Newbie questions for showing

[rarebreedeggs4u]

So, lots of questions

Should show birds be kept up at all times or just brought up a few weeks/months before show season? Do they need exercise if kept caged?

I'm coming from the show horse world where our horses stayed stalled all of the time unless they were being exercised or groomed. I was lucky enough to trade for LOTS of multi-tier cages (wire bottomed former rabbit hutches) for any birds we would like to show, but I have SO many questions and things to learn!

I have planned to place the cages in a "stall" area that is fully enclosed and safe. Would I be better off to keep my possible show birds in the individual cages all of the time? Can I turn each one out to play & dust (by itself) in the common area for a little while each day or so? I have to imagine that they would be much happier if they got to get out and play a bit. Is that an no-no or is it OK?

 

[that_crazy_lady]

While I know next to nothing about showing, from what little I picked up the birds are cleaned up a day or two befor the show, other then that they are kept in a coop with other birds the rest of the time.

keeping them in a pen/cage alone has it's pros and cons. if there are no other bird with them, there is noone to pick at them. but birds don't like being alone.
I don't think anyone keeps their birds in cages full time. but a fully enclosed coop and run is very common. check out the coop pages for ideas. you mite make some changes to you cages to use as coops, or they mite be better fitted for use only the day befor the show. but you really don't want or need to keep them by them selves.

you mite want to do a search for more show info in other post.

what breed{s} do you have? and what are your plans?

 

[that_crazy_lady]

this typ works well for bannys, and would be ok for breeding pairs/trios of the larger breeds https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=3951-2StoryCoop

and here is a whole list of ideas https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=207068

it's not about showing, but keeping the birds is the first part

 

[rarebreedeggs4u]

My breeds are listed in my signature below I have large indoor coops for my breeding groups currently. I'd rather keep them with their groups, but not if they are going to pick the pretty off each other~LOL

 

[that_crazy_lady]

lol I guess missed that.

well you could try bigger pens, smaller groups such as trios or pairs. or if they still pick on each other too much, just keep them where they can see and talk to the other birds. a play space is a good idea.

 

[cbbantams]

If I have a young bird that starts showing potential it gets a pen of its own.

 

[Ryu]

For larger birds, I like to keep them on a protected range for exercise. It really helps the quality of their toes and foot pads. Cage training for me is with the show type cage and a solid floor with shavings--especially for the large breeds--for just a few days at a time, then they go into a larger indoor pen.

It's nice if you can do the initial cage training well before the show, before the yearly molt, just in case the bird doesn't take it well. There's less chance of ruining a nice tail that way.