Is this wyandotte anywhere near show quality?

[StarLover21]

She's not laying yet, so she probably has some filling in to do. I know she's not great show quality- but is she better than hatchery quality? I can take some more pictures if needed. Is she good enough to enter in something small?

 

[NYREDS]

Could you enter her in a fair where there might not be any other Silver Laced Wyandottes & get a blue ribbon? Sure. Could you enter her in a sanctioned show & be competitive? Absolutely not.
While the "SQ" term that gets thrown around here is relatively meaningless your bird is very weak in both type & colour. If what you need in a chicken that will lay you some eggs she'll be just fine. If what you need is a Silver Laced Wyandotte that' a good representative of the breed you need to keep looking.

 

[StarLover21]

Cool I'm not looking into any sort of competitive showing, or anything, I just was wondering if I could enter her in a fair or something without being laughed at.

 

[NYREDS]

Since the whole point of showing is showcasing your birds & comparing them to other breeders & to the Standard I don't see the point in people trying to find a place to show a chicken where they'll "WIN" an uncontested ribbon. I genuinely don't see how there could be any satisfaction in that.

 

[mama2my4]

Maybe because it is fun and everybody has to start somewhere. That is how I started with my dogs. Very small shows, very small ribbons. But it gave me to confidence to continue and the desire try to improve what I had.

 

[galanie]

Since the whole point of showing is showcasing your birds & comparing them to other breeders & to the Standard I don't see the point in people trying to find a place to show a chicken where they'll "WIN" an uncontested ribbon. I genuinely don't see how there could be any satisfaction in that.

I don't think she wants an uncontested blue, she just said she wanted to enter a show and not be laughed at. It should be fun.

 

[Illia]

Yes but, I'm sorry to join the opinion here, winning in those small things and having fun just putting your birds through that is actually preparing you for disappointment. Many local fairs don't actually have licensed judges who do it by the Standard of Perfection, thus things like EE's winning happens, and so people with (sorry) birds like above though they did well in small fairs, when the owner takes steps up to bigger shows, they're sending themselves straight to the real world, where, the bird will likely be disqualified every time.

I don't mean to offend, but the thing is, most hatchery Wyandottes are like the above one and are severely underweight, having no true "lacing," and most importantly look nothing like a Wyandotte in body type. As a pet hen she's great but as a Wyandotte she's not. If you're curious to learn though, -

Wyandottes are a large, round, fluffy breed with a very large, open tail that practically looks like the cushiony butt-end was just cut off, and there's, well, hardly a "tail." there. It's just a nice fluffy back that sweeps on up, then stops. When viewing the bird from the front and back there should be no pinched or tapered ends, especially the back. The bird should be broad and well-filled. The head should be strong looking with a sort of "brow" that goes over the eyes. Not so much like Brahmas but enough to make the bird look like it means business. The back should appear short, as from the point the shoulders end, the back sweeps right up to the tail and practically conceals it.

If you purchase the American Standard of Perfection that really helps an understanding of how different breeds should look, plus it helps answer a lot of questions.

So, as a last note, yes it's great to have fun, showing is a very fun activity, but just be prepared and informed that a poor quality bird won't do well in a big and/or APA sanctioned show. But it will be neat to go there and see how real Wyandottes look in comparison/contrast. It's always a fun and educational experience seeing those birds. Especially seeing how big they really are compared to yours. I had hatchery Wyandottes that looked just like yours before and when I saw true to type birds I was shocked at the size difference.