In animal husbandry or animal fancy , a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed . The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria , or criteria of athletic or productive performance. It may also describe faults or deficiencies that would disqualify an animal from registration or from reproduction . The hypothetical ideal example may be called a "breed type".
20-566: The Australian Poultry Standards is the official breed standard for poultry fancy in Australia . It is the standard of perfection from which all poultry in Australia is supposed to be judged when exhibited at poultry shows . It is published by Victorian Poultry Fanciers Association, the peak body for poultry in Victoria and agreed to by all other state peak bodies. Published by
40-545: Is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs and purebred registries. The FCI is based in Thuin , Belgium and has 98 members and contract partners (one from each country). The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices of the kennel clubs of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Its objective was to bring global uniformity to the breeding, exhibiting and judging of pure-bred dogs. It
60-839: The American Kennel Club (AKC), Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) and United Kennel Club (UKC), and in Europe, The Kennel Club (TKC) of the United Kingdom. Despite not being members or associates, the FCI has a long standing agreement (or 'Letter of Agreement') for mutual recognition of pedigrees under outlined circumstances, and cooperation between the FCI and the AKC, TKC and the CKC of the USA, United Kingdom and Canada respectively. In addition,
80-663: The bantam or standard size. Breeds which have less under fluff and feathers which are closer to the body fall under hard feather, such as the Old English Game and Asil . Breeds with more under fluff and softer feathers, such as the Silkie , Australorp and Leghorn , are classed as soft feather. The Australian Poultry Standards also includes standards for ducks, geese, turkeys and Guinea fowl. Ducks are divided into two classes, bantam or standard size, and all turkeys , geese and guinea fowl have only one class each. In
100-424: The 1940s and earlier, other publications in Australia about poultry, such as Hadlingtons, did have some parts devoted to aspects of showing birds, were less oriented towards show standards, and more detailed about general management of poultry, in line with his earliest publication. Breed standard Breed standards are devised by breed associations or breed clubs, not by individuals, and are written to reflect
120-458: The FCI is not a registry and does not issue pedigrees to individual dogs, with the issue of pedigrees and record keeping of breeders and breeder addresses the responsibility of the national canine organisations recognised by the FCI. At present the FCI recognises 356 breeds, with each breed being considered as the 'property' of a specific country, usually based upon the country where the breed has first originated. These breed 'owner' countries write
140-444: The FCI takes a stronger line on certain issues compared with some non-member national kennel clubs, particularly the AKC and UKC, regarding general animal health and welfare. Unlike the AKC and UKC, the FCI has moved towards banning the practices of ear cropping and tail docking in breed standards, as well as forbidding the entry of dogs with cropped ears and dock tails from being shown in dogs shows in FCI member countries. In addition,
160-477: The FCI takes a stronger stance on improving the health of dogs as opposed to the appearance of dogs in situations where a breed's health is impacted due to severely restricted gene pools, or concerning brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome. [1] The FCI automatically recognises all registered breeds recognised by any of its member kennel clubs, therefore its list of recognised dog breeds includes breeds not known outside of their country of origin. The FCI divides
180-585: The Middle East poorly represented, partly through the absence of national kennel clubs or purebred registries in countries of these regions. In Europe, only the United Kingdom, Kosovo and Bulgaria are not represented by the FCI. Likewise, in the Americas only the USA and Canada are not members. The official purebred registries in North America that are not members or contract partners of FCI include
200-511: The TKC and the FCI have agreements regarding the mutual recognition of judges. In contrast, the FCI does not recognise the UKC and no agreement is in place. According to AKC's Denise Flaim, crafting a workable standard is a challenge, and the "FCI standards typically have a greater number of disqualifications, which are sometimes subjective, and their impact on a dog's career is not as dire." In contrast,
220-727: The Victorian Poultry Fanciers Association Inc., the first edition of the Australian Poultry Standard was published in 1998. It has been replaced by the second edition. Australia has no national peak body for poultry, relying on state bodies and national breed clubs . The state bodies who are party to the standards are as follows (None of the mainland territories have a statewide poultry society) The Australian Poultry Standard classifies all chicken breeds as either hard feather or soft feather, and then further divides them into
SECTION 10
#1732798720460240-601: The animal should not be bred, although its fitness for other uses may not be impeded by the faults. An animal that closely matches (conforms to) the breed standard for its species and breed is said to have good conformation. In the American Poultry Association breed standards for poultry , for example, ducks and geese are divided by weight, and chicken breeds are divided by size. Chickens are also divided into egg laying, meat, and ornamental varieties. In cattle , breed standards allow for comparisons and
260-524: The breed standard of the specific breed, with the breed standard being a detailed description of the ideal type of the breed, in partnership with and under the oversight of the Standards and Scientific Commissions of the FCI. The FCI is responsible for publication and maintenance of these breed standards, along with the translation of breed standard into the four working languages of the FCI (English, French, German and Spanish). The FCI breed standards act as
280-496: The international governing body. The Federation Cynologique Internationale regulates breed standards for dogs internationally, but the largest dog registry, the American Kennel Club , does not belong to the international body and uses its own breed standard format. Federation Cynologique Internationale The Fédération Cynologique Internationale ( French pronunciation: [fedeʁɑsjɔ̃ sinɔlɔʒik ɛ̃tɛʁnɑsjɔnal] ; FCI ; English: International Canine Federation )
300-431: The members of the organization which authors them change. In general, a breed standard may include history of the breed, a narrative description of the breed, and details of the ideal externally observable structure and behavior for the breed. Certain deviations from the standard are considered faults . A large degree of deviation from the breed standard, an excess of faults, or certain defined major faults, may indicate that
320-419: The reference for the judges at shows held in the FCI member countries, as well as maintaining the qualification and license of judges in dog shows in FCI member countries. For breeders, the FCI breed standards are used as the reference in their attempt to produce top-quality dogs according to the ideal type as set out by the FCI. The FCI is considered to the largest kennel club in the world with only Africa and
340-399: The same species and breed. There is no one format for breed standards across all species, and breed standards do change and are updated over time. Breed standards cover the externally observable qualities of the animal such as appearance , movement , and temperament . The exact format of the breed standard varies, as breed standards are not scientific documents and change as the needs of
360-480: The selection of the best breeds to raise. There is breed standard for dogs, cats, horses, chicken breeds, and others. The standard is used as a comparative parameter for judging animals in conformation shows competitions. Some species have international governing bodies that attempt to regulate the terminology and format of breed standards internationally, but, even where such international agreement exists, not all associations for that species necessarily belong to
380-419: The use or purpose of the species and breed of the animal. Breed standards help define the ideal animal of a breed and provide goals for breeders in improving stock. In essence a breed standard is a blueprint for an animal fit for the function it was bred - i.e. herding, tracking etc. Breed standards are not scientific documents, and may vary from association to association, and from country to country, even for
400-491: Was disbanded in World War I and recreated in 1921 by Belgium and France. Since its foundation the FCI's membership has grown to include kennel clubs from the majority of countries worldwide, with members in Europe as well as Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania. The purpose of the FCI is to make sure that the pedigrees and judges are mutually recognised by all the FCI member countries. In contrast to national kennel clubs,
#459540