BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 16, 2021
Robert Hawes, 86, is a poultry fancier — a person who breeds, raises and shows poultry. He’s on the board of directors of Central Maine Bird Fanciers and he holds a doctorate in chicken genetics. While these fancy show birds lay eggs, mate, cluck, crow, quack, honk or fly like their barnyard brethren, that’s where the similarities stop. Show birds are subject to intense scrutiny by judges, and they’re only allowed to reproduce if they meet every exacting standard of the breed. For a show bird, it’s all about the look and temperament. It’s breed specific and codified from the tip of its beak to the end of its plumed tail in “The Standard of Perfection.” The book was first published in 1874 by the American Poultry Association. It’s currently in its 44th edition and includes 60 breeds of poultry.