Any deformity such as bent toes, duck feet, crooked breat bone, wry tail, or split wing should mean rejection as a breeder. All the poultry which have passed the handling test for health and condformation should be scrutinised for breed character. Because points vary for each breed it is necessary at this stage to know how many points are awarded for which shape, size, or colour according to the different breeds, especially for show stock. This can be found in the British Poultry Standards, organised by The Poultry Club and from whom copies can be purchased. These are especially featured because few standards exist which do not give a fair share of points to formation of comb, lobes, and wattles.
Close inspection is necessary.
Breeds with small single combs will not readily show up defects in females but will be latent ande recur in cockerels of the following generation. It will soon yield to white in face, a serious defect in showing and breeding. Mating up After all the poultry or bantams have passed the above tests and are considered up to standard and fit for breeding, the question arises of how many females should run with a male. With breeding, there is no hard and fast rule about this mating ratio. The breeder's target is quality rather than quantity of day-old chicks.