How do poultry shows work?

[lildinkem]

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I would continue to show her, just not under that judge again.

I agree. I have a show in Columbus IN 3 weeks away. I might take the girl too. It is the first show put on in Columbus IN I believe, or at least put on by these folks, and I am sure they would appreciate as many LF birds as breeders are willing to bring. Only 6 Orpingtons and 4 Cochins large fowl at the Bloomington IN show this past weekend. And I had 3 of the 6 Orps and 2 of the 4 Cochins. The Cochin that won, was a very nice Blue Cochin. And deserved to win hands down. I wished I could have laid my hands on her to see how much more developed she was then my girl. Even though, she had the best Blue color I seen in a while on any LF. Very nice girl.

 

[NYREDS]

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I went over to the clerk and she shushed me and told me not to talk to him until he was done with the class. I waited and asked why she was skipped. He said she was in the wrong class and walked away. I asked the clerk what was going on and told her what breed I had. She said she'd talk to him...and then he started in on the Asiatic class. So I went over the one of the guys running the show (Dan Jerome) and told him. He is the one who suggested I wait until they were done judging and he'd grab them and have BOTH judges give me with "brutal opinion" on my pullet. Both of them did. It was Heather Hayes and Paul Weiss.

I picked the right moment where the judge was preoccupied talking to someone else and I asked the clerk as he walked down the very isle my and the rest of the LF Cochins are, and asked the clerk, "did this bird get judged?".
The clerk told the judge, he simply said to the clerk, after I backed off into the backround, the judge told the clerk "it ain't going to change anything", and judged my bird thru the cage, without opening the door of the cage, or touching my bird, he judged and wrote on my girls card.
I didn't think my Cochin was that far off the beaten trail to be judged outside of the cage without being handled. That way of judging gave me the impression, why bring her again to a show. Cochins are not the easiest bird to keep clean. OR maybe all I need to do, when submitting an entry form, is submit a video for the judge to look at thru a wire cage to judge my bird. lolololol Either way, it is a hassle to get a bird ready. Yet alone a Cochin, where about everyday for the three days leading up to the show I am pickin turds outta the feet feathers. IF I show a Cochin again, it won't be her. What is the point.

That was unfortunate. I make a point of handling every bird unless there's one that's obviously ill or infested. I feel that if you pay an entry fee you deserve to have your bird handled.
If something like this was to happen again I'd suggest you go to the show Superintendant rather than the clerk.The clerks are volunteers & may not even be part of the club that's running the show.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

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I went over to the clerk and she shushed me and told me not to talk to him until he was done with the class. I waited and asked why she was skipped. He said she was in the wrong class and walked away. I asked the clerk what was going on and told her what breed I had. She said she'd talk to him...and then he started in on the Asiatic class. So I went over the one of the guys running the show (Dan Jerome) and told him. He is the one who suggested I wait until they were done judging and he'd grab them and have BOTH judges give me with "brutal opinion" on my pullet. Both of them did. It was Heather Hayes and Paul Weiss.

I picked the right moment where the judge was preoccupied talking to someone else and I asked the clerk as he walked down the very isle my and the rest of the LF Cochins are, and asked the clerk, "did this bird get judged?".
The clerk told the judge, he simply said to the clerk, after I backed off into the backround, the judge told the clerk "it ain't going to change anything", and judged my bird thru the cage, without opening the door of the cage, or touching my bird, he judged and wrote on my girls card.
I didn't think my Cochin was that far off the beaten trail to be judged outside of the cage without being handled. That way of judging gave me the impression, why bring her again to a show. Cochins are not the easiest bird to keep clean. OR maybe all I need to do, when submitting an entry form, is submit a video for the judge to look at thru a wire cage to judge my bird. lolololol Either way, it is a hassle to get a bird ready. Yet alone a Cochin, where about everyday for the three days leading up to the show I am pickin turds outta the feet feathers. IF I show a Cochin again, it won't be her. What is the point.

I know what you mean! I didn't have any cochins that were show-ready (winter weather is hard on their feet!) but I did take wash 3 birds to show...drove 5+ hours with them (one way), paid for a hotel, helped set up the coops, spread shavings and hang cage cards. Only to have her not taken out of her cage! Arrghh. The other two did okay and were judged. The woman clerking for that judge...her bird won Best of Show for the APA side. It was a APA/ABA show along with several clubs being there...Washington Feather Fanciers, too.

 

[Crayonsmom]

Wow. Thanks everybody! I forgot to check on this thread for a day ro two and got so many replies. I really appreciate the help! It sounds like showing could be pretty fun. I show horses... but have never shown a duck.

So, I'm seeing a bit about judges not judging birds or not judging them as carefully as others. What do they look for (generally) to decide how they want to judge the bird? I know that horse show judges often aren't fair either, but I know what they look for in the classes. lol.

And... what should be done to prepare them for a show? Cleaning wise, handling wise, etc?

 

[Crayonsmom]

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I appreciate this a lot too. I wasn't sure what I'd have to bring or be prepared for. We have the Three County Fair in the next town over and it takes about 15 minutes to get there, so I'm assuming that's where I'd go most often. Usually I end up going once or twice just to eat the fair food anyway.

 

[Crayonsmom]

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Thanks! I originally got a blue because I wanted something different. I never expected that the more uncommon breeds would have a harder time against common ones, because at the horse shows I'm used to that's not usually how it goes. But we're talking about birds. But hey, I didn't expect to be interested in poultry shows either.

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I live in Western Mass in Hampshire County.

 

[karabbitry]

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There is a standard put out by both the the APA and ABA. This is what the judges are judging on, or attempting to! Lots and Lots of a birds presentation depends on conditioning of the bird. This includes how clean they are, any broken feathers etc.