The Fantail Standard
The Fantail is primarily a bird of type and action. "Type" meaning to represent
in terms of typical characteristics. "Action" meaning, behavior or method
of performing. General requirements are the same for all Fantails and total
100 points. The first 75 points describe type; the remaining 25 points describe
a Fantail in action (Carriage and Motion).
Fantails are to be judged by comparison. To assist judges in assigning
proportionate values to the various desirable qualities, point values are
listed. An advantage of 5 points may be allowed for excellence in plumage
color of self and barred classes. There is no allowance for color in whites
and NCC's (Non-classified colors). An advantage of 5 points may also be allowed
for excellence in marking and 5 points for color when patterns are involved,
as in saddles, tailmarks, and bodymarks. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
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HEAD: Small, fine, and neat; free from peak or shell.
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BEAK: Thin and medium in length, the upper mandible slightly curved at the
tip.
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BEAK WATTLE: Small and dine in texture.
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EYES: Clear, bright, alert. Eye cere as fine as possible.
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NECK: Thin, nicely curved and tapering well off as it approaches the head.
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LENGTH OF NECK: Corresponding with length of back, so as to enable the head
to rest closely, in the center of, and at the base of the cushion.
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POINTS FOR ABOVE QUALITIES 10
BODY
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SHAPE: Small and round like a ball when viewed from any angle, showing a
graceful curve from chest to feet. (A balanced, medium sized bird, however,
is preferred to a small bird deficient in other important qualities).
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CHEST: Shape, round like a ball, carrying out rounded contour of the body.
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BACK: Appearance of being slightly hollowed in center. Length of back shall
be in proportion to length of neck, enabling the head to rest closely, in
the center of and at the base of the cushion. RUMP: Of sufficient size to
balance the tail evenly.
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POINTS FOR BODY 20
CUSHIONS: Front, full, and massive, extending well up the tail feathers;
Back, strong, wide, flaring, centered on tail.
TAIL: Slightly concave, circular, closely filled with broad, evenly set feathers,
well overlapping each other.
POINTS FOR CUSHIONS AND TAIL 20
LEGS: Moderately short to medium in length, not stilly, set well apart and
forward so as to conform with the curve of the body line but without the
appearance of buckling. Free from feathers below the hocks.
FEET: Small, fine, neat. Color of feet, bright red.
POINTS FOR LEGS AND FEET 15
PLUMAGE: Clean, neat, hard, and tight fitting.
POINTS FOR PLUMAGE 10
CARRIAGE AND MOTION: The bird should walk in a jaunty manner on its tip-toes
with its head thrown back in a graceful manner and resting with ease, closely,
constantly, in the center of and at the base of the cushion.
CHEST: Full and round like a ball, carrying out the rounded contour of the
body. Apparent upheaving of the chest when bird is in motion.
WINGS: Neat, closely fitting to the body, showing body frontal, underbody
and part of thigh when viewed in profile. The wing butts shall be hidden
so as to preserve an over-all appearance of roundness of the bird, with nights
tight, just clearing the lowest tail feathers, almost meeting at the tips
and not breaking away from the general line of the wings.
TAIL: Carried well up, not being allowed to drop or incline forward, with
as much top-tail as possible showing above the chest when viewed from the
front and at eye level.
POINTS FOR CARRIAGE & MOTION 25
TOTAL POINTS FOR GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 100 PLUMAGE DESCRIPTIONS, EYE, EYE
CERE, BEAK, AND TOENAIL COLORATIONS
White: Pure white. Dark hazel or bull eyes with flesh colored ceres.
Flesh colored beak and toenails.
Black: Jet black throughout. Free from rustiness or checkery appearance
and covered with a rich beetle-green luster. Pearl or orange (pearl preferred)
eyes, with dark ceres. Black beak and toenails.
Blue: Clear, sound, gray-blue free from sootiness or bronzing, with
no inclination to run light on rump or breast. The feathers on the neck and
throat shall be covered with an iridescent metallic sheen. wing and tail
bars shall be black and well defined. Tail feathers shall be edged all around
with the same shade as the shield area. Pearl or orange (pearl preferred)
eyes, with dark ceres. Black beak and toenails.
Powdered Blue: Clear, sound, light, milky blue on body, wing and tail.
Free from sootiness with no tendency toward cream, yellow,, or purple coloring.
Having the appearance of being lightly flecked but not checked with powder.
The feathers on the neck and throat shall be slightly darker than the body
and covered with an iridescent metallic sheen comparable to burnished silver.
The neck and throat, like the body, wings and tail, shall be free of cream,
yellow, or purple coloring. The wing and tail bars shall be flat black, as
near black as possible and shall be distinct. The feathers of the tail shall
be edged beyond the terminal bar with the same color as the shield area.
Pearl, red, or orange eyes (pearl preferred), with fine, dark ceres. Horn
colored beak and toenails.
Silver: Soft shade of light silver with no tendency toward a creamy
color. The feathers on the neck and throat shall be covered with an iridescent
metallic sheen. The wing and tail bars shall be dun and well defined. The
tail feathers shall be edged all around with the same shade as the shield
area. Pearl or orange eyes (pearl preferred) with drab colored ceres. Horn
colored beak and toenails.
Powdered Silver: Fawn colored on the body, wings, and tail. Having
the appearance of being sprinkled with a powdery glow. The feathers on the
neck and throat shall be slightly darker than the body and covered with an
iridescent metallic sheen. The wing and tail bars shall be distinct and dun
colored. The tail feathers shall be edged beyond the terminal bar with the
same color as the shield area. Pearl or orange eyes (pearl preferred) with
drab colored ceres. Horn colored beak and toenails.
Andalusian: Body and tail are to be an even shade of midnight blue,
shading to black on the head and neck. wings are lighter with dark blue edging
on each feather. There shall be no tendency toward reddish or bronzy tones.
Pearl or orange eyes (pearl preferred) with dark cere. Black beak and toenails.
Red: Even shade throughout of clear, rich, bright, chestnut free from
sootiness or any tendency toward bluish or plum tints. The feathers on the
neck and throat shall be covered with an iridescent metallic sheen. Pearl
or orange eyes (pearl preferred) with flesh colored ceres. Flesh colored
beak and toenails.
Yellow: Even shade throughout of rich, bright, golden-buff with no
tendency to run light on the rump. he feathers on the neck and throat shall
be covered with an iridescent metallic sheen. Pearl or orange eyes (pearl
preferred) with flesh colored cere. Flesh colored beak and toenails. Almond:
Even shade throughout of rich, bright, golden-buff, that of the interior
of an almond nut shell from which the name is derived. Rich black flecking
shall be dispersed throughout the plumage. Flights (primaries and secondaries)
and tail feathers are to be splotched irregularly with distinct patches of
ground color, white, and black. The white splotches in the tail feathers
are to be positioned in such a way that the appearance of white terminal
bar is produced. Pearl or orange eyes (pearl preferred) with flesh colored
ceres. Flesh colored beak (horn permitted) and flesh colored toenails.
Dun: Soft even shade of dull brown with no tendency toward a purple
or tint. The feathers of the neck and throat shall be covered with an iridescent
metallic sheen. Pearl or orange eyes (pearl preferred) with drab colored
ceres. Horn colored beak and toenails.
Brown: Even shade of rich, chocolate brown throughout. The color is
quite similar to dun but brown is an intense coloration whereas dun is a
dilute. Brown tends to fade more readily in the sun. Pearl or orange eyes
(pearl preferred) with drab colored ceres. Horn colored beak and toenails.
Cream: Body and wing color is a very soft cream-gray blend, shading
to a rich golden cream on head and hackle. The wing bars shall be a rich
golden cream. Tail, a very pale cream-gray shading to ash-white with as little
flecking as possible with no flecking at all preferred. Pearl or orange eyes
(pearl preferred) with drab colored ceres. horn colored beak and toenails.
Checker: Checker is a pattern but is shown as a "color class" with
consideration given to balance in pattern and richness in color. The pattern
varies with the amount of light colored pigment base. The checker pattern
is made up of light and dark colored shades of the same color. The light
color appears as a "T" on the wing covert feathers. Checker class includes
checkers in all basic colors (ash red, blue, and brown) as well as their
dilutes. It also can include checkers that have had their pigment modified
by reduced, milky, pale, and the like, that leaves the checker appearance.
Checkers are various patterns that range from light to dark to velvet T-pattern
checks. Eye, cere, beak, and toenail color varies according to the feather
color.
Grizzle: Peppery combination of color and white. The grizzling effect
is most noticeable on the body, shoulder, neck, and head white nearly absent
on the wing and tail bars. Grizzle can be bred in all colors. pattern, and
markings as well as in conjunction with many other pigment affecting factors
(dilute, milky, etc. ). The classical "Dragoon Grizzle" is the expression
on a blue bar. Tortoiseshell effects are produced when grizzle is in conjunction
with checker. Pure grizzle produces storkmarks. Grizzle in combination with
spread or recessive red can produce an evenly grizzled bird but most often
produces black or red splashed appearing birds. Eye, cere, beak, and toenail
color varies according to feather color.
Saddle: Wings shall be marked evenly, the ten outside feathers
((primaries) being white, the rest, including the covert (shield) and scapular
(thumb) feathering to be colored. The body, except for the back, shall be
white. In barred varieties the wing barring shall follow the rules for color
under appropriate color description for the basic color and pattern involved.
Dark hazel or bull eyes with flash colored ceres. Flesh colored beak and
toenails.
Tailmark: The tailmark is basically a bird with a white body and a
colored tail. It is bred in all the standard colors. The color intensity
of the tail may vary from an intense solid to a delicate lace. A white back
cushion is preferred. Uniformity of marking is desired. Dark hazel or bull
eyes with flesh colored ceres. Flesh colored beak and toenails.
Bodymark: Basically a colored bird with a white tail. Bodymarks can
be bred in all the basic colors. The body plumage shall follow the rules
for that of its basic color. The front cushion shall be colored. The back
cushion shall be white. Eyes, cere, beak, and toenails correspond to basic
color.
Splash: A colored bird with between 25% and 75% of its plumage randomly dispersed
with white. Eyes, cere, beak, and toenails vary.
Mismarked: A colored bird with less than 25% of its plumage white. A white
bird with less than 25% of its plumage colored. A tailmark with less than
75% of its tail feathers carrying color. A bodymark with less than 75% of
its tail feathers white. A saddle with less 75% color in the shield area.
Eyes, cere, beak, and toenails correspond to basic color.
AOC (Any Other Color): This classification is to be used for recognized
colors where classes are too small to be competitive. As all birds in this
class will be of recognized colors, color and/or marking points will be awarded.
This class is not to be used as a catch-all for mismarked birds. Rules pertaining
to individual plumage descriptions, eye, eye cere, and toenail colorations
shall apply.
NCC (Non Classified Colors): This classification is to be used for those
colors that have not as yet been recognized. It is also to be used for marked
birds of a color that has not as yet been recognized as well as for any new
marking that has not as yet been recognized. There will be no allowance for
color and/or marking points for birds competing in this classification.
DISQUALIFICATIONS: Any sign of sickness: coughing, sneezing, canker, diarrhea,
going light; deformities: webbed feet, crooked mandibles, pock disfigurations;
external parasites: lice, mites.