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Feathers between toes

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Jess:
Evening folks,
Maybe cull was not the right word to use.
I realize that there are none that are perfect but we need to strive toward the mark of perfection.
I just like telling it like it is, not try to deceive people into thinking it is something it is not.
Maybe I\'m old fashioned, but this is just the way I am.
Jess

John:
I agree it may sound like faking, but in my decades of exhibiting I\'ve only heard it talked about openly as the thing to do or the thing that should have been done.
Removing a few stubs before a show is common from what I have heard, just as many wash thier birds, oil the combs and shanks, trim thier beaks & toe nails, put Pink on the feathers to make them shine, etc.  
I do still wash the mud off the shanks of the birds that I show...sometimes.  My birds are pretty much in as natural condition as they can get when I take them to a show, but where do we draw the line?  I do put the birds I plan to take in small coops for a month or so before the show to calm them down a bit.  Some keep thier birds for show out of the sunlight so they aren\'t faded or yellow.  Those that wash thier white birds with detergent are going to have whiter birds than others.  Few birds are ever shown \"in thier natural condition\".  At what point is it faking?  
It\'s like people putting on thier Sunday best.  Folks get all duded up to go out and they want thier birds to look their best for exhibition.  
There are generally accepted legitimate practices that hide, cover-up or conceal superficial faults.
According to the APA \"Evidence of Faking\" is a disqualification.
Personally, because of my experiences, I can agree with both sides of this discussion.
Let your conscience by your guide.

If you get a chance read an article called Ethics of Fitting and Fixing Birds for Exhibition from 1921.  It gives some background about \"faking\", but also about fitting & fixing or getting a bird ready for show as we would say today.  Pages 23 - 26.
http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=stubs+on+show+chickens&sig=m7IrvXYAZYRGz_xfwplZ0YW3DvU&ei=AgJ9TvyYMZSNsAKLx9Qj&ct=result&id=cSLZAAAAMAAJ&ots=ZOOkMGG1Mp#v=onepage&q&f=false

Mike Gilbert:
Whether or not a particular bird has a bit of fuzz between two toes is worth about .000000001 percent of a fair evaluation of that bird.  There are tremendously more things to be concerned about.   As you gain experience you will hopefully come to realize what a trivial matter this really is.   You raise wheatens and blue wheatens, right?   Are you going to cull every bird you raise that has a bit of black or blue in the hackle?  It isn\'t supposed to be there!   It\'s a defect!   Now along comes that perfectly colored cockerel, well built, beautiful head, and with a perfectly clean hackle.   You going to cull him if he has a bit of down between two toes???   If so, all I can say is good luck, you\'ll need it.   But don\'t feel bad, I knew a lot more about raising chickens 35 years ago and several hundred shows ago than I do now.   At least I thought I did at the time.

Guest:
I currently have an Ameraucanas with stubble and even a feather on his legs, and will not use him as an Ameraucana, though there\'s things I like about him more than some other cockerals. Like begets like, and useing them will most likely produce more of the same down the road. I do have a bird from another breed with a couple of stubs that I\'m probably going to have to use.................. and I know for a fact he has a feather legged ancestor a few generations back, so culling in  future generations is almost certain to be necessary.

I realize the APA kind of left a window open with the wording of \"unmistakable evidence of removing\"; and evidently it\'s so common that some do not even realize it\'s a  disqualification to pull stubs for a show, or it wouldn\'t have been suggested as common practise. I\'m thinking this thread might prompt some judges to be looking for evidence at Crossroads.  :p  I would really love to hear some APA judges go on record as to whether feather plucking is faking or not.    

dixieland:
I have a great amount of respect for all of you.....That being said no bird is perfect, they each have their strengths and weaknesses.....
I come from a similar showing background as Steve, and in years gone by I have done what I needed to do to garner a win.... I am not proud of that. I have since been born again, and although I am happy to talk about my savior and my beliefs with anyone who wants to, I don\'t push them on anyone...Getting to the point- some of the practices that were acceptable to me in my past life are no longer acceptable to me...
Since I am in a very different stage of my life now, I  want to challenge myself to produce the best animal I can, condition it into a fabulous condition, and put it out there to compete and be judged by my fellow breeders and judges...I might still use different shampoos for different coat (or feather) color, and I might still trim whiskers on a dog that has a gorgeous headpiece, and I don\'t know if I will pull a stray feather from between toes of a showbird or not as I have not crossed that bridge........
Since I have not walked a mile in the shoes of many of you experienced breeder/ exhibitors- I may tend to agree with the likes of Mike & John at this point....Although the mad scientist who lives in my brain would be trying to figure out how to eradicate this from future generations, so I can also respect Steve\'s point of view.....

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