sac : A bag-like part of an animal or plant, often containing some
special fluid.

saddle: the rear of back extending to juncture of back and tail of a male fowl, covered with long pointed feathers known as "Saddle Feathers".

scales: the thin horny growths completely covering the shanks and top of the toes of a fowl.

scaly leg: a defective condition of the shanks and toes of a fowl caused by a small burrowing mite and results in an encrustation or deposit upon and beneath the scales.

SCCL:  Single Comb Clean Leg

scoop-bill: a concave depression in the top of the bill of a waterfowl; a disqualification.

secondaries: the long stuff wing feathers growing from the middle wing segments, next to the primaries. When the wing is folded, the exposed secondaries form a triangular area known as the "wing bay".

set : To incubate.

sex feathers: (1) the pointed feathers in the hackle, back, saddle, sickles and wing-bow of a male fowl, and which differ from the oval shape feathers in the same sections of the female. (2) the two top feathers in the tail of a male duck which curve upward and forward and by which sex in ducks is distinguished. shafting: color characteristic where shaft of a feather is either lighter or darker than color of the web. Standard requirement in some breeds; a defect in others.

shank: the portion of the leg below the hock, exclusive of the foot and toes, the metatarsus.

sickles: (1) main sickles: the prominent middle uppermost curving pair of long feathers in the tail of a mature male fowl. (2) lesser sickles: the long curved feathers of the male chicken tail, exclusive to the top two longest main-sickles, which hang to the side of and cover most if not all of the main tail.

side sprig: a well defined point or projection growing from the side of a single comb; a disqualification in all single combed breeds.

silkie: refers to the semi-plume character of the feathers of the Silkie fowl in which the shafts are very thin and the barbs are very long, very soft and fluffy, which have no holding power and no locking arrangement; structurally similar to the fluff of a normal feather.

slipped wing: applies to defects in manner of folding of primary feathers and carriage of the primary section of wing. Individual feathers may over-lap in reverse order (i.e., over instead of under each other from outer to inner or there may be a permanent tendency for entire section to be held outside secondaries instead of under) either phase or both is a disqualification.

sperm : The male reproductive cell

spike: the single, round tapering growth extending back from the rear of a rose comb. Sometimes known as a leader.

split comb: a definite division or split in the rear of the blade of a single comb; a disqualification.

split tail: one in which there is a distinct gap at the center of the base of the top main tail feathers, resulting from the permanent absence of a feather or feathers, or from the improper placement of main tail feathers resulting in disarrangement; a disqualification in cocks and hens.

split wing: one in which there is a distinct gap between the primary and secondary feathers, result- ing from the permanent absence of a feather; a dis- qualification. Note: Permanent absence of a feather is determined by absence of the feather follicle.

sport : The offspring of two purebred animals of the same breed that differs from its parents in some obvious way - often in colour. This is an uncommon occurrence.

spur: a stiff horny projection from the rear innerside of the shanks, rounded or pointed according to age, prominent in the male fowl, increasing greatly in size with age, sometimes multiple in character, as in Sumatras; occasionally found in females, but generally rudimentary. (1) Absence of males of Old English and Sumatras; a disqualification. (2) Presence on females of any breed, except Games and Sumatras; a defect. (3) Multiple spurs in any breed, except where specifically called for.

squirrel tail: one in which any portion projects forward of the vertical from its anterior base; a disqualification, except in Japanese Bantams.

station: a term applied to the ideal pose and symmetrical appearance, including height & reach in Modern Games.

still-air incubator: a container for hatching chicks that does not have mechanical ventilation.

strain: fowl of any breed or variety that have been bred as a closed population for a number of years and which reproduce uniform characteristics with marked regularity.

stub: a short section of the stem of a feather, sometimes with a few short barbs attached thereto; a disqualification when found in shanks, or on or between the toes of clean legged breeds. telescope comb: (1) a pea comb with an indentation at the rear; a disqualification. (2) a rose comb with an inverted spike; a disqualification.

testes : The male genital glands.

thumb marks: a disfiguring indentation in the side of a single comb; a defect.

thermometer : An instrument that measures temperature in degrees fahrenheit (F) or centigrade (C).

trio : When referring to birds this always means two females and one male.

twisted feather: a feather in which the shaft and web are twisted; a disqualification, if found in wing primaries or secondaries, main tail or sickle feathers, except in Sebastopol Geese and Frizzles.

variety : A distinct sub-type of a recognized breed. It is often distinguished from the others by colour.

vent : The external opening of the digestive tract and the reproductive system.

ventilation : Providing air

waddle : The walking motion of most ducks.

waterfowl : Birds that have webbed feet and like to swim.

Wattles The fleshy, red growths that hang from the side and base of the chicken's beak.

web foot: a condition in fowl other than waterfowl when the web unites the toes for a greater part of their length; a disqualification.

wet-bulb thermometer: a device to measure the amount of moisture or water vapor in the air.

wry tail: the tail of a fowl permanently carried to one side of the vertical; a disqualification.

yolk : The yellow part of the egg. It provides the nutrients for the developing embryo. The embryo itself starts off as a germinal disc sitting on the surface of the yolk.

yolk sac : A membrane that surrounds the yolk and connects it to the embryo's body.