Is Show quality worth it? APA vs Conventional

When we select a breed prior to purchasing, we most likely do research and look at photos online of the breed. Many times, people will find their favorite breed, purchase it cheap, then after months of waiting for the bird to reach maturity, they find it’s nothing like what they saw online. This is typical in many breeds, due to high genetic variation. But chickens that are specifically bred to meet the (APA) standard of perfection, typically will meet the breed’s description very well since they’re from a dedicated line of breeding towards perfection for showing/exhibition purposes. On the other hand, it’s normal for commercial hatcheries to mass produce certain breeds, and the line eventually loses its main characteristics- nothing against the large hatcheries… this is why this article is here— to see what suits you best.

American Poultry Association

The American Poultry Association (APA) has a plethora of recognized breeds that have a written standard with tons of characteristics and traits that the birds must be bred for. Chickens that meet this standard tend to represent the breed better.

APA bred

I’m going to use Wyandottes as an example. As shown above, there is quite a difference between the two. These birds must be extremely regulated from one generation to the other to retain that remarkable coloration, body type, and feathering. You can clearly see the “conventional” Wyandotte to the right has significant character loss to the authentic bird on the opposite side— they’re both pretty birds in my opinion, but obviously a good Wyandotte looks like a whole different breed from a poorly bred one.

Pros to APA standard

Almost birds bred to the APA standard of perfection will represent their breed extremely well and give you exactly what you were looking for. Many people enjoy well-bred animals, so the market is steady if you intend to breed and sell them, there is also a premium price for “Show quality” birds. Many times, APA standard lines aren’t only bred for how they look (phenotype) but often personality and temperament is regulated in APA strains to keep them pleasant to raise and exhibit.

Cons to APA standard

Ok, now that we’ve said all the positive things, let’s go over the negative things before it sounds too good to be true. Many APA standard bred chickens take longer to mature, have lower livability rates, and take longer to feather out than conventional chickens do. Most APA standard chickens are priced 5-10 times the cost of a hatchery bird, and only come straight-run— an example, you can purchase a Silver Laced Wyandotte day-old pullet from most feed stores for less than $5.00, but a straight-run show quality Wyandotte will normally cost $20-30 and need to be shipped from a breeder (if not found locally).

Pros to Conventional

Many times, conventionally bred chickens are bred for one key thing— egg production. So conventionally produced chickens are typically good egg layers who start laying fairly early, and are generally lower maintenance. Conventional chickens are easy to source— many times you’ll find hatcheries producing them year round.

Cons to Conventional

Typically conventional chickens don’t have exquisite breed character and may not resemble their breed as well as their APA cousins do. Conventional chickens often don’t have quite as laidback of a personality as APA chickens, and you might miss supporting a small scale hobbyist who is passionate and knowledgeable about their birds when you purchase from conventional sources.

So, there you have it, folks. APA chickens and conventional chickens both serve a purpose and serve it well. APA standard birds aren’t for everyone, but conventional is sometimes boring. Thankfully we get to choose— sometimes people have both… give ‘em a try!