ABC member Susan Mouw recently created the following educational post. Sharing it here for our members.
Ok, folks..just thought I'd jump in here and share some of my experience, especially pertaining to tailsets in the young vs that tailset in a mature bird.
So, I've gathered a few pics of birds that were bred and raised here, to show you the difference. In the attached pics, each row is of the same bird and that bird's wing band is captioned below that pair of pictures. Each of these photos were taken 3-4 months apart, as you can see by the date taken in the captions.
This is just one of the reasons it is important not to cull too early, especially for too low a tailset. If I had culled these birds when those first pics were taken because of low tailsets, I would have lost at least one District Champion, and a couple of class CH winners. This applies to pullets (third row) and cockerels.
Edited to add: This rule of thumb has also applied across all varieties I have had here: white, black, blue, splash, wheaten, blue wheaten, and splash wheaten. I would daresay, it should apply to all varieties of Ameraucana, as the Standard, except for color, does not, and should not, change from variety to variety.