The British Poultry Standard is the oldest poultry fancybreed standard in the world. It is published by the Poultry Club of Great Britain and is the official reference standard used by judges at poultry shows within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Front cover of the sixth edition of the British Poultry Standards[1]
The standard was first published in 1865 by the original Poultry Club of Great Britain,[2] a club which existed for only three years.[3] It was entitled The standard of excellence in Exhibition Poultry and was edited by William Bernhardt Tegetmeier.[2] It was the first publication of its kind. The compilation of the standard was then taken over by the second, current Poultry Club of Great Britain.[3] The number of editions of the standard that have been published is uncertain, as each successive publisher that has been used by the Poultry Club of Great Britain has started again with a first edition.[3] The edition published in 2019 by Wiley-Blackwell is the seventh in the current numbering.[4]
The standard is the official reference for use by judges at poultry shows in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It contains breed standards of more than 150 breeds of chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys; pigeons are not included.
Editions of the standards include, but probably are not limited to, these:
———. The Poultry Book: comprising the breeding and management of profitable and ornamental poultry, their qualities and characteristics; to which is added the Standard of Excellence in exhibition birds, authorized by the Poultry Club. [S.l.]: Routledge, 1867.
———, Harrison Weir (illustrator). The Poultry Book: comprising the breeding and management of profitable and ornamental poultry, their qualities and characteristics; to which is added "The Standard of Excellence in Exhibition Birds," authorized by the Poultry Club. London; New York: George Routledge and Sons, the Broadway, Ludgate, 1867.
———. The standard of excellence in exhibition poultry, authorised by the Poultry Club, to which is added the American standard. Reprinted from the original editions, with additions. London, 1874.
Alexander Comyns (editor). The Standard of Perfection for Exhibition Poultry. London: Office of the Poultry Club, [1886].
T. Threlford (editor), Lewis Wright (introduction). The Poultry Club Standards. Containing a complete description of all the recognised varieties of fowls, third edition. London: Cassell, 1905.
[Poultry Club of Great Britain]. British Poultry Standards: Complete specifications and judging points of all standardised breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed societies and recognised by The Poultry Club of Great Britain. London: Poultry World in association with the Poultry Club of Great Britain, [1954].
[Poultry Club of Great Britain]. British Poultry Standards. Complete specifications and judging points of all standardised breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed societies and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain, revised edition, with illustrations. London: Poultry World, [1960].
C. George May (editor). British Poultry Standards: Complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the Specialist Breed Societies and recognized by the Poultry Club of Great Britain. London: Iliffe Books, 1971.
———, David Hawksworth. British Poultry Standards: Complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the Specialist Breed Societies and recognized by the Poultry Club of Great Britain. London; Boston: Butterworth Scientific, 1982.
———. British Poultry Standards: Complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the Specialist Breed Societies and recognized by the Poultry Club of Great Britain, fourth edition, revised by David Hawksworth. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific, 1994. ISBN0632038799.
Victoria Roberts (editor). British Poultry Standards: Complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the Specialist Breed Societies and recognized by the Poultry Club of Great Britain, fifth edition. Oxford: Blackwell Science, 1997. ISBN0632040521.
