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Young Birds
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Mature Birds
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Comb Chickens |
Pliable, resilient, not wrinkled, points sharp.
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Wrinkled, coarser, thicker points. rounded.
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Bill Ducks
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Pliable- Not completely hardened.
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Hardened.
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Plumage |
Fresh, glossy appearance
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Faded, worn except in birds which have recently molted.
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Fat
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Smooth layers with brighter color. Not lumpy over feather tracts.
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Generally darker in color, inclined to lumpiness over heavy feather
tracts.
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Breastbone
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Cartilage, if present, pliable and soft
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End of keel- hardened cartilage, bony.
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Pinbones |
Pliable.
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Not pliable.
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Shanks |
Scales on shanks, smooth small.
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Scales larger, rough, and slightly raised.
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Oil Sac |
Small, soft. |
Enlarged, often hardened. |
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Spurs (Male chickens. turkeys. occasionally adult females)
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Small, undeveloped. Corn-like
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Spurs gradually increase in length with age, becoming somewhat curved
and sharper. Hens often have fine, sharp spurs after first year |
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Wind pipe Ducks, Geese
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Easily dented.
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Hardened. almost bone-like to the touch.
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Flesh
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Tender-meated, translucent appearance. Fine texture.
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Coarser texture, darker, hardened muscle fibers.
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Drumsticks
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Lacking in development, muscles easily dented.
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Generally rounded, full, firm.
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Sex does not become a factor in classing poultry until such time as the
natural differences in the body conformation and distribution of flesh
become quite evident. This never happens in such classes as geese and most
breeds of ducks.
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