poultry judging. For previous pairings, instructions, and a copy of the bracket, please see our other "blog" posts. All of the participant comments are available on our FB page and previous posts here.
Breanna's Comments:
I am still waiting on the comments from Mr. Decker on some of the ducks yet--it has been a long night for me and I am catching up on work. They will hopefully be posted this evening or tomorrow morning, as soon as he gets back to me.
This one had a clear winner for me: the hen. The cockerel isn't awful, but just lacking what the hen brings to the table today. Though this is a laying breed first and foremost, the breast still needs to have enough depth to it to hold organs to support said egg laying. The cockerel isn't filled out enough to have that depth yet. He isn't out of condition, but isn't as neatly conditioned as the hen, and the tail has that one whiteish feather out of place. Letget isn't bad, suggesting he has (or could have) the width to the body, but that depth really places him down. The hen, on the other hand, has that really clean shape needed in Anconas (again, basically a leghorn shape). She has that wide stace, no doubt with plenty of space between the pubic bones to prevent prolapse as she ages. There's a bit of bleaching in the legs, suggesting she's a good layer that has been through a season or two of breeding already and holding up well. There is a bit more white than ideal on the feathering (could be a bit to age), and the comb could flop more as well. But the depth, width, sweep to the back, and nice tail carriage just give her the best Med. today.
Top Participant Evaluations:
"I didn't know Sarah Spiegel entered birds in this! Both gorgeous birds but the female takes the win here. The cockerel has more shapely v-shaped mottling but the hen has near-perfect type with a spritely tail, nicely lopped comb, nice wings, and nice, deep breast. The male's tail is too low and he could fill out more. He has good legs and wings though."
-Jada Spiegel
"I would pick the female. She is a bit out of condition but a nice swoop to her back. Would like to tone the mottling on her down just a bit. She is a nice bird.
I think the male just lacks the overall type for an Ancona. He has good leg color and need to make his mottling more prominent."
-Ryne Crosthwait
"I'm head over heels for the female here, although I feel her spangling is a bit heavy, she is a lovely representation of the breed. The male, I prefer his spangling more, but his overall condition is not quite there. If I were lucky enough to own some of these guys I'd totally request some hatching eggs from the female. Love, love, love her! The owner , I hope, is proud to have these 2"
-Catherine Cleveland
Breeder Comments:
"The male is young and his tail still needs filling out. Yes, he is undermottled, but being that he was a cockerel at the time of this photo, that was ideal for my breeding program. The female, however, would beat him in any show hall being that she is fully mature looking and fairly decently mottled. She also spreads her tail nicely."
-Sarah Spiegel, Wandering Fowl Farm
Judge's Evaluations:
"ACF52 takes first, she just has better type and markings when compared to ACM57." -Judge Brian Decker
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