Bantam size

Dave,
Thats a really good question, I will have to do some research before I can answer that....lol.....leave it with me for a few days.

Good question ... and I will try to give you a educated answer to it from a judges point of view. You are correct in the fact that anything that varies 20 % should be disqualified according to the standard. This goes for most everthing in the standard if you read pages 28 - 34 in the most recent APA edition 0r pages 9 - 28 in the ABA latest adition ( soft cover is my reference) . Mind you there is an exception for Beltsville Small Turkeys (APA). In this hurried day of trying to get a show in and all the judging completed in one day and at little cost ( one judge or maybe two ) and the fact that we seldom use or see  the scorecard system but mainly use the scale of points system only as a reference for emphasis of importance on a particular area of a bird....the norm of the day is comparison judging. There is a good reference on page 11 of the Latest ABA ( Soft Cover) edition regardings weights and judging by score card and comparison judging. From the 1905 Standard of Perfection , " it shall be considered irregular for a judge to sign a scorecard unless a weight is considered , in all breeds and varieties regardless of the season"  This was back in a day when a judge may only judge one breed that day ( or weekend or over a course of a week depending on the duration of the show) in the various varieites of the breed ( bantams were not plentifull when this statement was written and varieites were at  a minimum for the most part) . Judges would have a full day or more to access and score and weigh each bird in a class of probably 150 birds give or take .. that may be all he/she does at the show. This is still common place  at shows in many countries such as South Africa and several european countries. Unfortunatly these days judges are expected to judge 400-650 per day and be accurate at that. I personally would not hire a judge that could not complete at least 400 birds per day. Just part of running a show and economics. . Back in the day the birds would be weighed as they entered the show hall and the weights would be recorded on the tag and this is then considered when scoring the birds along with the scale of points..  This in theory is they way birds are supposed to be judged and  placed.. giving the exhibitor a true score of the bird.. and how close it is to the standard on a scale of points according to the judge of record. Even though it may be first place  the bird may have only scored a 75 , second place was at  60 points  and 3rd was at 45 points ... this gives you a true evaluation of the birds worth. Unfortunatly these days ... most people today can't get their entry in by the closing date let alone get the birds to the show in the morning  in time to have every bird checked in weighed and recorded  and wait around for a judge to get a score on every bird. Few shows with exceptions of large nationals in the USA are more than one day shows.. to me an unfortunatly reality. The social aspect is my preference at shows. Not trying to offend  by my statement of on time entries....but just experience over my 30 + year carear as a show secretary...  The Score card method is just not a practicle practice in the times we live in. This then opens the " Comparison Judging "meathod that is used through out North America. With this meathod there is some wiggle room on weights...as it is left up to the judge to determine by handling what is in weight range... as if we actually  weigh one bird to determine over or under.... to level the playing field every bird in the room must be weighed.This does not happen. This leaves it up to the judge to determine if birds are over weight or under weight. In pigeons judging  most breeds do not put weight into consideration when judging , but rather do give dimensions with actual perameters and measurements. Our standards state weight only when refering to size. I get this quite often after judging a class with the question , " don't you think that bird is too big?" I always answer with the referance to the standard and the fact we would have to weigh it and evey other bird in the room which would change many results I feel both in large and bantams.. and especially in geese and turkeys.... So you are correct in your assumption of type , color and condtion taken into consideration over just weights  when comparison judging is being conducted. I must stress emphasis on the type. If you do not have type.... you have nothing .... you can paint a rickady old shack any color you want it is still a rickady old shack... On weights I feel it is the responsiblity of the breeder to keep this in check. I weigh my birds on occassion to ensure I am not too far off the mark and encourage every breeder to weigh their birds as well.As stated in the standard it is a breed characteristic. No different than any other characteristic. I compare it to the examples of side springs or stubs... if your breed is too have a single comb and it starts to have extra points coming off the plain of the comb . If left unchecked how many generations until this comb does not resoemble a single comb. No different than stubs ... if allowed to be ,how long before you would have a bird that is supposed to have a clean leg having a feather leg. In both cases the reasons these are considered disqualifications is if left unchecked they birds would not live up to the characteristcs laid out in the standard for that particular breed.. So in closing if weights are left unchecked bantams would soon require goose pens to fit them at shows.... ..not a breed characteristic. Hope that this has helped and answered some of your question. Let the discussion begin.... lol.
Troy 

Thanks Troy! I am new to exhibition poultry and it seems like a very odd rule to me. I was pretty surprised when I tossed the birds on the scales. Carefully reading the standard - probably twenty times through - is what lead me to make this post. It seems to me that if judges don't weigh the birds, they can't disqualify them for weight, so it should be changed to something we can more easily measure... Like if all things equal, the smaller bantam wins... Or something like that.
I am a judge for finches and softbills and that is how the standard reads for zebra finches... The opposite though... All things equal, the larger bird wins. but because it is direct comparison judging, it is easy to measure. Also it is clear that it is the last thing to consider when judging them.
Dave