4h tips plz!

[WildCHILD400]

Hi I'm completely new to 4h and I'm going to show my red Cochin Frizzle Bantam cockerel and he lets me hold him properly, spread and move his wings and stand in his pose but what else will he have to do and any tips about how to help him pose and stay and not get distracted? Any other tips about 4h I would be grateful for. Thx

 

[LilJoe]

By what you said, I'm guessing your doing showmanship and not in-cage showing.

 

[I Love Layers]

By what you said, I'm guessing your doing showmanship and not in-cage showing.

Even birds in in cage showing should be able handled before hand. It makes the judges job easier which can get you better placing.

Hi I'm completely new to 4h and I'm going to show my red Cochin Frizzle Bantam cockerel and he lets me hold him properly, spread and move his wings and stand in his pose but what else will he have to do and any tips about how to help him pose and stay and not get distracted? Any other tips about 4h I would be grateful for. Thx

When practicing posing count to a timr and if he stays still reward him. Start out with small times such as 10 seconds. I usually start working with my birds 1 month before and within 2 weeks I have them to the point where I can stand back 10 feet and they will stand there.
Study a bunch, figure out how you want to bathe him, prepare a box of what you need for prepping him and registration, money, and whatevere else you need

 

[WildCHILD400]

Hi so thx so much that's kind of what I have kind of been doing so what's the difference between showmanship and cage showing

 

[Hanna8]

One thing that I guess made me and my roo stand out from the crowd in showmanship (I once had a judge training another judge and making comments to him) is how I set him down. I didn’t just plop him down, let go, and ask him to pose. I instead held on to him and kept him stable until he found his feet.

It would help you if he’s comfortable being tilted around while you hold him, even rolled briefly onto his back. He should also be comfortable with you touching his face and manipulating his legs while you hold him.

For posing, train him to pose using mealworms or another enticing treat and gradually make them stand prettily longer before getting it. Practice without a visible mealworm *before* show time. Clicker training can help a lot with this.

It’s super important that you’re friendly with the judge. Smile a lot and make tons of eye contact. You’re naturally going to want to focus on your chicken the whole time, but they’re ultimately judging you on your handling skills and those should be second nature to you by now- not something requiring all your attention. Don’t sweat it if your bird doesn’t behave- shows are stressful and this gives you a chance to show that you can hold on to and calm a flustered bird. Again, in showmanship, they’re mostly judging *you* and not so much your chicken.

You should know all about your selected bird. Breed, variety, class, other breeds in their class, the use/purpose of the breed, details from the breed’s standard, specific examples of ways your bird deviates from the standard, etc. as well as general info about chickens.

Don’t stress too much or expect a lot from your first go at it! Just have fun and soak in everything going on. Each show and judge does showmanship a bit differently so I recommend chatting with people who’ve been doing it there a while. Competition in my area at least was pretty friendly so they’d probably be happy to give you a better idea of what to expect.

This was pretty rambly, but I hope it helped!

 

[LilJoe]

Hi so thx so much that's kind of what I have kind of been doing so what's the difference between showmanship and cage showing

Showmanship Is where you answer questions, pose your bird, and show the instructor the parts of the bird he/Sherlock asked to see. From what I understand it's to test your chicken knowledge. I have never shown in showmanship. In-cage showing is well.... where you have your bird in a cage. The judge judges every bird according to their breed standard. Breeders breed for years to try to create the 'perfect' bird.

 

[LilJoe]

*she not sherlock

 

[WildCHILD400]

You didn't ramble you helped me a lot. So if I do in cage showing about how long is he in the cage and do I ever take him out?

 

[LilJoe]

You didn't ramble you helped me a lot. So if I do in cage showing about how long is he in the cage and do I ever take him out?

He would stay in there throughout the whole show. The only time you woukd need to take him out is when he gets poop on his behind or if he gets dirty somewhere else. Eventually the judge will come around ,take him out, and judge him.

 

[WildCHILD400]

What would u guys recommend for me?