Silver Ameraucana Color Variety Plumage Description

[Lindsay Helton]

The APA Standard Committee has contacted us to ask about the language for the Silver Ameraucana color variety. They are currently working on the next edition of the Standard of Perfection book. The Silver Ameraucana color variety currently refers to the Silver Dutch for the plumage description. They have asked for our thoughts on referring to the Silver Leghorn for the plumage description instead. They are trying to condense the references used in the SOP in order to make the SOP easier to read. They would like to list the color descriptions in the front of the SOP.

If any of our members have thoughts regarding this, please contact us via email at abcsecretaryhelton@gmail.com.

[Jean]

We do not know if the APA is considering changing all the silver breed descriptions or for some reason just picked ours.  But if we consider all the breeds with the "silver" color here are some findings I sent to the Board that Lindsay and I worked on:

Just wanted to let you know Lindsay and I put our heads together while on the phone.  We researched all the silver birds in the APA standard.

We found that there are two different silver descriptions used.  One with clean hackles and saddles and one with striping in the hackles and saddles.  While doing the research, we found all of these varieties do have photos in the standard and reflect this small difference.

The birds that are clean are the silver leghorn, silver leghorn bantam, araucana and american game bantam.  The birds that have striping are the ameraucana, ameraucana bantam, silver dutch, silver phoenix and silver phoenix bantam.

If the APA wants to change to the silver leghorn description for all silver varieties, the five other breeds will have to change the way they breed their birds and will also have to change their picture in the standard.  This could mean some breeds would not meet the standard for years.  I also do not feel it should fall to the breed clubs or portrait sponsors to pay for these changes.

I would say no to them on changing it.  The only option Lindsay and I could think of was to add a memo to the standard that the above breeds do allow striping in the saddle and hackles if they want to use one description for the silver color variety.

[Lindsay Helton]

Silver Leghorn male:

Hackle- Silvery white with a narrow dull black stripe extending down middle of each lower hackle feather, tapering to a point near its lower extremity.

Saddle- Silvery white.

Silver Ameraucana male (and also Silver Dutch male):

Hackle- Silvery white, a dull black stripe, free from shafting, extending down middle of each lower hackle feather, tapering to a point just short of lower extremity, the black stripe increasing in intensity and brilliance to a lustrous greenish black at the lower extremity.

Saddle- Same as hackle, but with less striping than hackle.

The current plumage description for the hackle and saddle is clearly reflected in the portraits of the Silver Ameraucana male and the Silver Dutch male in the APA SOP book.

In the ABA SOP book, the plumage description for the hackle and saddle also makes mention of the black stripe increasing in intensity and brilliance to a lustrous greenish black, therefore our ABA and APA plumage descriptions would no longer match regarding the hackle and saddle.

[Lindsay Helton]

The Board of Directors voted no regarding referring to the Silver Leghorn for the plumage description.

[Lindsay Helton]

Bump.