Preparing for Chicken Shows

[jywel417]

Hello!!

I just have a quick, I think, question about showing chickens. The local summer fair where I live has livestock and poultry shows, I am assuming that the poultry show is prob not APA since one of the breeds they list as a breed category is a Black Sex-Link. They do require a health test (can't remember the name but it is one of the common tests that they will test for on site and make sure you are negative before you are allowed in the exhibition area) and so I figured it might be fun to enter some of my girls since it won't be until July and I figure even tho my chickens are hatchery stock this sounds like maybe a way to experience being in a show and see if it is something I might want to do more seriously with better stock.

My question is, at chicken shows are you supposed to have your own cages or do they assign you cages for your chickens and the cages are already on site? I have done agility shows with my dogs and helped some friends do conformation with their dogs and I know you have to bring your own crates to keep your dogs in. I don't have any chicken cages like I see in pictures of chickens at shows and am not really sure that is an expense I could justify if I have to provide my own cages at the show. I would like to give the show a try if possible tho, thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

The show superintendent should have made cage provisions for your birds.

In other words, the cages will be there and set up for you. Bring your own food, at least I do, so that the birds do not have a change in diet while they're under stress.

You will need to bring cages in which to transport your birds back and forth. Bring an empty water container or milk jug (that's been washed out) so that you can transfer water from the spigot to your birds.

The testing should be for pollorum-typhoid.

ETA:
Photos so you get an idea of how the cage setup will be:

One cage for a standard bird. My pullet is only 5 months old, so the cage looks bigger than it really is.

This is called a "double-coop". It's where two single cages have been converted into one longer cage. The width of the cage is the same size, as is the height.

This is an example of a "sales floor". Normally, standard-sized coops will be used to make a "set up" and several or one bird will be put into the "sale coops."