looking for 4H advice

[luvmyturkens]

My son wants to do chickens for a 4 H project next year. Does anyone have any advice on a good breed for him to start with? We watched the poultry show at our county fair this week and the judge was very critical of 95% of the chickens. He kept saying " this is what happens when you buy from hatcheries"
I haven't seen any breeders in my local area (central PA) nor have I seen any poultry shows in the state of PA. I guess that means I'll have to travel to get him chickens, which is ok. I want him to have good ones.
I just wasn't sure if there was one breed that was easier than others or more popular with the judges. He loves his turkens, but there wasn't any of them at the fair. I'm afraid that since they are a love or hate breed, that they wouldn't be very good. Just looking for advice.

 

[tiki244]

#1 ****modern game bantams if you can find some good ones-friendly, easy to work with, judges like them

#2***OEGbantams-same as above

#3**cochin bantams are very friendly for a first time chicken but there may be more competition in that class, because he would have to be competeing with all the feather footed breeds, you would have to find some good ones

#4*Orpington bantams are mild tempered but again there are a lot of birds in that class


Personally I would go with moderns and/or cochins

 

[nnbreeder]

Before you give up on the Naked Necks here is a pic of ours last year at the open show in Guthrie Ok last year. In the AOSB class there were probably 50 birds and she was the only NN there. Best of Variety, Best of Breed and Reserve Champion of the class of birds. She got beat out by a beautiful Black Jersey Giant rooster.

 

[dixiechick]

I started both my kids out on Cochin Bantams....my daughter was a cloverbud last year so their calm nature was perfect for her and my son....Both brought home blue ribbons (yes, I know...cloverbuds can't win blues....but he marked her bird as a blue ribbon winner!)

 

[nnbreeder]

Oh and by the way the first show we ever attended our birds didn't even score best of breed and they were the only NNs there. They were hatchery birds. Get your hands on a publication called The Poultry Press, it lists many breeders of very good birds. http://www.poultrypress.com/

 

[dixiechick]

I second the purchase of the Poultry Press....lots of good breeders who are SUPER nice to talk to...They love talking poultry!!

 

[tpflabs]

We just went to our 4-H fair, and came home with lots of Purple ribbons..
I did go to a breeder, and we did great..
I would figure out what kind of bird you want and then check with the parent club for that variety and see who has birds in your area?
we went with Silkies, mostly becasue of thier temperament..
If you can't find someone in your area, you can always hatch you own out of really nice breeding birds. I am sure someone on here has what you need!!

 

[luvmyturkens]

Thanks to all of you for your advice. My son loves his naked necks, I was just a little nervous because of it being an odd breed. To be honest, they were some of the ugliest chicks that I had ever seen, but they've grown on me and I love them now. We really only got them because that is all the store had left and my son was bringing a chick home no matter what. They have grown into very attractive birds. We also ended up with a silkie, an Americauna (at least that's what they advertised it as), and one that they called a California White. I'm assuming that the feed store got them from a hatchery. They actually told us that both of the naked necks were hens, but as you can see, one wasn't. Out of our 5 chicks, we ended up with 3 roosters. Oh well, they serenade me every morning at 5 am sharp.

 

[Linda in San Diego]

Ummhahummm, NN are on my NeverNever list - don't even tell me they will "grow on me". Not thinkable!

 

[a2ms4chickens]

Your son will want a smaller bird for showmanship. One who will fit in his hand, and one that is not very heavy. Showmanship can take a long time and those birds get hard to hold after awhile.

My son used a Brown-Red modern game bantam. She is very calm and gentle, and she poses great! If you get modern games, you need to train them to 'reach up' in order to stand tall. That is what the judge looks for in the modern game.

Good luck in whatever you decide to show.