The American Poultry Association (APA) is the oldest

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, qu ...

organization in the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. It was founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932. The first American

poultry show A poultry show is a specific subset of a livestock show that involves the exhibition and competition of exhibition poultry, which may include chickens, domestic ducks, domestic geese, domestic guineafowl and domestic turkey. Domestic pigeon ar ...

was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in response to the burgeoning need for an overseeing body to set standards for poultry breeds and to administer judging. A year after its foundation, the Association published the first ''

American Standard of Perfection The ''American Standard of Perfection'' is the official breed standard for the poultry fancy in North America. First published in 1874 by the American Poultry Association, the ''Standard of Perfection'' (commonly referred to as "the ''Standard''" ...

'', which to this day is the most widely used and respected handbook on poultry breed standards. The APA continues to publish and expand the ''Standard'', and aims to promote all aspects of

poultry fancy Animal fancy is a hobby involving the appreciation, promotion, or breeding of pet or domestic animals. Fancy may include ownership, showing, animal sports and other competitions, and breeding. Hobbyists may simply collect specimens of the anima ...

by certifying official judges, sponsoring shows, fostering youth participation, and advocating for its members, in both the U.S. and

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The Poultry Standard of Perfection

Once the APA was formed in 1849, they made it their first order of business to create a standard for American poultry breeds. Six members from the original meeting came together to develop the first Standard of Excellence. It was adopted at the January 15, 1874 meeting in Buffalo, New York, as the official guidebook for poultry judging in North America. The first Standard described 46 breeds, some with multiple varieties, in its 102 pages. It was (and still is) the bible of standard bred poultry for breeders and judges. The next edition, in January, 1875, the Standard was expanded to 243 pages, encompassing 79 breeds and varieties. In 1888, they changed the name to the Standard of Perfection as requested by Mr. H. H. Stoddard. The idea behind the change came from the fact that there could be many degrees of excellence in various birds, while the specifications in their book described a bird which reached perfection.

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* * * * * * * * {{Authority control Agricultural organizations based in the United States Breeder organizations Poultry farming in the United States Poultry fancy organizations 1873 establishments in the United States

The Poultry Standard of Perfection

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