standards are obtainable from most Specialist societies and a useful reference book is Canary Standards in Colour by GT Dodwell and John W Hills. This gives show standards and cage details for most popular varieties.
The Show Schedule:
Members of a club will be given a show schedule sometime before the show which will detail the classes available for competition and sales classes, if provided. It is important to become familiar with and understand the schedule, as a bird entered incorrectly cannot be re-classified and at most shows, certainly when a show catalogue of exhibits is made, it will be “wrong classed”. Included will be an entry form. On completion this is returned to the show secretary with entry fees. It is advisable to keep a copy of your entries.
Feather Types: There are 2 main types of feather and it is most important to be able to identify these to ensure birds are entered in the correct class. These are Buff and Yellow although the terms “non-intensive”/ “intensive” and “mealie”/ “jonque” have been used in the past. Yellow feather has colour through to the very tip of the feather and often appears to be brighter in colour than the equivalent buff feather
48 BIRD SCENE
where the feather tip has no colour and often appears “dusty”. It should be noted that “yellow” in this context does not relate to the colour of the bird ie a “yellow” feathered bird can be green in colour and many “buffs” are yellow in colour. Should you have any difficulty with this aspect of identifying birds, it is advisable to consult an experienced fancier as this is important when pairing birds for breeding as well as exhibiting birds. Certain varieties also appear in “dimorphic” form (a special type of broad buff feather). This need not concern the newcomer at this stage.
Classification: The age of a bird is broadly measured by the stage of development of its feathers, and this is reflected in the way a show schedule is laid out. Nest feather relates to the feathers a bird creates while growing in the nest and will usually be formed during the first 3 weeks. At about 6 to 10 weeks the next stage of development starts. This is the first moult when all but the tail and primary or “flight” wing feathers are replaced, for this reason the bird is now described as “unflighted” because it still has the flights produced when in nest feather. These flights are not replaced until the bird has its second moult the following year and then
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