A show ready polish!

[MajorHen]

Hello all! I am new to this website, so please do excuse any mistakes I may make ! I am in high school and we have got three polish chickens. My beautiful hen is a buff laced chamois and I would love to show her off at a show! I am totally new to show chickens due to all other chickens we’ve had being outdoor. I would love to get some feedback on exactly how to get a polish hen show ready ! And please do not spare any details as to what may be good-to-know knowledge.

 

[theoldchick]

https://poultrykeeper.com/chicken-breeds/exhibiting-polands-breed-standard/

Good luck!

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Hello all! I am new to this website, so please do excuse any mistakes I may make ! I am in high school and we have got three polish chickens. My beautiful hen is a buff laced chamois and I would love to show her off at a show! I am totally new to show chickens due to all other chickens we’ve had being outdoor. I would love to get some feedback on exactly how to get a polish hen show ready ! And please do not spare any details as to what may be good-to-know knowledge.

Hello, I show polish chickens and I'm also in highschool. The article that @theoldchick gave you covers everything for the breed standard that you need to know, so I will share my knowledge of grooming with you in a post below.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

The first thing you will do is wash them. I wash mine 4 days before the show if I can. I just use a coconut shampoo for people, but if your bird is really dirty/stained, you can use a whitening shampoo.

I start out by filling a tub with hot water, squeezing the soap in as it fills up. It depends on how much water you put in and what size the tub is, but this is how much I typically use:

After you have it filled up as much as you want, you can start washing the bird. Just slowly lower them down into to bucket/tub. I always use the soap that is already in the bucket and massage it into their feathers. I also wash their crest, but I only use my wet hand, and sometimes if the end of their crest feathers are very dirty, I turn them upside down and dip the end if the crest in it. But you always want to make sure that their nose and mouth/beak is not in the water. If they try to fly out, it helps sometimes by putting a towel over the top of the bucket, but either keep a small section uncovered to keep an eye on them, or make sure the water is really low. This works because then their feet, shanks, and belly are getting soaked and then when your not doing something else with another bird, you can hold their back and neck in the water.

After they soak for at least 10 minutes, I move them to another bucket of hot water, but with no soap, to rinse them.

After you know that you got all the soap out, wrap them in a towel for a few minutes. Then start blow-drying them. It helps if you comb your fingers through the feathers as your doing it. At first it's easier sometimes to go against the feathers, but after they start to dry it's better to go with the way they're naturally laying, so you don't mess any up.

My polish aren't like super quality, but I show them anyway for fun. They look way better now that they did at the show, as they had just went through a molt.

I will try to find a photo on the internet of a what a really good polish looks like.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

What do you feed your birds?

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

I will try to find a photo on the internet of a what a really good polish looks like.

These polishes have a very nice type, but this is just a painting. It was the best photo I could find. These are golden laced, hen on the left and rooster on the right.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

I also found this painting of buff laced polishes. (Not my photo.)

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Another thing I forgot because I was so focused on explaining the washing :


The night before the show, rub olive oil on their legs, combs, and if they are non-bearded, wattles, with a towel.

 

[Dottie the Chicken]

Thanks for the info, @Fluffy Lambs

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Thanks for the info, @Fluffy Lambs

Any time