478 A STUDY OF FARM ANIMALS 



Disqualification in judging poultry is allowed for various 

 reasons. The occurrence of feathers on the legs of what 

 should be a smooth-legged breed; or of smooth legs when 

 feathers should occur; irregular color of ear lobes and legs 

 or of the plumage; web feet and excessive number of toes 

 or too few toes; incorrect position of the comb, as, for ex- 

 ample, lopping when it should be erect; absence of crest 

 in crested varieties are examples of conditions which jus- 

 tify disqualification. 



Judging fowls for utility has received special attention 

 at poultry shows since about 1915. In the utility classes 

 the birds are to be brought forward for show when at the 

 height of egg production. This practice is not the case with 

 ordinary exhibition birds, for they are shown just prior to 

 beginning production, when in their finest plumage. Only 

 standard-bred fowls are shown in each class, but in the 

 utility group less consideration is given to plumage and 

 more emphasis is paid to body form and evidence of egg 

 production. A score card for utility judging was drawn up 

 in November, 1919, at a conference of poultry specialists at 

 Vineland, New Jersey, based on a careful study of 1,000 

 yearling hens in the International Egg-Laying Contest. 



"In working out a production score card," writes Professor Harry R. 

 Lewis*, the idea has not been to develop a score card which should be 

 used in placing premiums at utility shows, but rather to develop numeri- 

 cal values for the various sections of the bird, in order that utility judges 

 and exhibitors may have a common working basis, that is, in order that 

 the exhibitor in picking his birds may have a more or less accurate idea 

 of what the judge is going to look for in determining the relative values 

 which he will give the various sections and qualities. In working out 

 the numerical values for the score card the perfect bird was recognized as 

 100 per cent, which was allowed to be equivalent to a production of 300 

 eggs. Numerical values for all sections were then so arranged that each 

 per cent of value is equivalent to three eggs or, put differently, a cut of 

 one point in any one section is equivalent to a cut of three eggs." 



The following score card for utility judging is based in 

 principle on much of the work developed at the Cornell 

 University judging school during 1918 and 1919. 



*Judging fowls for egg production, Hints to Poultrymen Vol. 8, No. 2, New 

 Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, 1919. 



