Has anyone ever showed at the New York state fair?

[cowman910]

I am usually up there showing other livestock (goats and cattle) and wanted to try some poultry this year. Has anyone ever showed there and have some advice? Or does anyone know how to show poultry in general? Any help would be appreciated.
Mike

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Never shown, but went their once in 08, I believe. Saw some nice birds.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Yeah, last year was my first year. I was showing in the 4H section, because I'm not yet an adult. But I walked around enough to get a good look at the birds. There were some really nice looking ones, and then there were some that were in poorer condition. The set-up was cool. It's this gigantic 'barn' (for lack of better word), with cages lined back to back and it was pretty organized. The poultry share a barn with the rabbits.

Without getting into detail, I can say that you have to have a bird bred to standard to really even pose a threat to the competition. Some of these animals are truly amazing. Get a copy of the Standard and find a good breeder. Conditioning and caretaking is key. Keep the bird(s) clean, on a proper diet, used to human contact, and happy. You also have to get the bird tested for Pollorum Typhloid (sp?) and have them test negative in order to exhibit. But the bird has to be older than 3 months to have testing or else risk a false positive. Try to get in contact with a vet for more info or your county. Someone by you has to do testing.

Of course there's going to be paper-work to fill out and alot of time put in. But in the end, the work put in does show.

I can't tell you about open class exhibiting, but the 4H area was just okay, as far as birds go. Decent birds handled by young exhibitors like myself. I took home Champion Large Fowl and 1st place junior showmanship. It was a great day. You have my recommendation.

 

[cowman910]

I have shown at the fair before but never in the poultry department ( I show dairy cattle and Goats). I was planning on showing my Barred rock rooster in the 4-h show.
How do they show there? I heard it was different in all shows. Do I have to handle the birds during the show or does the judge do that?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Quote:
There are two types of showing in the 4H section. I'm not even sure how exactly to describe the first-it's kinda like a sub-section of open poultry, just between 4Hers. I stayed in the barn the whole day to observe, so I actually saw the judge doing his thing. He approached all of the birds, one by one, and picked them up, examined them. Only he handled them. I stayed back to watch and he asked if I owned the bird he was handling, which was mine. I said yes, and he gave my good criticism, telling me the faults and good qualities, but I was not meant to handle her. Then he commented on my number card on the cage.

The second is showmanship. Like showmanship with other animals, its about the owner handling their birds in front of a judge/knowing facts about their breed and chickens in general. You really gotta know your stuff. How to handle them, labeling different body parts, knowing how they work, what the bird was bred for, etc. I think there used to be a thread somewhere showing how to handle the birds, positions to put them in, stuff like that. But I can't seem to find it.

Is your Barred Rock show quality? Where'd you get him?

 

[cowman910]

Thanks for the helpful information!

My Barred Rock is a hatchery bird from last spring. I got him from one of the feed stores around easter time. Probably not show quality. I can post a picture in a little while. Do you know of any good breeders that sell show quality birds that would be showable this year?

Thanks so much!,
Mike

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

With certain breeds, standards are taken especially serious and sometimes, you can tell a hatchery bird from a show one right away. Barred Rocks are typically taken seriously. One of the faults that is very noticeable is the thick, not-fine barring. He looks like he's in mid-moult, or he's being beaten up a little bit.

There are some BYCers that I'm sure sell eggs and maybe even live birds. I know rodriguezpoultry on here has some really nice Barreds but accoarding to the sales page on their website, they aren't selling (Barred Rocks aren't mentioned on the page). You can ask though. I've been searching old threads but I'm finding it very difficult to actually come across a breeder. I know halo on BYC also breeds Rocks but I'm unsure of quality. You can ask in the WTB section of the index if anyone has any. Or google it.

 

[cowman910]

Thank you very much!
Good Luck with your showing,
Mike

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Likewise!