| British Hamster Association Standards September 2002 Feature Heads (Syrians) [Scroll down for judging.] | This month's feature has to do with the shape of the hamster's head and how it is set into the body. Head shape is judged within the Type category which accounts for 25 of the possible 100 show points. "The head shall be large in proportion to the body with a broad skull, short face and blunt nose. The head shall be well set into the body, the profile showing a smooth curve from nose over head, to nape of neck."  | These two photos show the full face and profile views of hamsters with well-formed heads. (Left: used by permission of Lorraine Hill. Right: Cream from AAA Hamsters) |  |  | This photo shows the best way to evaluate head proportions. A line drawn from ear to ear (nearest point of each) should ideally be the same length as a line drawn from the center of the first line down to the top of the nose. (Used by permission of Lorraine Hill.) |  | Two Bad Heads Both are long, narrow and pointed. Between the ages of about 2 and 4 months heads can go through a "rat-like" stage before they mature. The hamster on the right looks young so may well improve with age but still it will never attain an ideal shape. |  | (Click here for the Dwarf head page.) | That's it! Now go take some pictures of your favorite "best head" hamsters, and upload them to the BHA Standards Photo Gallery. (Photo tip: try for two views - one profile and one straight on.) No camera? Surf the web for photos of hamsters with great heads, and submit a link on the BHA Standards Links List. In your post be sure to indicate which hamster you're entering on the linked page in case there is more than one. If multiple people submit the same link, credit will go to the first. (No links to hamsters at AAA Hamsters, The River Road Hamstery or the California Hamster Association.) Only two hamsters entered per member per month please. Multiple photos for each are fine, if needed. Questions? Post to the BHA Standards Message Board. Remember - enjoy your hamsters, and... | 
| Have your Standards! | Linda and Jan | | Judge's Page by Linda Price | We use the same general criteria in judging syrian and dwarf heads even though the exact size and shape are a bit different. These are the general criteria: 1. The broadness of the head
2. The bluntness of the head
3. The fullness of the face
4. The proportionate size of the head to the body size Any deviations on any of these criteria would result in deductions in the type score. The type score is 25 out of the total 100 points for scoring a hamster. Remember that we are only looking at the head portion of type this month and will look at the body portion of type next month. A judge would view them both together in determining the overall type score. Before discussing the winners, I want to give the overall impression of this group. In general, the heads for both dwarves and syrians were too narrow. It was most evident in the width between the ears on the hamsters. Also, many of the faces were pointed without the fullness in the muzzle giving a rat-like nose. Additionally, the overall fullness in the head was also often lacking and was particularly noticeable in the eye-set on many of the hamsters. These are the same weaknesses I see on the show bench in California and which I strive to improve upon in my own animals. This should be one of the key criteria that we each evaluate when choosing animals for breeding. Through selection, we can improve the heads in our animals. |  | The winner for this month is Tootsie. Tootsie has the best overall head among the syrians. He best fits the four criteria. The different views show that he has broadness, fullness, and bluntness. Note the distance between his ears which exceeds an average US hamster. In addition, he has a big head which matches well with his body size. |  | Chip is one of the runners-up for the head contest. He has different strengths than Buttler. His strength is in the bluntness of his head giving him a less pointed head than Buttler. You can see that his muzzle is wider. You can also see his lack of fullness by viewing his eyes in the head-on shot. See how his eyes look sunken into his face. With greater fullness, the eyes would appear less sunken and more visible in this view. When breeding him, you'd look for a female who has a even broader head with more fullness. With the right partner, he is a good start in a breeding program. |  | Buttler has a reasonable head. With his strengths, he could be useful in breeding toward the optimal BHA standards head. You can see that he has reasonable width between his ears and reasonable fullness to his head. The main weakness is in the pointedness of his head. He needs a blunter head and should have a mate with this characteristic. His head might also be a bit small and dainty for his body. A full body view would better assess this. He would be a good start, though, in a breeding program for BHA standards. | Congratulations to our winners! |
