- Mar 5, 2011
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Betsy, I will e-mail this to you, however thought I would go ahead and post it just in case anyone else was interested.
Preparing Game fowl for show.
Timing your hatch for the shows you plan to attend is the first step in preparing for the upcoming show season. The following timeline and ages are ideal due to development, feather condition and body condition.
Cock Birds 13-17 months of age
Cockrells 11 months of age
Hens 13-18 months of age
Pullets 2 weeks prior to point of lay.
There are some critical growth points during the life of the young birds, all should be dipped regularly in a mixture of water and pesticide this serves two purposes, one to reduce external parasites the second is promote good even feather growth. The higher moisture content allows the birds feathers to develop wide and hard while shedding the wax coating earlier. Keeping the feathers clean and moist will also aid in preventing a brittle feather while maintaining a hard feather.
Allow cockrells to maintain a diet slightly higher in lysine, oils, and fat content to aid in muscle development. This is also aided by providing plenty of space and a roosts at least 3 ft from the pen floor, one out in the pen for daytime use is also helpful.
Six weeks prior to show choose your birds carefully, begin dipping each one once weekly you can add a bit of mineral oil, glycerin oil, or other light oil to float the top of the rinse water, not much just about an ounce to coat the top of the water. Do not soak the bird just quickly dip to wet the feathers and rinse dirt and debris from the feather.
Begin applying Vaseline or similar product to the legs to allow for old scales to come off easily once moistened.
Modify the diet to include fish oil, as well as soybean or wheat germ oil blends. This will add to the natural luster of the bird while making it much more difficult for foreign substances to stick to the feathers and legs. This will also assist in firming the body, breast, and help demonstrate a firm hard appearance to the bird.
Begin working with the birds daily on treats and handling ability, you want the bird to be eager to be picked up and handled and inspected without any flighty or fighting behavior however proud appearances are needed. When providing treats do it high at a slightly higher position than the birds eye level rather than low so that they become conditioned to walking up proudly when someone gets close to their coop.
One week prior to show no less than six days the bird should be bathed to rid them of any foreign material, dirt, dust, and discoloration. Clip toe nails, spurs, beaks, clean combs, faces legs and feet thoroughly. Touch up daily as needed to keep them in top shape prior to show, do not bathe a second time with any soap, shampoo or any other detergent as it will require a full week to get the natural shine and luster back into the feather.
I like to bathe the birds a total of three washes, one quick shampoo to rid the dirt, dust and other material from the bird, a second color brightener to get the colors clean and crisp, the third is a flea and tick shampoo so to aid in the prevention of bringing mites home from the show. Rinses are simple as well, 1st rinse is clean water, 2nd rinse is water with a touch of white vinegar and oxine, 3rd is a rinse water with mineral oil or glycerin oil floated on the top.
Allow the birds to dry slowly and naturally in a warm room, blow drying the birds will soften the feathers and often damage them. You can towel dry to some degree stroking them in the direction of the feather so to keep them laying in their natural direction.
The day of the show when you are ready to coop the birds in, I have found giving them a B12 tablet directly in mouth will help the bird show itself and maintain better posture while in the coop.
Clean the face, wattles, comb, legs, and feet very well. Do not feed the bird until judging is complete unless you are cooping a day early. A small amount of seed in the shavings will keep the bird active and alert.
Check the birds several times prior to judging to be sure to remove any droppings from the coop and to have the ability to touch up a feather position or dirty foot quickly.
The birds are judged on Body type this includes carriage and size, then condition, and finally color. The first two when right will offset a small color defect and should be the greatest focus.
I clean the birds by dipping again twice when returning from shows in a mixture of oxine and water to remove any bacteria and virus they have been introduced to at the show and then a mixture of pesticide and water to treat any lice or mites that they may have come in contact with.
Preparing Game fowl for show.
Timing your hatch for the shows you plan to attend is the first step in preparing for the upcoming show season. The following timeline and ages are ideal due to development, feather condition and body condition.
Cock Birds 13-17 months of age
Cockrells 11 months of age
Hens 13-18 months of age
Pullets 2 weeks prior to point of lay.
There are some critical growth points during the life of the young birds, all should be dipped regularly in a mixture of water and pesticide this serves two purposes, one to reduce external parasites the second is promote good even feather growth. The higher moisture content allows the birds feathers to develop wide and hard while shedding the wax coating earlier. Keeping the feathers clean and moist will also aid in preventing a brittle feather while maintaining a hard feather.
Allow cockrells to maintain a diet slightly higher in lysine, oils, and fat content to aid in muscle development. This is also aided by providing plenty of space and a roosts at least 3 ft from the pen floor, one out in the pen for daytime use is also helpful.
Six weeks prior to show choose your birds carefully, begin dipping each one once weekly you can add a bit of mineral oil, glycerin oil, or other light oil to float the top of the rinse water, not much just about an ounce to coat the top of the water. Do not soak the bird just quickly dip to wet the feathers and rinse dirt and debris from the feather.
Begin applying Vaseline or similar product to the legs to allow for old scales to come off easily once moistened.
Modify the diet to include fish oil, as well as soybean or wheat germ oil blends. This will add to the natural luster of the bird while making it much more difficult for foreign substances to stick to the feathers and legs. This will also assist in firming the body, breast, and help demonstrate a firm hard appearance to the bird.
Begin working with the birds daily on treats and handling ability, you want the bird to be eager to be picked up and handled and inspected without any flighty or fighting behavior however proud appearances are needed. When providing treats do it high at a slightly higher position than the birds eye level rather than low so that they become conditioned to walking up proudly when someone gets close to their coop.
One week prior to show no less than six days the bird should be bathed to rid them of any foreign material, dirt, dust, and discoloration. Clip toe nails, spurs, beaks, clean combs, faces legs and feet thoroughly. Touch up daily as needed to keep them in top shape prior to show, do not bathe a second time with any soap, shampoo or any other detergent as it will require a full week to get the natural shine and luster back into the feather.
I like to bathe the birds a total of three washes, one quick shampoo to rid the dirt, dust and other material from the bird, a second color brightener to get the colors clean and crisp, the third is a flea and tick shampoo so to aid in the prevention of bringing mites home from the show. Rinses are simple as well, 1st rinse is clean water, 2nd rinse is water with a touch of white vinegar and oxine, 3rd is a rinse water with mineral oil or glycerin oil floated on the top.
Allow the birds to dry slowly and naturally in a warm room, blow drying the birds will soften the feathers and often damage them. You can towel dry to some degree stroking them in the direction of the feather so to keep them laying in their natural direction.
The day of the show when you are ready to coop the birds in, I have found giving them a B12 tablet directly in mouth will help the bird show itself and maintain better posture while in the coop.
Clean the face, wattles, comb, legs, and feet very well. Do not feed the bird until judging is complete unless you are cooping a day early. A small amount of seed in the shavings will keep the bird active and alert.
Check the birds several times prior to judging to be sure to remove any droppings from the coop and to have the ability to touch up a feather position or dirty foot quickly.
The birds are judged on Body type this includes carriage and size, then condition, and finally color. The first two when right will offset a small color defect and should be the greatest focus.
I clean the birds by dipping again twice when returning from shows in a mixture of oxine and water to remove any bacteria and virus they have been introduced to at the show and then a mixture of pesticide and water to treat any lice or mites that they may have come in contact with.
