Is it asking too much of my young 4H'ers to show full size birds.

[TDog77]

This next year is the first year that my twin boys will be showing at the county 4H and they have both picked chickens. In watching youtube and reading about the actual procedure it seems as though most of the kiddos are showing bantams however neither I or they really want the cute little buggers. They don't really fit into our flock and goals but we don't want them to get discouraged right off the bat either. The one picked OEG's and the other Dominiques. I told my OE fan that due to rarity and possible temperament that we may have to go with another breed and he chose Orpingtons as a backup. These are both breeds that we will have already and thus getting some additional breeding stock this fall for next years show fits right in with what we have. Plus it will improve genetics of our homestead flock to boot or at least add some variety. What ya think?

 

[Twistedfeather]

Old English Game Bantams are not rare to find (the larger versions are) for showing normally the best place to buy birds are from breeders and not from hatcheries because it's always quantity versus quality and 4-H does judge normally by APA or ABA standards. As for temperament every single one of our Old English are great birds especially cock birds you just have to be willing to dub them to do good.

As long as your boys can hold the bird in their hands and firmly keep them up when they check the bird than the birds fine. I'm finding it hard to hold my silkie (he's 4.5 lbs) and I'm entering my intermediate/senior years.

Hope this helped. If you have any more questions I'd love to help.

 

[Michael OShay]

Being a practical person by nature, I definitely prefer full size breeds for 4H showings. Whenever people have asked about breeds for showing, I have always recommended LF Black Australorps. The APA standards for them are relatively simple and it is unlikely they will have problems with feather discoloration. The fancier a breed is, the more things there are that judges can deduct points for or even disqualify the birds. And with a full size breed like Black Australorps, even if you don't win at show, you will at least get lots of large, brown eggs from them. )

 

[TDog77]

We are definitely going with breeders for our show stock and have been putting out the feelers hard over the past week and will continue to do so in order to line things up. My daughters lamb project this year was last minute with all the building on the homestead and that drives me nuts as it is not how I like to roll. We are trying to get birds this fall or late summer for next years show.

 

[Twistedfeather]

We are definitely going with breeders for our show stock and have been putting out the feelers hard over the past week and will continue to do so in order to line things up. My daughters lamb project this year was last minute with all the building on the homestead and that drives me nuts as it is not how I like to roll. We are trying to get birds this fall or late summer for next years show.

Awesome. 4-H is an awesome group for kids and breeders of any kind normally love to help kids start out. If you look at your local poultry club and find a breeders directory you can look up to see if anyone is breeding Old English Games.