These are the comments and results of Day Nine 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 know it's a bit out of order, I am still waiting on the comments from Mr. Decker for Day 7 but know many of you are waiting for results so here are the bantam brahmas (just for you Mr. Jones).
Two decent birds here from Mr. Church. There are things I like and dislike about both. Starting with the hen: she's got an amazing head to her. I love the width of skull and heavy brow that is called for in all heavy breeds, especially Asiatic, and should not be lost on the bantam equivalent. Her color is paler, though whether that's just from a younger age or a molt, I am not sure. The overall undercolor appears just a bit lighter and that beautiful buff is a bit more washed out. There also appears to be a few mossy feathers coming in under the wing. Type wise she's ok--both birds could use more depth of breast and the hen especially could use a bit of that bowl-look to her breast that comes from more meat. But she has the structure in place and good base with a wide stance necessary to breed that meat production in.
The male has great color over the hen, with that bright red face that the standard calls for in both. That golden color really shines through in the cock over the saddle, hackle, and wings. I'd like to see a bit more of that distinct lace look in the foot feathers over the toes. Type-wise, he has a great width throughout, but just isn't there for the overall brahma shape. The back seems a bit short, with just a bit too much cushion for the standard--you want a concave sweep to the back still, even in such a heavy meat breed, and he lacks that breed characteristic. For that reason, I'd place the hen.
Top Participant Evaluations:
"I will have to go with the female over the male. She has excellent width and depth and overall type. Her ground color is too light. She could benefit from more roundness of breast. The topline on the male gives an awkward transition to his tail. His breast color is too light and contrasting with his hackle and saddle plumage. He does have excellent width though. He could benefit from more depth of breast."
-Jada Spiegel
"My choice is the male. He is a lovely boy, true to breed. The girl was close almost a tie, but she is missing something, a bit pale, lacking that luster I'd be looking for in a female. They have a spunky personality and want to be noticed. She doesn't seem quite up to par. She is nice though, but not quite nice enough to over take the male here."
-Catherine Cleveland
"I'm still learning, so ignore my ignorance but for fun... I would say the Pullet would be my pick for best. I like her top line and her depth of her chest. Everything else is perfect, as expected with Jimmy's bantam Brahmas.
The back of the Cockerel seems to swoop up too high and his back seems too "pinched" if that's the right word. Something I always look at with my LF Buff brahmas is the color over the wings, his seems to darken. The pullet's color is nice and even."
-Keep on Truckin Homestead
"Yay.... 3bf for me." Patrick "PJ" Jones
Breeder Comments:
"IMO, although the male is really nice, I'd have to pick the pullet over the cockeral. She's very even in color, with "Black" feathering in hackle, tail, and wings. Nice top line, nice feathering on feet, nice width of head, nice chest, nice coverts, carries her width good back through her open tail, and small comb and wattles." -Jimmy Church
Judge's Evaluations:
"3BF has better color but 3BM has better type, 3BF takes 2nd and 3BM takes 1st." -Judge Brian Decker
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