Never shown before, thought of starting at the county fair

[phoenix_rising]

Hi all!
I'm not thinking of showing seriously at all just at the local fair, but I'd like to have a chance at a ribbon of course! So where should I start? What do they look for? Is it like dog shows where they look for the breed standard? Does it have anything to do with personality? My birds are a bit stand offish. I just think it sounds like some fun. Thanks in advance!

 

[Mahonri]

There are a bunch of folks here who show, of course you'll want to be as close to the standard as possible, they'll have to be healthy and clean and you don't want them to be skittish.

 

[FrizzleFreak]

I'm assuming that you'd be entering in open class?
I would invest in a copy of the APA standard (American Poultry Association, it has all of the info on all of the recognized breeds), as that is what most fairs are based on.
Personality doesn't really matter, but some judges go in and grab the birds to evaluate them, so it would be good if the bird didn't totally flip out.
I assume you're showing phoenixes, by your name? If you're bringing a cock, you might need a special cage arranged, so you would need to call ahead of time. If you want to see the standard of whatever breed you want to enter, PM me and I'll type it up from my copy of the standard. I'll need to know the color and gender-and bantam or standard.