El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-12-28

A HOUDAN cock, fully grown,
n should not weigh less than
L n the standard calls for, ~
pounds, and the cockerel one pound
less. and any weight much IN excess
of these standard weights VIII make
bird, which is to be avoided.
On form the Houdan is a square
built fowl, very much like the Dorklng
in shape, with a lo2ig body, indicative
of a good supply of breast meat.
Ehe shoulders, saddle and BACK orac-
ing are very wide, the latter straight
with a slight dropping toward the tan.
which should be carried moderately.
low and should be abundantly Iur-
nished with saddle and sickle feathers;
HOu1an male with "A nigh tan
should not be tolerated, nor should
bird with an excessively low tar
which in almost every instance pc
means a waster IN the breeding yar0-
The breast should be very conspicu-
Gus for breadth and fullness, and wnen
I say 'fullneSS' mean breast Inat IS
round like the breast of partridge,
not a narrow pinCs1ed breast Whlch
shows poor feeding and lack OF con
stitution. The breast bone should pc
deep in the keel, extending from the
fore part of the body clean back to-
ward the tail, that there may be ample
room for an abundant production OF
The wing should be carried well up.
properly developed, large, heavy and
muscular. The thighs should be large,
with firm legs, Of medium length and
moderately thick, giving the Dlrd the
look Of strength and the so much de-
Dorking fowl. so much talked about
and so seldom found outside OF the
breeders Yards who ff kRoT tos c sbd9fd
be quite distinct, well developed and
curving gently upward, badly SNAPPED
fifth toes are a serious defect.
Should Have Large Head.
The head should he OF good SIZE, so
as to give plenty Of room for the
growth of a large crest, as g small mall
crest should be large and composed Of
evenly mixed feathers similar in tex
wei backward upon the neck and
sides of the head, encasing It in
half circle. It. should not be Of the
which makes the bird entirely worth
less from both a breeders and ex-
hibitOrs standpoint, puts it among. the
Gull class of HOudans, and robs II OF
its distinctive beauty and elegance.
The crest should be perfectly smooth,
high in front, falling over. the head IN
an unbroken mass. This is a crest of
a well bred Houdan male giving style,
finish and beauty to the whole bird.
Don't breed from a bird with rough,
i'll shaped crest, if you want to avoid
trouble: take my word for 1t. as it is
based on an experience reaching So
y1 sdI9 win ms me I19uuan, l ne III UIdII,iS
should be full and curVlng up around
the eyes. The beard should be long
and pendulous ana heavy and not
composed of a few feathers split in
the middle: don't forget that lack of
beard is a disqualificatiOn; never mind
how good the bird is in other respects;
The comb must be " shaped and
smaller the better. Both the English
and the French HOudan have the leaf
comb, which is not bred in this cUun-
try. so beware of it.
The Houdan hen, like the cock.
should be a full and square bodied
bird, weighing So pounds, with broad,
straight back of good length, slOping
slightly toward the tail, which, as in
the cock. should be carried moderately
low. The crest should be large,
globular, full and compact, evenly
marked and smooth Females with
fallen crests are not fit to breed from
and should be discarded.
The comb should be shaped well de-
fined, but very much smaller than in
the male. They should have short but
stout shanks and fifth toes well de-
velOped.
Color Black and white.
The color of the plumage in both
male and female should be bl ack and
white. black to predominant. but in