Never shown anything before, how do I start?

RavenStorm

Songster
11 Years
Jun 1, 2008
361
5
129
Southern CA
Alright so when I get back to school on Monday I'm going to start looking up books in the campus library about showing poultry, but I would love some tips from you guys about any good websites. I have never been a member of 4-H or and ag groups and this is my first time having chickens and ducks. I never even thought about showing at all, but I took my duck into the feed store today and someone commented that she could be show quality and that got me to thinking. How does one start? Do these birds need family history papers like cat and dog shows do? How can I teach myself to look over my own birds and decide if they are good enough to show?
 
Come to the APA National! It's in your state!

Examine the birds there, see which ones win Best of Breed for whatever breeds you're interested in, and talk to the breeders! That will give you a good idea.

It'll be sooooo much fun...
 
Our girls showed in 4-H for the first time this year. Also there first year in 4-H.
They had to take there birds from the cages to the judging table. The judges looked over the birds(doing what judges do) and then handed the birds back. But in the showmanship part of the show the judge asked ???'s pertaining the animal, breed, etc. etc.
Make sure the birds are all healthy, here they all have to be tested with papers and leg bands(if over 4 months old). Make sure none are missing toes, chipped beaks, etc. etc. Apperance is important. waterfowl no holes in the webbing of the feed(have seen where people pierce the webbing for id tags and they have fallen out). We didn't need family history papers for anything.
coloring should be correct for that breed. Obviously not wanting mutt colored/bred birds if they are suppose to be purebred.
I don't know if this is all the same for other shows, but that's pretty much it in a nut shell for the fairs around here. Not sure if shows require different things than fairs.
 
Thanks you guys, I will start looking up standards and all that. I'm not sure how my duckie would do through with the hand off, I'm the only one she let's touch her and even now she is starting to get wary of me. This morning I needed to put her back in her cage so I could go to school, and she started running around! It took me 15 minutes (I was still sleepy) to get her cornered and caught! She used to be so cute following my every step, now she races ahead of me. Oh and like I said on the other post, I'm definitely going to the APA this month! Not showing, and sadly not shopping, but lots of looking around.
 
Around here the hand off really isn't a hand off. More so the birds are being held by you on the table and the judge will reach over your hands to hold onto the bird while you slip your hands away. Some even have it where the bird is just in a cage and the judge goes to the cage and looks at the bird.(My kids didn't do this fair as they were at another.)
When you need to catch your bird(if it's to put in a cage or carrier) try and wait until evening. Go into coop or whereever kept and they are easier to catch then. That's how we have to collect the guineas when the girls showed them.
I'm not an expert by any means, I am just trying to relay what we did and what worked for us. Someone else might a better info...
Good luck on your adventure for showing your duck.
Shawna
 
Well fairs are pretty easy to get into anyway. You can enter your best bird, then hang around and talk to people. It's a great way to learn, and see what you are getting yourself into
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There is a great DVD that is available on the American Poultry Association web site that I think you will find helpful. It's called "Beginners Guide to Raising and Showing Chickens" Among other things, it explains JR showmanship and has demonstrations.
 
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