Minnesota!

[holm25]

Hey everyone - that darn avian flu is in the news again. Any reports in Minnesota? Of course this is happening during migration....

No reports in MN. At least not yet. Lets keep our finger crossed this is the only case

 

[Minniechickmama]

Hey everyone - that darn avian flu is in the news again. Any reports in Minnesota? Of course this is happening during migration....

It is only in Tennessee so far, and once again in a commercial facility. I wonder what they will try to pin it on this time?

 

[Minniechickmama]

Thanks for all the replies guys! We found our club already and got registered. I'm not interested in meat birds and we keep only a small backyard flock so anything requiring 10+ birds to start isn't going to work for our family. We only buy from breeders, not hatcheries so no worries there. I think my daughter is going to shoot for showmanship because we have a stunning and incredibly docile speckled Sussex who she raised last year that would work wonderfully for that. She has several breeds she's interested in (Favorelle's, and Houdan's) but finding one the right age at this point for this year sounds like it could be challenging. My son is interested in heritage breed ducks and we've literally just located a wonderful Australian Spotted breeder that we plan to get together with soon. Her kids have used past stock in 4H and did well. My son and I are looking forward to the trip and talking to her about all of that. What it'll all lead to I'm not sure yet, but in any event I never complete work of *any* kind for my kids. They'll be all on their own as usual.

They've each chosen two other unrelated projects they'd like to work on and I think that'll be plenty for their first year.

Cluckies - we are in Parkers Prairie, about a half hour north of Alexandria. We'll be traveling to Wisconsin for the Aussie's and don't mind going the distance to find who will best work within our flock while also meeting extracurricular needs

Maybe I am confused on a couple of things...
The only birds you can use for showmanship are those entered for other classes. It sounds like your daughter wants to use the SS she has but that won't work due to age restrictions on poultry. Also, you don't enter single birds in any class in 4-H, it is either meat pen of 2, laying pen of 2, or a breeding trio. Maybe I am just not reading this the way you intended.
The other thing, what is an Australian Spotted? They would not be an accepted breed by the APA. If they are a rare or imported breed, then there is no standard to judge them with. There are a few breeds out there now that fall into this category that were recently imported but not yet accepted by the APA.
Favs are wonderful, but Houdans are hard to come by good ones.
To get the birds you need in time, it is wise to contact breeders around Thanksgiving or so to get on their list. It isn't always easy for us to get them out in early January, but your best bet is to get them from a January or early February hatch.
When you have the intention to show, I do recommend at least 10 for each pair or trio to pull from. Just know the more you have, the more likely you will be able to get a good pen together to show. Just starting out though, you will have a lot to learn going to the show and seeing what others have and picking up pointers there.

 

[holm25]

Australian Spotted is a breed of Bantam ducks if I am remembering correctly. OR possibly another name for AustraWhite?

 

[Messica]

Maybe I am confused on a couple of things...
The only birds you can use for showmanship are those entered for other classes. It sounds like your daughter wants to use the SS she has but that won't work due to age restrictions on poultry. Also, you don't enter single birds in any class in 4-H, it is either meat pen of 2, laying pen of 2, or a breeding trio. Maybe I am just not reading this the way you intended.
The other thing, what is an Australian Spotted? They would not be an accepted breed by the APA. If they are a rare or imported breed, then there is no standard to judge them with. There are a few breeds out there now that fall into this category that were recently imported but not yet accepted by the APA.
Favs are wonderful, but Houdans are hard to come by good ones.
To get the birds you need in time, it is wise to contact breeders around Thanksgiving or so to get on their list. It isn't always easy for us to get them out in early January, but your best bet is to get them from a January or early February hatch.
When you have the intention to show, I do recommend at least 10 for each pair or trio to pull from. Just know the more you have, the more likely you will be able to get a good pen together to show. Just starting out though, you will have a lot to learn going to the show and seeing what others have and picking up pointers there.

Ok now I'm completely confused. I thought showmanship had everything to do with health, handlability and knowledge - not breed or age?

Australian Spotted is a bantam waterfowl breed listed with Livestock Conservancy. Maybe 4H rules are different state to state and that's why the kids of this breeder in WI are allowed to use them?

There's no way I'm willing to accommodate a minimum of 40 birds on top of who we already have here so each of my kids can participate in some way, so perhaps 4H isn't for us after all.

 

[Messica]

Australian Spotted is a breed of Bantam ducks if I am remembering correctly. OR possibly another name for AustraWhite?

The former is correct, completely unrelated to the Austra White

 

[MNChickMom]

My kids started with just one breed. We paired up the 2 that looked the best together. Then paired another group of 2 together. Mn 4h does require the bird for showmanship to be a bird that is of this year's hatch. Last year we used birds that were hatched in early April. The kids did ok If I remember right, one go blue ribbon and the other a red ribbon.

 

[MNChickMom]

Oops posted to early. They selected from a straight run of 8 maybe you can order from a breeder and guarantee hens. However, it's not to often you can get guaranteed sexing from breeders on certain breeds.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Ok now I'm completely confused. I thought showmanship had everything to do with health, handlability and knowledge - not breed or age?

Australian Spotted is a bantam waterfowl breed listed with Livestock Conservancy. Maybe 4H rules are different state to state and that's why the kids of this breeder in WI are allowed to use them?

There's no way I'm willing to accommodate a minimum of 40 birds on top of who we already have here so each of my kids can participate in some way, so perhaps 4H isn't for us after all.

I don't want to turn you off, just letting you know, there is something to be said in getting a good number of birds to choose from.
Yes, it is different in WI, they can enter the same as open shows here. I am all for raising and breeding rare breeds too.
Showmanship is about how much you know and how you are able to show. The bird/animals grooming comes into it, but it is about how well you can show your bird, how clean/groomed it is, how much you know about poultry. The other part of the show judges the birds based on their quality. There just isn't a separate entry for showmanship, the kids use the birds they entered for the other class and just pick one to take into the showmanship class.

 

[Messica]

I don't want to turn you off, just letting you know, there is something to be said in getting a good number of birds to choose from.
Yes, it is different in WI, they can enter the same as open shows here. I am all for raising and breeding rare breeds too.
Showmanship is about how much you know and how you are able to show. The bird/animals grooming comes into it, but it is about how well you can show your bird, how clean/groomed it is, how much you know about poultry. The other part of the show judges the birds based on their quality. There just isn't a separate entry for showmanship, the kids use the birds they entered for the other class and just pick one to take into the showmanship class.

I'm going to call the extension office tomorrow to clarify this. I was told again today by others in my county that showmanship is not dependent on other entries. You can choose to participate in breed shows where SOP is judged, showmanship where participant knowledge is judged, or both. In showmanship neither breed nor age restrictions apply. One can have a three year old mixed breed and still place well. These are parents of kids who participated the last several years doing so. Maybe it's different even county to county?

I'll let you all know what I sort out either way.