Glossary: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Considered a true bantam, the Pekin was introduced from China in the mid nineteenth century. Some large Cochin blood was, however, used by early English breeders. A very popular breed in Australia, the Pekin bantam has been bred here to a high standard of perfection in an extensive variety of colours. This is a breed suited to fanciers who enjoy painstaking conditioning and meticulous show preparation, as the wealth of feather of the Pekin bantam requires a high level of such skills.

Carriage and General Shape - Broad, deep, plump and well-rounded. Legs - thick and short enough to carry the keel parallel to, and almost at, ground level. The head being level with, or slightly lower than the top of the cushion when the bird is in normal standing position. The breast very low, almost touching the ground while the cushion is rather high. the "forward tilt" characteristic is a desirable trait.

Type:

• Breast: Very broad,deep,full and rounded in appearance.
• Back: Short and broad, increasing in breadth to the saddle which should be very full, rising well from between the shoulders and furnished with long soft feathers.

• Wings: Small, very short and tightly tucked up, the ends hidden by the saddle hackle.
• Tail: very short, soft and full - having no hard quill feathers. tail coverts very abundant an nicely curved, almost hiding the tail. The whole tail forming one unbroken curve with the back and the saddle.

Head - Short, broad and neat. Comb single, fine, neat and small to medium, perfectly straight and erect, well serrated and nicely curved from front to back following the line of the head. Beak rather short but stout and slightly curved. Eyes bright and large. Face quiet smooth and fine in texture. Wattles long, smooth, fine in texture and neatly rounded. Ear-Lobes smooth, fine and well developed, nearly as long as the wattles. The head to display a typical "asiatic expression" with a broad skull and heavy dewlap under the throat.

Neck - Short, full, nicely arched and carried rather forward. Hackle very abundant and rather long reaching well on to the back.

Plumage - Very abundant, long, soft and wide. The fluff, which grows between the saddle and thighs, so full as to hide the latter.

Legs And Feet - Thighs short, broad and set well apart. Hocks completely covered with soft feathers which curl around the joint and stand well out. Stiff feathers ("vulture hocks") are objectionable. Legs short and thick, set well apart and abundantly covered with soft feathers which stand well out. Toes four, strong and straight. The middle and outer toes covered with soft feathers quite to the ends and as plentiful as possible. A short downy feathering on the inside of the shanks and inner toes is to be encouraged.

Female Characteristics - The general characteristics of the female are similar to those of the male allowing differences with the following provisos. The wattles are small, round and thin. The back is short and broad and rises to a full, rounded, unbroken "ball" shaped cushion which almost completely hides the true tail. The cushion feathers are soft, wide and abundant and spread in overall width to at least match the actual width of the bird's breast when viewed front on.

Barred (Light and Dark) Male and Female Plumage: Plumage for each variety should, ideally, be as for the Dark Barred Plymouth rocks. Light barred is per the Dark barred, but with the bars being of a lighter shade and the lighter bars being grayish white. The barring on the Barred Pekin will be more open than to a Plymouth Rock because of the difference in the rate of feather growth combined with the wider feather of the Pekin.

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Birchen Male Plumage: Neck and saddle hackles, back, wing bows and shoulders converts: White, each feather distinctly and evenly striped down the centre with solid black, the margin of each right around the edge being clear white. BREAST: Lustrous greenish black, each feather down to the junction of the thighs completely laced with a narrow margin of white, Reminder lustrous greenish black.

Female Plumage: Head white, Neck hackle and breast as for the male Reminder Lustrous greenish Black.

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Black Male Plumage: Rich sound black with lustrous beetle-green sheen throughout, free from any other colour. Undercolour: dark. Light undercolour is permissible provided it does not show through the bird is it its natural stance.

Female Plumage: Rich sound black with lustrous beetle-green sheen throughout, free from any other colour. Dark Undercolour through out.

* * * * *

Black Red Neck hackles: bright orange-red throughout, free from dark markings. The saddle hackles a shade deeper in colour. Black, shoulder converts and wing bow: a deep vivid crimson. Secondaries: lower web bright bay, upper web black forming a bay triangle when closed. Primarys: Black with a narrow band of bay along the edge of the lower web. Reminder of Plumage: breast, wing butts, wing bar, underparts, sickles, side hangers and foot feathers a uniform shade of lustrous Black.

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Black-Tailed Wheaton Body colour should be cream, as close as possible to the colour of wheat. Neck hackle a light golden colour. True tail black but not as intense as Black male. some black present in upper webs of primaries and secondaries .Closed wings appear Wheaton and should closely match the body colour.

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Blue Male Plumage: Body colour: An even shade of rich slaty blue, free from mealiness, with neck and saddle hackles a darker shade of glossy blue with no sign of rust. Lacing or edging is also permissible on the body feather. This lacing to be the same shade of blue as that of the neck and saddle.

Female Plumage: The overall body colour an even shade of rich slaty blue, free from mealiness. Lacing or edging is permissible as per the male colouring, as the even rich slaty blue colouring. Undercolour in both male and female, rich slaty blue shading to a lighter slaty blue.

* * * * *

Blue Red Male Plumage: Colour and markings as for the black red except that black is everywhere replaced by a uniform shade of rich slaty blue. Often the top colour is somewhat lighter and brighter.

Female Plumage: Golden in Hackle, the lower feathers being lightly streaked with blue. Body and wings: dark fawn with a bluish tinge. Thighs and underpants bluish gray. Under colour of both sexes bluish-grey.

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Blue-Tailed Wheaten Colour and markings as for the black-tailed Wheaten except that black is everywhere replaced by an even, soft blue. The Blue- Tailed Wheaten is often somewhat paler in neck and body colour.

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Brown Red Colour and markings exactly as for the Birchen except that the top colour and breast lacing is lemon. In the Male this should be very rich and bright and in the female lemon or straw-coloured.

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Buff Sound buff of a perfectly even shade throughout, quite sound to the roots of the feathers and free from black, white or bronze feathers. A medium shade of buff is preferred, even throughout and free from shiftiness or lacing. Normal lustre of the male hackles, saddle or lacing. Normal lustre of the male hackles, saddle and wing bow should not be ms-interpreted as a darker shade of buff. Undercolour visible when feathers are turned up should harmonise with the top colour.

* * * * *

Columbian Colour and markings as for the Columbian Wyandotte with foot feathers in male and female to be black and white.

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Cuckoo Indistinctly barred with alternate bars of dark slate and light gray. These markings to be nearly equal in width and extending throughout the length of the feather and into all sections of the plumage including undercolour.

* * * * *

Golden Creole As for the Golden Creole Wyandotte. Foot feathering Cuckoo.

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Lavender As for the Lavender Belgian bantam.

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Mealy Gray Body plumage a soft aluminium-greyish ground colour, peppered all over with fine darker gray markings throughout back and tail. Neck hackles: greyish-white with darker centres (not necessarily striped). Breast: mealy gray, sometimes nearly white in colour. Tail coverts of the males and best females have a greyish-white margin around each feather. Main tail feathers: aluminium-grey to steel gray colour. Wings: gray and grayish white to blend with body colour. Outer web of primaries and secondaries ending to be edged with white, wing ends gray Foot feather: gray and greyish-white. Overall appearance in both sexes is that of a bird starting from almost white at the head and gradually shading to a darker colour change, the more attractive the bird appears.

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Mottled The overall appearance is of a black bird with medium sized white tips. Ground colour to be as black as possible with a reflective beetle-green sheen. Tips can be v-shaped, heart shaped, rounded, kidney shaped or any shape so long as the tip is very clean and stark white. Mottling to be spread as evenly as possible throughout the complete fowl with emphasis placed on colour beauty when viewed from outside the pen.

Undercolour: dark gray shading to lighter gray Light undercolour permissible in males so long as it does not show through whilst the bird is in its natural stance.

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Partridge Colour and markings for this variety as for the Partridge Wyandotte. Foot feathering of the male to be lustrous black. Foot feather of female to match colour markings of body.

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Red As for the Rode Island Red. Foot feathering red.

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Splash A mixture of slaty blue and white that has a faint bluish tinge. The Blue in feathers in the form of large irregular-shaped blobs as distinct fro m v-shaped ticking. Main Tail feathers and primary wing feathers have a lesser amount of Blue and sooty white than the rest of the plumage. Undercolour: Slaty blue and sooty White evenly distributed. Blue splashes to compromise no more than 50% of the plumage.

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White Pure white plumage throughout, free from cream or yellowish tinge or any sigh of greasiness or brassiness in hackle, black splashes or peppering, or any other than pure white.

* * * * *

In both sexes of all varieties:

• Beak: yellow but may be shaded black or horn in all varieties except except the white which should be yellow only.
• Eyes: red or orange - red preferred.
• Comb, wattles, face and earlobes: red. Positive enamel white earlobes is a major fault (this should not be confused with seasonal paleness or paleness due to laying).
• Shanks and feet: yellow, darker legs are permissible provided the soles of the feet and the back of the shanks are yellow. White, Buff, Red and Columbian varieties: yellow shanks and feet only.

Weights:

• Male = 910 - 1020 grams (32 - 36 oz)
• Female = 790 - 910 grams. ( 28 - 32 oz)

Type and Carriage	25
Colour and Markings	20
Abundance & Quality of Feather, Fluff & Cushion, Legs,Feet & Length & angle of shank, Feathering	25
Size and Weight	5
Head (Skull,beak,comb & eyes)	15
Condition	10
Total:	100

Faults And Defects Drooping Comb. Missing Toe nail. Leg colour other than as specified as above. Centre toe bare of feathers. Split or divided fronatl breast feathering. Non-Standard eye colour. Fly-Away combs on Males. Enamel White in Earlobes. Blushed white and Paleness in Lobes. Purple Sheen on Black Plumage. Double serrations on combs. White beaks and legs in the white variety.

Disqualifications Twisted comb (deformed). Side Sprigs on Comb. Slipped Wing. Split Wing. Wry Tail. Crooked Breast. Missing toe joint any other deformity. Fraudulent dying or plucking or trimming.

oF <=> oC

in <=> cm

G <=> L