SOP question

Featherduster · Post by **Featherduster** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 10:11 am

Ok. I have a question. When you have a breed that "originated and developed" in the UK then was exported to the USA then Canada, do you follow the "originating mother clubs" SOP or do you follow the "American" version SOP when it seems that the "mother club" has the more correct standard as they were the ones that originated and developed the breed to start with without the extremes that the North American's seem to breed for. What about if you prefer the breed type of the UK standard over the USA standard.
Just pondering.

Post by **Home Grown Poultry** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 10:23 am

whats your goal? showing at apa shows? if so then I go by the latest apa standard.

ross · Post by **ross** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 10:26 am

Depends on what you are doing with your end product . If you are showing in N America . Definitely the NA SOP. If just for own use u can do whatever you want . U don't even have to follow either which a lot do . Luck
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Ontario Chick · Post by **Ontario Chick** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 10:28 am

Unless you are going to be exhibiting in UK, following US standard would be the prudent way to go.
If you are planning to sell either hatching eggs or birds, again following a standard of another country would present a problem.
Thats not saying that one is better then other and you may well prefer the Australian standard, but there are ramifications.
I imported German Angora Rabbits from Germany in the Seventies for breeding purpose only, because at that time they weren't accepted in to the ARBA SOP, they could be shown for Exhibition purposes only, but they could certainly be used for production and outcrossing.

la-chicken · Post by **la-chicken** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 9:50 am

If you are breeding from a different origin bird. For example: British Orps....They are different than the American SOP Orps. Body structure and feathering and how they sit on their legs.

With that being said. It is better to keep the lines separate. If you mix the two..........yes you will have an Orp BUT it will not be correct from either SOP at first. Lots of select breeding needs to happen. Either you lean towards the British traits or American traits. ( I just thought of the war from 1812).

Just as what others have stated: " it depends on what your purpose is for the birds".

Featherduster · Post by **Featherduster** » Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:57 pm

My purpose is to bring back a bird that seems to be very rare to non existent here. Belgian Booted bantam or "sablepoots". There are very few birds let alone quality birds here in Canada and most of them that I have found in the USA seem to be poor quality. The breed club in the UK seems to be the most helpful and because the breed is plentiful in the UK they know the ins and outs of breed type/color/size etc.... much more then what I have found in the USA. Their birds seem to be closer to the standard even to the NA standard. Right now I am working on type and shape as I know the color can come later but its hard to breed a bird when its hard to find quality birds to even look at in real life let lone in pictures. I have a silhouette of the SOP and that is the outline I have been trying to breed for. Even though what I have seen in some of the UK birds that are "winning" at the shows don't even follow their SOP, they are going more on exaggerating traits which no longer follow their SOP. I breed shetland sheepdogs and have been for 25 years. Fads have come and gone and I have always bred towards the standard for our breed and it has not done me wrong. This breed originated in the UK but I do not breed towards the UK standard as it would not even get looked at here. So my goal is to breed my birds towards the standard and I guess I just answered my own question with my dog breeding rules. I guess I can use the UK standard as a guide and their knowledge of the breed but keep the NA type.