Need 4H project help.

[Sonoran Silkies]

Some breeds are more/less expensive than others, and many breeders will give kids low prices. If you can find some nearby breeders you won't have to pay shipping.

 

[TK Poultry]

or if you are lucky like me you will find some one to trade with for show stock but i get 4H discounts during the spring but i nvr use them i nvr need them and your 4H leader is sometimes a breeder themselves they might be able to hook you up......i might be able to hook you up soon

 

[kingmt]

We will see what is available to us of course but he says that he would really like to do the Gold Sebrights. I have to agree that is a good looking bird but the roo looks a little funny to me. He has also picked a Colored Dorking which I have a roo but not of show quality.

I thought he would want to do the standard but he wants bantam.

 

[pocopoyo]

The APA/ABA Youth Program now has a Poultry Show Schedule for the US, on their website.
http://www.apaabayouthprogramsite.org/Show_Schedule_main.htm

If you can find a poultry show in your area, this is a great place to pick up birds for 4H. Lots of breeders have birds for sale and you can often pick up really nice birds for 5 or 10 bucks each.


As far as learning the ropes, I suggest that you get to know one or more the older 4H kids in that are showing poultry in your county. Each county does 4H a little different, and the older kids can help you learn the quirks of your county. They should also be able to help with things like washing birds, etc. Your leader may be able to put together some workshops that can help as well.

pocopoyo

 

[Pathfinders]

As a 4-H leader myself, I second (or third?) the notion that your 4-H leader should help you with this process. He or she should be able to find some breeders near you to get you started with some birds, or facilitate the purchase of some chicks from a hatchery by buying in a group for the kids. If you get chicks, do so no later than five months before your County Fair so the birds are grown enough to show (six months is even better!)

Is your son more interested in bantams, or large fowl? I'm sure we can find someone who will be willing to give your son a good start.

And I've written some articles about how to show, and prepare for a show, that might be of help to you. See them here:

How to Show Your Chickens

http://www.pathfindersfarm.com/Showing.html

How to wash a chicken:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4512807_wash-a-chicken.html

Conditioning & Prepping for Shows

http://www.pathfindersfarm.com/Prepping.html

Hope these help!

Best,

 

[catwalk]

When I get established in the chicken raising business, I am going t donate birds to the 4-H cause. I'd do it for people like you, who have more ambition than money. When I was 14, I entered a contest sponsored be Bob Evans Farms, an essay contest really, and he gave me a horse. Yeah, I won a horse! It gave me a tremendous advantage, and I'll never forget it. Maybe you could talk a breeder into sponsoring a contest in your area? Wouldn't mean you would win, but there'd be the possibility!

 

[kingmt]

I thank everyone that keeps handing out great information.

Pathfinder
Those were very helpful.

The commit was made about $5 which isn't what I was expecting. I have never been around show birds but I have been around game birds & the breeders I know charge $200 & up for one rooster & might through in a pullet for $25 or a hen for $50 if you by the rooster.

Is it imposable to get hatch out your birds from just good stock. Can hatchery birds make it as show birds. I have been under the impression that yard running birds couldn't make it as show birds.

I don't want to bring live birds here from another farm. I don't even like bringing day old chicks here from a hatchery. Hatching eggs is still a risk I know but it seems to be the safest way I know & I don't know any other way to get different blood lines in here.

Nothing against a free chicken but I had my first flock wiped out in 3 days over two free Cornish Rocks. Then someone gave me a rooster & a egg eating hen for dinner which I keep away from my flock but the hen didn't act right & the rooster got away from me & ran right for my other birds. He got shoot which ruined the breast to keep him from my birds & the hen I found out that she was just egg bound but it scared me. I love to help people & would give someone else a bird but I'm not conferable with bring live birds here.

Do you actually bring birds back from the shows? Like I said I have been around game birds & once they leave the farm they don't come back.

 

[Pathfinders]

Generally speaking, hatchery birds are not usually adequate for showing. But there are exceptions to every rule, including that one. But as a general rule, no.

My birds "run the yard" all the time (well, they day range) and they show just fine. I think that access to the outdoors keeps them healthier, which makes them show even better. So don't feel that show birds need to be completely pampered.

Birds with feathered feet do need to be kept in deep pens so that their feathers stay clean/whole. But clean legged birds can certainly be day ranged and then shown.

I understand your fears of bringing birds into a closed flock. When I ever bring birds in (not very often these days) I quarantine them for at least four to six weeks in a separate pen. That pen gets chores done last, and for the first five days I treat them with Tylan in their water, just in case.

Hatching eggs are somewhat safer, but there are diseases that can be passed vertically down the egg too. Nothing is 100% safe, really.

 

[kingmt]

Can I start out with hatchery & selectively breed to get a show bird?

 

[Pathfinders]

Quote:
This is not a yes or no thing. It would depend on what stock the hatchery started with. So I guess the answer is maybe.

Really, it's not hard to bring birds in from other sources. Best to work with breeders who participate in the NPIP program (they will have their operations inspected at least once a year, and all their birds tested for Pullorum/Typhoid as well), and create a quarantine pen for the birds where they can stay for at least four to six weeks.

Also, I usually treat new birds with Tylan in their water for the first five days, just to cover all the bases, as it were.

Of course, I understand if you don't want to bring birds in, but if you're going to show, you're going to be exposing your birds to things you'll want to quarantine for anyway, so setting up a quarantine pen/area is a good idea anyway.

Or, get hatching eggs, and before setting them, mist them lightly with Tek-Trol. It is safe for the eggs, and should remove any external viruses or bacteria they might have.