Anyone Show Chickens?

[Chickenma2021]

In the spring I'm hoping to show my chickens at a local fair. I was wondering "does anyone on BYC show chickens?" So now I'm here. It will be my first time showing chickens and I just had a few questions. First, what are the requirements? Any weight or height the chicken has to be? Any special requirements? Next, Is there a dress code? I know in cow showing there is a dress code but I'm not sure about chickens. Last, What should I do to get my chicken in tip-top condition to possibly win a show? Thanks to anyone who replies it will help!!!

 

[_Moon_]

Hi! I show bantam silkies, bantam Rhode island reds, and bantam wyandottes. No there is no dress code, that I know of. It depends on weight, if you are showing meat birds, then yes you do weigh them. But other classes, standard, bantam etc, do not have to be weighed. When I get ready for a show, I always wash my silkies, like a dog. When I get my normal feathered birds ready, i just put Vet Rx on their combs and wipe off any dirt and poop off with a baby wipe. After i wipe them, i then put show sheen on them, because it makes them shiny. Hope this helped.

---Moon

 

[FluffyBottomBantams]

hi! I breed and show Belgian d’Uccles. If you are participating in showmanship (an activiry that is held at the poultry shows, you will basically stand there with your chosen bird demonstrate the different body parts, how well handled your bird is, and the info you know about it, anyway that’s for people under 18, consult YouTube if that is something you’d be doing) showmanship requires a dress code, typically close toed shoes, dark pants, a white shirt and your hair back. Unless you are doing that you don’t need to worry about dress code.
To know what your bird is supposed to look like you can reference the APA (American Poultry Association) standard of perfection, and the ABA (American Bantam Association) has a version as well. It will also tell you what weight your bird is supposed to be at. But you really don’t need to worry about weight, as long as they aren’t visibly under or over their desired weight. I’ve also heard of ties between birds being settled through weighing them…
Your bird should be bathed, toenails trimmed and tidy, and beak as well (no overbite or anything funky like that) they also look nice with a bit of baby oil on their comb and wattles. That entire procedure as well as how to actually bathe a chicken is super easy to find on YouTube.
Best of luck with your show it’s a lot of fun, you get to meet all sorts of interesting people as well as their birds lols

 

[Jpduguay]

To do well in the shows you will want to have purebred birds, not hatchery birds. You should attend shows, talk to breeders/exhibitors, and get quality birds from them. You can find shows on Poultry Show Central. I recently published a book on showing Modern Game Bantams. There is a chapter on how to get into showing. You can find more on my facebook page "Modern Game Bantam Publication."

 

[black_cat]

To do well in the shows you will want to have purebred birds, not hatchery birds. You should attend shows, talk to breeders/exhibitors, and get quality birds from them. You can find shows on Poultry Show Central. I recently published a book on showing Modern Game Bantams. There is a chapter on how to get into showing. You can find more on my facebook page "Modern Game Bantam Publication."

Are hatchery birds not purebred? I was under the impression that hatchery birds (such as my white leghorn in my profile picture) are purebred, but not necessarily (or almost ever) good quality, let alone show quality.

 

[Jpduguay]

Are hatchery birds not purebred? I was under the impression that hatchery birds (such as my white leghorn in my profile picture) are purebred, but not necessarily (or almost ever) good quality, let alone show quality.

Hatchery birds may or may not be purebred. But in order to compete in a show the birds need to line up with the Standard of Perfection or Bantam Standard (put out by the American Poultry Association and American Bantam Association, respectively). Hatchery birds are not bred to meet the standard. if you compared a exhibition bird and a hatchery bird, say a Rhode Island Red, there will be a big difference between the two. That's not to say hatchery birds are somehow inferior. But if someone wants to show then their birds need to line up with the Standard and hatcheries don't breed birds to look like exhibition birds.

 

[black_cat]

Hatchery birds may or may not be purebred. But in order to compete in a show the birds need to line up with the Standard of Perfection or Bantam Standard (put out by the American Poultry Association and American Bantam Association, respectively). Hatchery birds are not bred to meet the standard. if you compared a exhibition bird and a hatchery bird, say a Rhode Island Red, there will be a big difference between the two. That's not to say hatchery birds are somehow inferior. But if someone wants to show then their birds need to line up with the Standard and hatcheries don't breed birds to look like exhibition birds.

Thank you for explaining!

 

[Chickenma2021]

Do you know any of the rules/regulations in general for standards? I'm not sure the breed standards for my chickens but what are some examples of things that will get me disqualified? I know with dog shows, They should be a certain weight, size and have proper coloring for their breed. Any examples for a leghorn?

 

[black_cat]

I know with dog shows, They should be a certain weight, size and have proper coloring for their breed.

It’s not actually that simple- some disqualifications are based on those criteria, but judges are actually looking for a lot more. The individual features that make one breed different from another are called type. Breed type is often based on what the breed was bred for originally. A draft dog should have strong bone and joints so that they can pull carts, and a hunting dog must be able to run in the most efficient way possible so that they don’t tire quickly. For chickens, you want a barred rock to be much meatier than a leghorn, because they were bred as dual purpose birds.There are some more superficial traits as well- for example, I show a dog that has a short neck. It doesn’t effect his ability to do his job very much, but it is still incorrect.
When an animal looks like it is meant to but is lacking in true type, it is called being common. Pet bred dogs are often quite common, and I’d imagine so are hatchery chickens. I am not involved in the world of chicken showing (I’m watching this thread because it’s an interesting topic) but I would think that there are similar concepts.

 

[Jpduguay]

Poultry judges go by the Standard of Perfection put out by the American Poultry Association and the Bantam Standard put out by the American Bantam Association. You can get a copy of these books from their websites. The Standard covers everything you will need to know about what traits your bird should have, disqualifications, etc.