Fair tips anyone??

[mommahento5]

My son (9 yrs) is taking cornish X chickens to our county fair in about a week. Just wondering if anyone has any tips for getting them ready? Also, what seems to work best as far as feeding & watering there? I have never been in fair, and we are new to chickens, so I don't know what to expect. I know we have to provide feed & water containers. We were thinking of just using their old 1 Qt chick waterer, but I am concerned that they will spill it. We gave 2 of them baths over the weekend (as we have never done that either) and foloowed the advice in Story's. Used a few drops of blueing to whiten them up a bit and now have them in an unused rabbit coop to keep them clean and get them used to a cage. What else do we need to do?? Thanks in advance!

 

[alex]

well, are they hens?? (20 weeks or more in age) because if they are they would need oyster shells to harden the egg shell. . . . .and layer feed. Witch should be at a local feed store you have around.

 

[FluffyChickenMama]

I have seen cage cups used during shows.. I guess so they cant spill and make a mess...

 

[silkiechicken]

At a show with cornish x's I am assuming you are entering in the meat category for form and shape. I would pick out the best shaped birds and check to make sure they are uniform and equal in body weight. Then as for food and water, they usually place singles or trios into the cages on the tables and have food and water cups for you. At least here, they provide all food and water. Showing of cornish x's here usually results in butchering as part of the presentation for the most table appeasing finish so if that is your case too, you might want to practice plucking of the birds. Use a slightly lower scalding temp to not burn the delicate skin and to get a better finish on them.

But since you did wash them... maybe you are just showing for the looks. If so, remove any broken feathers and try to avoid showing birds that have red breast skin due to their sitting around.

Oh alex, cornish x's are meat birds so most never make it to egg laying age so won't need shell. At fairs, they feed layer pellets and since that is their only food source, they don't need extra oyster shell. The stress of showing on most laying birds usually causes them to stop unless they are used to the show ring. At least at the fair in this area, 8 week old cornish x's are shown, butchered, and graded for quality.

 

[mommahento5]

Thanks for the tips.

Yes he is taking cornish X's for a meat pen catergory. Specifically the broiler catergory which is weights less than 5 1/2 lbs.

I have never heard of anyone keeping cornish X's for 20 weeks?? Wouldn't they be too fat to even stand up?

Anyway, ours are 6 weeks old right now and we got straight run males. We have picked out 2 that seemed well matched and of nearly identical weight. The "contest" is for form and shape of a meat pen of 2. Here they send them to auction, but unless the buyer REALLY wants the bird, you end up going back home with it. The "auction" is mostly a donation to the kid who raised whatever you are bidding on, and then "free" advertising. They list who bought all the critters in the local papers and on a huge sign. I beleive that meat steers are actually butchered, and that a packing house generally takes all the hogs and meat goats, but with poultry and rabbits, you gotta take the suckers back home with you! I was so hoping to get rid of them! LOL!

I know they do not provide anything for the birds in our county besides the cage. Do you have any idea where I might be able to find cage cups?? I looked at a few of the hatcheries, but didn't see anything. The only thing I could find that I thought might work was a pop bottle converter. It basically looks like the end of a rabbit bottle, but instead of a drinking tube, there is a miniature trough. Do you think this would work? I could probably use a rabbit crock for the food, but I am mostly worried about water. They can live without food if they spill it, but not water.