Interpretation test card.

The inspection card
During the inspection of the animal, the judge will write down his or her findings about the animal on the inspection card. For many novice enthusiasts, interpreting such a map is not easy, which is why some attention will be paid to it.

Although there are differences in the inspection cards of guinea pigs, rabbits, pigeons or other poultry, these cards are broadly similar. Three major parts can be distinguished on each of them:

• At the top some organizational matters are mentioned such as the show, the date of inspection and the loft number. Furthermore, the animal is also identified here, for which the breed and color of the animal are mentioned as well as the gender (male or female), the age (young = of the current year, old = perennial) and the identification number. This is proof that it is about this specific animal and the inspector must always check this data.
• The actual inspection of the animal is displayed in the middle of the map. Here are the major differences between the animal groups, which will be discussed below.
• Stamp or signature of the judge and the predicate that the judge will award based on the state of the breed and the color. The official inspection system is used when awarding this predicate. This predicate varies from 90 to 97. In contrast to the predicate in poultry, half-points can also be awarded for guinea pigs and rabbits. In addition, an animal can also receive the designation 0, / or NA. More about this later.

Inspection cards for guinea pigs and rabbits
As you can see on the examples of an inspection card for guinea pigs and for rabbits, both animals are tested according to the so-called '7 positions'. The certification card is divided into 7 sections, with sections 1, 2, 3 and 7 being the same for all varieties. Depending on which group the breed in question belongs to, positions 4, 5 and 6 will look at specific points of attention for that particular group. On the inspection card, the left-hand margin always explains the points for attention.

The inspection system for rabbits starts from a very good animal, which according to the predicate system should get 95 points. It is assumed that these animals will score very well at the different positions. The starting points for the different positions are the total number of points minus one, so 19/20 for 'type & construction' and 'fur' and 14/15 for the group-specific characteristics. It is assumed that both 'weight' and 'condition & care' are very good, so that here the maximum of the points (10 and 5 respectively) is awarded. All this brings the total to 95.

Then, based on the assessment of the animal, points will be deducted or added. When an animal excels in a certain trait, 0.5 (excellent) or 1 point (excellent) will be added. However, if there are comments at one or the other position, then one will deduct points for the seriousness of the error. This is usually 0.5 points per shortcoming. With position 2 'weight' the all-or-nothing principle applies: if the weight falls between the permitted margins, the animal gets 10 points. If the weight is outside this, this automatically means a / in this position.

The final total is determined by adding up the points of the different positions. If a 0, / or NA is given at one of the 7 positions (see below for the meaning of this), this will always be the final predicate of the animal. If a combination of these three occurs, the general priority rules are followed (see below).

Inspection cards for pigeons and fowls
As can be seen on the example of a blank inspection card for pigeons, this inspection card is split into three self-explanatory parts: qualities, wishes and errors. In contrast to guinea pigs and rabbits, the predicate is not a mathematical sum for pigeons and fowls, starting from predicate 95, but the predicate is formed by a number of rules:

• Only when there are only qualities on the inspection card can the animal be presented for 97.
• With one small wish, the animal receives the 96 mark.
• Depending on the degree of the wish (s), the predicate drops to 93.
• With one mention of 'errors', the animal can only obtain predicate 92. However, such an animal can still have distinct qualities!

Inspection cards for park & ​​water birds
In the latter group, the middle part of the inspection card is undivided (see example). Consequently, it is up to the judge to bring the necessary structure into the inspection card. As mentioned, type and construction will always have the greatest impact on the designation. An animal that has no B or VG on these components will never achieve a 96 or higher! The other comments are then considered and weighed in relation to the status of the breed and the color variety and thus determine the final predicate in a logical manner.

Meaning of the different predicates
With the intention of standardizing the predicates in Africa, the European use of point predicates is also being used in by AOBA. This predicate can vary between 90 (sufficient) and 97 (excellent). With the exceptions of rabbits and guinea pigs, it appears from the above that this number is not the sum of the different parts. So it has no mathematical significance, but is a way to express the total value of an animal.

In practice, a judge can only award the designations 90 to 96. When he or she is dealing with a top-class animal in all aspects, the animal is proposed for a 97. This will then be awarded or not by the main jury. A 97 is therefore the highest predicate that one can get from AOBA, which once again emphasizes that it is not a mathematical percentage. The three best animals are indicated per breed (eg 97-1, 96-2, 94-3) with a minimum predicate of 92.

In addition, a judge can award three other predicates:

• "AFTER." or "not accepted" means that the variety or color is not (yet) recognized by AOBA.
• "0" means that the animal has an exclusion error, which will usually be underlined on the inspection card. This error is irreversible and such an animal is therefore unsuitable for exhibiting. The list of exclusion errors of the different animal species can be found in the relevant standards.
• "/" means that the animal that cannot be assessed by the animal because it is not ready for exhibition, eg too young, too strong in moulting, disease symptoms, ectoparasites ... However, when this problem is solved, the animal will be able to be assessed to become.
• Logical priority rules prevail within these three predicates: NA> 0> /. An animal with an exclusion error in an unrecognized color will therefore "N.A." even though the exclusion error will be underlined, so that the breeder will be informed of this error. A too young animal with an exclusion error will be labeled "0" because this exclusion error will not have disappeared when the animal has grown out.

Interpretation
Many people focus too hard on the predicate and too little on what is written on the certification card. Yet the explanation on the map is actually more important than the point predicate, since the explanation is often more objective. Although the judges try to judge on the same line, one is a bit stricter or more generous than the other, so that small variations in the final designation can occur, even with the same explanation on the map. However, based on this explanation you can try to find out for yourself what specific qualities or shortcomings of this animal are. Then compare this with the other animals in your lofts or with animals from fellow breeders. That way you get to know your breed better and you grow into a specialist within your breed!

When filling in the inspection card, the following abbreviations are used:

B = beautiful = exceptionally good

VG = Very Good = standard (!)
G = Good = has slight wishes

S = sufficient = just good enough
M = moderate = with errors

I = Insufficient = with serious errors

When an animal scores "good" on a certain trait, this means that there are still light wishes and so there is actually still work to be done at the breeding store. A "good" animal is therefore not good enough for an exhibition breeder, since the aim is always to breed breed representatives as standard as possible. Only when an animal scores "very good" for a certain trait, does this mean that the animal approaches the standard for this trait and can you be satisfied as a breeder.