show bird question

[stephanie1992]

can u tell if a birds ganna be a good quality show bird when its older when its still a chick??

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

You can cull birds down at that point.

For example, silkies: If it's missing toes or has too many, it won't be a show bird. If it has crossbeak, it won't be a show bird.

But, if you can tell definitely that a bird will be show quality? No.

 

[Kevin565]

I believe you have to wait till they are older. So many things could influence growth and features during the first few weeks.

 

[stephanie1992]

ohh ok cuz i have a bantam cochin thats 3 weeks old. i ordered 15 eggs and only one hatched. i was hoping to show them. came from show quality flock. but not all babies from show flocks are show quailty. im hoping it turns out ok

 

[Oregon Blues]

You really won't know until the bird has it's adult plumage. Even after the first adult plumage is in, the body will still be slight and the bird will fill out a lot more. So probably more like an full year old before you really know.

My 2 year old geese are still growing and changing. At least chickens are quicker than that.

At three weeks, you might be able to see some of the disqualifications. They aren't going to grow more toes, but don't be too fast to discard a bird because sometimes they fool you. I've had legs and bills change colors and birds who were too slim grow and grow and turn out to have really nice bodies. I've even seen head shapes change with birds lacking the proper forehead ending up with correct heads.

I don't even think about selecting my keepers until the adult plumage is completely in. Sometimes that isn't enough and I have to run them on even longer, trying to decide.

I wish you luck and hope that the one you got to hatch was the best one in the bunch and shows well for you.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

They won't grow toes, but sometimes they are so small on bantam chicks that you miss seeing them when they are tiny. Kind of important with 5-toed breeds. More than once I've thought a bird was missing toes when it was a few days old, but as it matured realized that they were indeed all present and accounted for.

 

[sjarvis00]

Quote:
For certain traits and faults only time will tell, even when produced from a top line of proven breeders only a small percentage make the final cut. The actual show bird is a 1 in 100 but that varies some based on line, and how serious you are about what you are willing to show. I have some that we have worked on for 8 generations and plan to start showing come spring now that we feel they are worth being seen, there are other sthat show the variety and have been showing them for 4 years although they have considerable feather quality, and type faults.
Any bird can be entered in a show, and win based on competition, show records are only meaningfull when there is good competition.

 

[franklinstreetwest]

Is it not typical practice to judge a bird against the standard first, and not against the competition?

Say you have 4 Silkies, one is very close to standard and the others are not at all...

Would a judge give the good type silkie a first place and NOT place the others at all? I know that sort of thing is done in other animal breed competitions. If a judge thinks none are worth of a place, it's simply not awarded.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
In some countries birds are judged against the standard, and awarded points based upon how close they come to the standard. It is possible to have two birds with identical numbers of points, and thus they might both place first. The American system of judging is comparative, the best bird in the judges opinion gets the highest award, then next best gets the next best award, etc. You are corect that a judge does not have to give the top award available; For example, I ave see no class award and no bes of bred awards and even the top award being a 2 when the judge thought they were sufficiently off the mark of matching the standard. But judges will also take into account the level of the show, whether it is kids who are just beginning versus adult breeders who have been at it for years and give that some weight in awarding position also. A cuckoo silkie almost took BB at our county fair, and yes, the judge well-knew that it was not a recognised variety, but it was so far above the other silkes present. Then we found a mis-placed white silkie, and it was good enough that it took BB and the cuckoo took reserve of breed.

 

[stephanie1992]

ive shown for 4 years. where i show they go on which breed fits the breeds standard the most. and it has to be a APA recognized breed. they dont allow crosses to be shown. and they go through a check before they can go into the show. Showmanship is only fot the FFA and 4-H students. i showed in FFA for 4 years. next year im showing open show. Soo im hoping i can add my chick to my show birds