Evaluating White-Faced Black Spanish

[ZenHens]

I'm going to be leading a poultry 4-H group in the fall and part of the curriculum is showing. I'd like to raise a chicken for my son to show at the fair, but I'm pretty sure my Barred Rocks are hatchery quality and MAYBE one of my Delawares might be serviceable. The other is somewhat speckled on her back.

I have WFBS and I thought perhaps the rarity might be an asset as they're not overbred and the breeder's adults looked great. How do I evaluate my pullets? Are there resources out there besides the standard? Like someone I can show them to? The breeder I bought them from doesn't show--I don't think it's even crossed his mind. He breeds them because he loves the breed and his main interest is his croc farm.

I know this sounds doofy, but I've shown dogs and horses, but have zero clue about showing chickens. I live in suburban Tampa Bay, on the coast, and had to travel three hours to find someone with WFBS as it was. I need a mentor, LOL. I have the basics down to teach five year-olds about chicken care, etc, but I have a ton of questions that go beyond the showing basics FAQs you find online.

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[mnferalkitty]

Isn't your son suppose to raise the poultry and show it? Or is it ok for others to raise poultry then have others show it? I was sonsidering letting my son join 4H but really don't know the rules yet.

 

[NYREDS]

Isn't your son suppose to raise the poultry and show it? Or is it ok for others to raise poultry then have others show it? I was sonsidering letting my son join 4H but really don't know the rules yet.

You're right, that is the expectation. However, too often it is the parent who does the work & makes the decisions. Too often at shows I see the parents prepping their child's bird to the extreme of not allowing the child to even touch his/her bird. It's too bad so many parents deny their children the opportunity to really accomplish something. I don't see how it benefits the child to have the parent raise a bird that the child shows. At one show I actually saw a father slap his child's hand when she tried to pet"her" chicken while he was prepping it for the show.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

At this point, I think that what is being asked for is a mentor to help give concrete information on how to understand the standard for white faced black spanish to help the parent evaluate whether her birds are reasonably close to the standard, and worth using or not.

No 5 year old can raise any animal entirely on their own. The trick is making sure that the child is participating in the care of the bird as much as possible taking into account their age. This is also an area where a mentor can help. Trimming nails or beak would not be something I would want a five year old doing, and even bathing would need close supervision. But feeding, watering, egg gathering, coop cleaning, are all areas where the child can participate, and for the former, and more demanding tasks, the child can still help by bringing each bird to Mama/Papa and helping hold the bird.

 

[ZenHens]

Thank you, Sonoran. That's exactly it. This is Cloverbuds, not an older group. It's perfectly acceptable for me to assist a five year-old with his chicken. One of the reasons we got chickens is to foster a sense of responsibility around livestock and as a family project. He loves feeding and he even helped us build the coop. Using the measuring tapes, holding the roosts for drilling, etc. He likes to clean the coops--I got him child-sized tools because seeing him with the full-sized pitchforks and rake was really pretty funny. He sits out there and watches the chickens for an hour. It's neat to see his attention span really expand thanks to his interest in this. He can do almost everything, but he would not be clipping nails himself, no.

So, no, I'm not some meddling mommy trying to give her child an advantage. He's five, and he'd be involved in the whole process. But, admittedly, I'm a bit new to Cloverbuds. If someone wants to provide a link to show where this would not be permitted, we'll wait a few years. I'm just going off as what I know/knew as a former 4-Her myself.

There's a dearth of resources in this area, which is why I have to lead a group and not join one. The closest poultry group is an hour away. There is interest in our city thanks to them allowing backyard chickens, so it'll be nice to get little kids interested. And most people who do have them in our area are in it for the laying hens and have yet to find anyone who actively shows. That still seems to be out there in the rural areas and not here on the beach, lol.

So, thanks for the response. Since the breeder wasn't breeding for show, I can't really go up there for advice. Maybe I'll contact the University rep for 4-H in our county and ask if she can point me in a direction. There just doesn't seem to be a lot of WFBS out there and while the standard is helpful, it doesn't really compare to an experienced eye.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Thank you, Sonoran. That's exactly it. This is Cloverbuds, not an older group. It's perfectly acceptable for me to assist a five year-old with his chicken. One of the reasons we got chickens is to foster a sense of responsibility around livestock and as a family project. He loves feeding and he even helped us build the coop. Using the measuring tapes, holding the roosts for drilling, etc. He likes to clean the coops--I got him child-sized tools because seeing him with the full-sized pitchforks and rake was really pretty funny. He sits out there and watches the chickens for an hour. It's neat to see his attention span really expand thanks to his interest in this. He can do almost everything, but he would not be clipping nails himself, no.

So, no, I'm not some meddling mommy trying to give her child an advantage. He's five, and he'd be involved in the whole process. But, admittedly, I'm a bit new to Cloverbuds. If someone wants to provide a link to show where this would not be permitted, we'll wait a few years. I'm just going off as what I know/knew as a former 4-Her myself.

There's a dearth of resources in this area, which is why I have to lead a group and not join one. The closest poultry group is an hour away. There is interest in our city thanks to them allowing backyard chickens, so it'll be nice to get little kids interested. And most people who do have them in our area are in it for the laying hens and have yet to find anyone who actively shows. That still seems to be out there in the rural areas and not here on the beach, lol.

So, thanks for the response. Since the breeder wasn't breeding for show, I can't really go up there for advice. Maybe I'll contact the University rep for 4-H in our county and ask if she can point me in a direction. There just doesn't seem to be a lot of WFBS out there and while the standard is helpful, it doesn't really compare to an experienced eye.

Consider subscribing to Poultry Press, and looking through it for WFBS breeders that are not too far distant from you, or that have websites or email addresses listed so that you can make individual contact. There are a number of WFBS breeders in Tucson, but offhand I cannot think of anyone who is online regularly, or in several cases at all. And I really don;t know anything about their standard.

 

[ZenHens]

Thanks again. I'm going to order a sample issue of the Poultry Press and really peruse the ads. I'm sure there are probably more breeders in Florida--they may just not have a big internet presence.

We had a beautiful young Delaware rooster that seemed to fit the standard really well, but we're not allowed to have them so I had to trade him in. He was gorgeous and really well put together.

 

[Oldhound]

ZenHens , If you go to chickenstocks, shows etc. you will find Fl. shows, clubs etc. There is a very nice Central Florida club with some very nice people. Give them a try.

 

[varanisblack]

4H "especialy in the younger catigories" has nothing against the parents helping but some go way too far, My grandaughter was in it for a while before she moved and with luck she will be in it again. all in all it is a great experience as long as the kids get the enjoyment and learning experience,
We are not too far out from Tampa and it may be a 20 minute drive or so to find some one who may assisting in telling you if one of your birds would be show quality.
I wish I could help with some resources but we are fairly new to chickens even though I dealt with exotic animals for almost 20 years,
I am too looking for some resources in the central FL area

Old hound would you be so kind to post some links if you have any to anything you know of in the Citrus, Hernando or Pasco county areas?