Breed History:
Pair of white Toys
AFRICAN TOY STANDARD
SIZE: (8)
Medium sized pigeon, the height ranges between 10 to 11 inches. The length, measured from the chest to the tail’s tip, ranges between 10 to 11 inches (225 to 276 mm)
APPEARANCE: (5)
The Toy should be longish and wedge shaped: broad at the chest and tapering backwards to the tip of the tail. The stance appears slightly squatted.
HEAD: (5)
The head is slightly rounded with the forehead broad and prominent, wide at the rear to create a good basis for a prominent crest.
CREST: (25)
The crest is shell shaped, tight, high and wide as possible, eding in small rosettes on both sides. It is supported by thick mane and should blend into the crest showing no ap at the back of the neck. The crest should be emicircular in appearance: looking at it from the front it should form a half circle and from the side it should form quarter circle. The crest should start at the rear of the headwith a 90 degree angle with the top of the head.
BEAK & EYE: (5)
Beak (2): Fairly long and slender. Flesh colour in whites, dark in dark colours and dark splashes and horn or flesh colour in reds, yellows and light splashes. The wattle is white and not developed.
Eye (3): The eye cere corresponds with the colour of the beak. All white Toys and Toys with dominant white heads, should have dark eyes (bull eyes). Coloured Toys should have red, orange, yellow or false pearl eyes. Please note that red or orange is preferred. A Pearl eye should be treated as a fault only.
NECK: (3)
Medium in length, strong and broad at the shoulders.
BODY & CHEST: (10)
The body is rather long, wedge shaped: broad at the chest and tapering towards the tail. The chest is broad and rounded, protruding beyond
the wingbutts.
WINGS: (3)
Carried close to the body, flights resting on the tail without crossing. The wings should lie flat on the body to create a smooth appearance.
TAIL: (3)
Medium in length and carried closely to the ground. The tail feathers should not appear loose but must be tightly packed.
LEGS: (3)
Short to medium in length, fairly wide apart.
MUFFS: (25)
The hock feathers are well developed – no opening should be seen between the legs when looking at it from the front. The feet are well muffed with long, broad, compact feathers turned slightly backwards. The muffs shall form an unbroken outline to meet the hock feathers at the back. The muffs must lie flat on the ground. The muffs should be about 5 inch long (125mm) but should be in proportion to the size of the Toy.
COLOUR: (5)
Self colours: white, black, red, yellow and dun.
Barred and checkered: red, yellow, blue and silver.
Other standard colours like almond, mottles and coloured tails must be entered under Any Other Standard Colour.
POINTS: 100
FAULTS: Crest falling forward (capped)
Crest falling backwards (feathers open – too loose)
No rosettes
Brake between mane and crest
Wings that cross on tail
Sideboards (sables) on wings
Narrow chest
Coloured beak in whites
Flesh coloured beak in dark pigeons
Feathers that covers the eyes
Broken eyes, unmatched eyes
Inadequate muffs
Pearl eyes
DISQUALIFICATION: Entered in wrong class
Feathers that are cut (trim) – visible trimming
Sick pigeons
Pigeons invested with feather lice
SIZE: (8)
Medium sized pigeon, the height ranges between 10 to 11 inches. The length, measured from the chest to the tail’s tip, ranges between 10 to 11 inches (225 to 276 mm)
APPEARANCE: (5)
The Toy should be longish and wedge shaped: broad at the chest and tapering backwards to the tip of the tail. The stance appears slightly squatted.
HEAD: (5)
The head is slightly rounded with the forehead broad and prominent, wide at the rear to create a good basis for a prominent crest.
CREST: (25)
The crest is shell shaped, tight, high and wide as possible, eding in small rosettes on both sides. It is supported by thick mane and should blend into the crest showing no ap at the back of the neck. The crest should be emicircular in appearance: looking at it from the front it should form a half circle and from the side it should form quarter circle. The crest should start at the rear of the headwith a 90 degree angle with the top of the head.
BEAK & EYE: (5)
Beak (2): Fairly long and slender. Flesh colour in whites, dark in dark colours and dark splashes and horn or flesh colour in reds, yellows and light splashes. The wattle is white and not developed.
Eye (3): The eye cere corresponds with the colour of the beak. All white Toys and Toys with dominant white heads, should have dark eyes (bull eyes). Coloured Toys should have red, orange, yellow or false pearl eyes. Please note that red or orange is preferred. A Pearl eye should be treated as a fault only.
NECK: (3)
Medium in length, strong and broad at the shoulders.
BODY & CHEST: (10)
The body is rather long, wedge shaped: broad at the chest and tapering towards the tail. The chest is broad and rounded, protruding beyond
the wingbutts.
WINGS: (3)
Carried close to the body, flights resting on the tail without crossing. The wings should lie flat on the body to create a smooth appearance.
TAIL: (3)
Medium in length and carried closely to the ground. The tail feathers should not appear loose but must be tightly packed.
LEGS: (3)
Short to medium in length, fairly wide apart.
MUFFS: (25)
The hock feathers are well developed – no opening should be seen between the legs when looking at it from the front. The feet are well muffed with long, broad, compact feathers turned slightly backwards. The muffs shall form an unbroken outline to meet the hock feathers at the back. The muffs must lie flat on the ground. The muffs should be about 5 inch long (125mm) but should be in proportion to the size of the Toy.
COLOUR: (5)
Self colours: white, black, red, yellow and dun.
Barred and checkered: red, yellow, blue and silver.
Other standard colours like almond, mottles and coloured tails must be entered under Any Other Standard Colour.
POINTS: 100
FAULTS: Crest falling forward (capped)
Crest falling backwards (feathers open – too loose)
No rosettes
Brake between mane and crest
Wings that cross on tail
Sideboards (sables) on wings
Narrow chest
Coloured beak in whites
Flesh coloured beak in dark pigeons
Feathers that covers the eyes
Broken eyes, unmatched eyes
Inadequate muffs
Pearl eyes
DISQUALIFICATION: Entered in wrong class
Feathers that are cut (trim) – visible trimming
Sick pigeons
Pigeons invested with feather lice
The South African Toy Pigeon (Discussion document: compiled by Freddie Theron, edited by Johan van Hengel)
If one looks at the Toys that we have at the moment, they have evolved from what they were in old days: The body and neck have remained almost the same, but the head now carries a bigger crest and a wider frontal. The muffs have also become longer and fuller. This has made this breed so much more beautiful and attractive to look at. I have heard numerous great comments from the public attending the shows. In short: Toys are beautiful and attractive, a proud and lively bird and as a bonus a good, no nonsense breeder.
Discussing the Toy, in line with the set standard, as comprehensive as possible (we must keep in mind that the personal interpretation of certain aspects may differ). If everybody has clarity as to what is required, we can all work together in breeding the ideal Toy pigeon.
Size:
The Toy is a medium large sized pigeon, which is rather long and haunches (legs slightly bent) a bit. When it is in the judging ring, it must present itself as proud and challenging, never fearful.
Discussing the Toy, in line with the set standard, as comprehensive as possible (we must keep in mind that the personal interpretation of certain aspects may differ). If everybody has clarity as to what is required, we can all work together in breeding the ideal Toy pigeon.
Size:
The Toy is a medium large sized pigeon, which is rather long and haunches (legs slightly bent) a bit. When it is in the judging ring, it must present itself as proud and challenging, never fearful.
Body:
The body, as seen from the top, is clearly wedge shaped, being broad at the chest and narrowing down towards the tail. The toy presents itself as having power and stands in a slightly haunched (legs somewhat bent) position. The term power does not translate directly into size in the sense that bigger is better, but rather sturdiness/mass/volume in relation to size. The toy is not allowed to be as short, wide and low standing as the ‘n Eng. Trumpeter, and a long neck and narrow chest is also a n fault.
Head and Neck:
The head is slightly rounded with the frontal being prominent and broad. For a strong, prominent crest, the back of the head must be wide. With the forehead being broad, the eyes shall not be visible when viewed from the front. However, the eyebrows should not cover the eyes with feathers.
Crest
With the exception of the muffs, the crest is most probably the most important characteristic of the Toy as a breed. The crest must be shell shaped and as high and wide as possible, supported by a densely feathered, full mane which melts into the crest. A break between the mane and crest is not allowed. As seen from the front, the crest must be a full half circle. The crest must start on top of the back scull and end next to the head in a small, clearly visible rosette. I think that not everybody knows what the rosette looks like, therefore the large disparity and debate on the topic.
Eye colour:
The colour of the eye is the area with the biggest difference in opinion. The white Toys should have dark eyes (Bull eyes) and I think everybody accepts this. It is with the coloured Toys where the problems started. The current standard states that a false pearl eye is required, but in the new, revised standard it is proposed that yellow and orange (red) eyes are preferred to differentiate the Toy from the Russian Tumbler. Pearl eyes will be a disqualification. I think the novice will not be able to differentiate between pearl and false pearl eyes.
Body and Neck:
The body is relatively long and wedge shaped, tapering down towards the tail, with the broad chest protruding out well in front of the wing butts.
Die neck is strong and broad en is reasonable in length. Die Toy must have a strong prominent neck, smoothly joining up with the broad chest. If the neck is to narrow, it comes across as being to long and the broad chest and crest will also seem out of proportion.
Body and Neck:
The body is relatively long and wedge shaped, tapering down towards the tail, with the broad chest protruding out well in front of the wing butts.
Die neck is strong and broad en is reasonable in length. Die Toy must have a strong prominent neck, smoothly joining up with the broad chest. If the neck is to narrow, it comes across as being to long and the broad chest and crest will also seem out of proportion.
Wings and Tail:
With a broad chest, no saddles should be present. The wing butts must not protrude out in front of the chest and the wing tips must rest on the tail and must not cross at all.
The Toy’s tail is of medium length and is carried near the ground but must not touch it, even in a crouched position. The tail feathers are tightly packed on top of each other and the tail never appears narrow being about 2 feathers wide (+/- 2 inches).
Legs and Muffs:
The legs must present themselves as to being relatively short and be spaced well apart. The hocks are well developed and relatively long as seen from the front, closing the gap between the legs.
The muffs a worn flat on the ground and the length is in proportion to the pigeon. The suggested length is between 3,5 en 5 inches. A smaller pigeon that has 5 inch long muffs will seem to have longer muffs than a bigger bird with the same length muffs. The muffs form a totally unbroken curve reaching back and adjoining the hock feathers.
The pigeon with the denser and longer muffs presents itself much better than one with average density and length, as long as it does not resemble that of the Trumpeter.
Compared to the English Trumpeter:
Keeping al the above in mind, now compare the Trumpeter and the Toy pigeon and give some special attention to the difference in length, stance and the type of muffs in terms of density and length
Keeping al the above in mind, now compare the Trumpeter and the Toy pigeon and give some special attention to the difference in length, stance and the type of muffs in terms of density and length
Faults
The following faults have been identified:
Tailmarked:
The following faults have been identified:
- A crest that is too far back or to the front, or lying flat on the head.
- A break in the mane where it supports the crest.
- No rosette.
- Wings crossing.
- Sails on the wings.
- Narrow chest.
- Long thin neck.
- Wingbrow feathers covering the eyes.Onpaar oe of ‘n gebreekte oog
- Lacking muffs.
- Flesh coloured beaks in coloured birds.
- Coloured beaks in white birds.
- Crouched or to upright stanced birds.
Tailmarked: