Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner Standard of Perfection

The following is a document contributed by Gary Fosmore as someone translated from German for him.

Breeding Idea

Breeding idea – On average, very mobile, wide and medium-high placed hen with full, vigorous, well-rounded shape. Fine-grained, white meat, and white skin. [Especially, particularly, early/precocious] [Not quite sure here – I think it is saying something like: High performance, recognized breed, economical/industrial breed?]. Small breed, tame, calm animal, bad flyers, in all conditions a good fowl.

What is to be demonstrated? – It is important to pay attention to all the points that are useful to a useful value. These are: Spaciousness of the body in the medium-heavy type, movability [agility] by a slighty higher position when the chest and the tail part are raised. Very vital: Full, rounded shape, very wide chest and shoulders gently rising backwards, slightly [hollow?] round backline.

 What is to be rejected? – Narrow, too small animals, foot feathering [fletching?] as well as coarse and bony. Plump animals with deep-set eyes and long face. Flat tail, narrow setting, long, straight back. Black coarse feathers and dark skin pigment. White in the ear lobes.

History

p.208 History – At the end of the twenties of the last century, North-Dutch blue chickens came to Germany, which were not very well received. A few years later, they were taken by the Lower Rhine region breeders J. Jobs and Friedrich Regenstein. They were bred in shape and color so as to create a new breed. While the hens were almost grayish-black in the original animals, and the roosters were brightly colored with silvery drapery [curtains, veiled, hanging feathers? I think it means the saddle feathers], the blue sparrow [hawk] color became dominant in both sexes for German breeders. From the original box shape, the more agile, well-rounded shape has been developed with the aim of creating a breed mainly intended for meat purpose, but also a high yield of eggs. The Dutch animals originated from the Mechelen, Plymouth Rocks, Belgian Camphor [fighters], Faverolles, and other breeds. The new breed was recognized in Germany in 1943. At the end of the forties of the last century, the other colors like the Kennsperber [marked hawk/sparrow], Gelbsperber [yellow hawk/sparrow], birch colored, and blue arose.

Shape and Characteristics

p. 208 Shape and Characteristics –

 Rooster: Mass [weight] 3.5 to 4.5 kg

 Head: Medium-size, lightly domed. Face: Well, sparsely feathered, red.

 Beak: Pretty short, bent, flesh-colored, with horn color first. [I’m not sure what Gr.F means, I’m assuming it is an abbreviation of sorts for “faults”]: Yellowish beak.

 Eyes: Medium size; For color please see color chart. [Is there an eye color chart in the book?]

 Comb: Easy, stand upright, of average size, fine in tissue [texture], with 4 to 6 prongs, the muzzle of the comb follows the line of the neck, without rest [I think it means to lie down]

 Earlobe: Small and red. Faults: White in the earlobes.

 [Gill?]: Medium-sized, well rounded.

 Neck: Medium length, slightly bent, with full curtain.

 Chest: Full and broad, well rounded, slightly raised. Faults: Narrow or keen chest part.

 Body: Rounded, wide, somewhat squat shape. Faults: Narrow body, square box or triangle shape.

 Belly [abdomen]: Full and broad. Faults: Little developed belly part.

 Spine: Wide, medium length, without rising [interuption]

 Back: [Slightly hollow?], in the full, feathery saddle. Faults: Narrow back or straight back line, angular in the transition from saddle to tail.

 Shoulder: Wide, barely protruding, covered by the throat [neck].

 Wings: Well fitting, horizontally carried. Faults: Hanging wings.

 Saddle: Wide, full and full feathered.

 Tail: Medium length, wide, without angle to the saddle with a good slope. Wide, well rounded hackles. Faults: Flat or steep tail [attitude, carriage?]. Narrow profile or feather width.

 Legs: Medium-length, muscular, horizontal, well-feathered.

 Feet: Relatively tender, not feathered, medium-length, flesh colored. For color, please see color chart. Faults: Any feathers on the feet. Too high, too deep, or too close. Yellow color.

 Toes: Very well spread.

 Skin: White. Faults: Yellow skin. Plumage: Wide, full, and well developed. Fitting.

Hen

p. 209 Hen – Weight :2.5-3kg. Egg production in year 1: 200; in year 2: 160. Yellow to light brown eggs.

 Hatching eggs minimum weight: 55g.

 [I think this means broodiness]: Low.

The hen resembles the cock up to the gender related differences. The whole fullness of the appearance lies on the chest, shoulder, and back, well-rounded with the deepest point, a little in front of the center of the back, swinging over the wide saddle, swinging at an angle to the tail. The tail is fully developed with broad, medium-length feathers, broad and [sloping? sloppy?] carried. Small to medium standing comb, in the fear, in the rear half also [allow some surrounding or outlying?].

 Ring sizes: Rooster 22, Hen 20.

Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner Rooster

Yellow Sparrow: Rooster: In the entire body plumage yellow base color as uniform as possible, white sparrow, tail brown-gray, or purely dark gray, with light gray sparrow; allow single dark gray splash in the neck and saddle hanging feathers. Interrupted shaft line drawing in neck hanging feathers only slightly visible. Scattered dark gray splashes in the saddle feathers permissable. Under plumage yellow to cream-white. Faults: Gray in shoulder, too much gray in saddle, whitish wings, whitish breast, missing tail patterns.

Lemon Cuckoo Nierrherrheiner Hens

Hen: Resembling the rooster, however in the sparrow somewhat dull; under neck hanging feathers with dark gray shaft line patterns, with lighter sparrow. Shoulder plumage clear sparrow. Feathers with brown-gray to dark gray retention. Under plumage yellow to cream-white. Eye color red to orange-red. Faults: Completely missing sparrow, gray or black splashed in plumage.

I have not altered the document given to me. I welcome comments and conversation in the comment section below. I moderate comments because of random spam but will happily approve your honest thoughts.

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