4-H

[vizslamom]

she 4

sorry hit reply too fast . She's 4 years old

 

[nchls school]

she 4

Four years old? Serama-tiny, docile, friendly. They are the only chicken I have had that seeks me out; just not for food, but to be held and petted. One little pullet flies to my shoulder whenever I am near. Little Rusty and Wart prefer sitting on my lap; I set them away from me and they are right back-little boomerangs.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Another nice small breed is the Dutch Bantam. They usually have excellent temperaments (even the roosters), are very inquisitive and sweet birds, lay a decent number of small white eggs, make very good showmanship birds, and weigh just a couple ounces more than Seramas.

 

[Dad of the coop]

I really like Dominique bantams for showmanship and starter birds they are easy to keep clean and are not that flighty like old english. The problem with crested breeds are that they can not see when walked during showmanship and are hard to keep clean.

 

[Poka Doodle]

I am in 4-H, I have an amazing Belgiun Bearded D'Anver that does really well at shows, especially in showmanship, for junoirs silkie ish is were you might want to start. Feel free to PM me with any 4H questions you may have

 

[SeaderHausFarm]

I would agree that a clean legged bantam would be better for a smaller or younger child to handle. If the kiddo is doing 4H then the bird will be easier to show for all the previously mentioned reasons. Showmanship itself is more about the person showing the bird than about the bird itself but it just has a cleaner line and is a little easier to judge in terms of walking the bird and so on (though we just finished fair and my daughter did showmanship with her blue Silkie roo). I love the D'Anvers too. We had a very sweet, calm hen for a long time and she was a fantastic showmanship bird.

4H is a great way for kids to learn more about their birds and gain confidence in presenting information to others, imho.

 

[BantamSlave02]

Not Cochins. They're jerks. I suggest getting some Old English Game Bantams. Everyone at our fair loves mine and another lady's. They are calm, let you do whatever you want to them, and naturally pose. Mine are hatchery birds from chickensforbackyards.com and she placed first in the pullet class in the breed show. I'm planning on breeding her next year along with her two sisters and the other lady's is getting bred too. Good luck finding your show bird!

 

[BantamSlave02]

I also forgot to mention that during the walking portion of showmanship she ran as fast as she could down the table and back in a perfectly straight line. She was the most well behaved bird there. I placed first in Showmanship with her too. And a hint of advice for training these birds and taming them, stock up on grapes.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Not Cochins. They're jerks. I suggest getting some Old English Game Bantams. Everyone at our fair loves mine and another lady's. They are calm, let you do whatever you want to them, and naturally pose. Mine are hatchery birds from chickensforbackyards.com and she placed first in the pullet class in the breed show. I'm planning on breeding her next year along with her two sisters and the other lady's is getting bred too. Good luck finding your show bird!

The problem I see with Old English Game bantams is that if you want to show cocks (roosters), you have to dub them. This may prove daunting for a new, young poultry owner. True, you can just show the females or only cockerels, but if you ever want to show mature males they'll need to be dubbed.

And, I must add, the Cochins I've had were very gentle and sweet pets/show birds. It probably varies from line to line, and depends on whether they are hatchery birds or true breeder birds, but I had great success with my two Cochin Bantams from a show breeder.

 

[BantamSlave02]

My birds are all hatchery birds, the three Barred Cochins are snuggly but the two Golden Laced ones are brats, they refuse to be caught, squawk when caught, and are jerks in general.