Anyone shown at county fair in Florida???

[aqhaktberry3]

What are the age requirements to show a chicken at the county fair? What do you do to "show" your bird? Do you HAVE to be in 4h or ffa? Do you have to be youth or are there adult classes? Any info would be amazing! I am in Florida. Thanks!

 

[Shadowhills Farm]

At most shows there is the Youth and Open division. Youth have to be in 4-H or FFA, Open is for anyone.

Showing is pretty easy. The chickens (and ducks) are put in separate cages and the judge goes around to each one and judges them and puts their placing on the coop tag.

The prep for a show is a little bit more intense; grooming, bathing, blowdrying....it takes me about 4-5 hours to get everyone prepared....

I know there is TON more info on here; just gotta dig it up.

 

[cmom]

Just a suggestion but you might want to include where you live in the topic. (Anyone shown at county fair in Florida???)

 

[easttxchick]

I am hoping to show my Lakenvelder rooster in a few weeks at our State Fair. I'm going to enter him in the Open Category and hope for the best!
He's just gonna love getting a bath and blow dry. Rooster day spa will be opening soon!
Good luck if you decide to show.

 

[aqhaktberry3]

Thanks for the suggestion I edited it. Do you have to physically show the bird? Or do they just view them from the cage? I was thinking of entering one of my marans. What do you have to do to prepare them? Thanks again for your help!

 

[Shadowhills Farm]

Quote:
Unless you are doing showmanship, you don't have to physically "show" the bird, unless the judge needs to see the bird better; they may call the exhibitor over to help with the bird. Most of our birds are comfortable being held.

Preparing them- you have to file their toenails, beaks, clean combs and wattles, clean leg shanks, make sure there are no external parasites (mites) on them.

Bathing- https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=292041&p=1

 

[aqhaktberry3]

Thanks! What do they typically look for?

 

[Shadowhills Farm]

Quote:
They look to see if the bird being shown has the standards of it's breed.

You said you have a Maran, correct? Marans can be shown, and the highest placing they can get is Best of Breed. The American Poultry Association has not accepted the breed nor the standards yet.

We have 2 Marans here- a Black Copper Hen and a Blue Splash Maran Cockerel. The BCM can't be shown because she has too much yellowing on her leg shanks and feet. The Splash, however, can be, he's just too young right now.

 

[aqhaktberry3]

So would it be better to show a different breed? I have RIR's, barred rock, ameraucana, white leghorn. Can you show more than one chicken? Here are some pictures of my marans.

 

[Shadowhills Farm]

You can show as many chickens as you like

There is a show coming up March 27th in Arcadia, about 3 hrs south of where I live.

Can you post pics of your other chickens? I would say go with the RIRs and Barred Rock.

Are your Marans feather legged or clean legged?