Show preparation and feather regrowth

[Learningstill]

Hello again,

I was wondering what everyone does to prepare for poultry shows and how long prior to the show. We were told to separate a show duck from the flock around 8 weeks prior to a show.



Also, our females are missing all their feathers on the back of their necks. What can we give them to encourage rapids feather regrowth. We plan to separate them from the drakes soon, but wanted to feed them something to start the process.

Thanks!

 

[Amiga]

I am thinking a little protein boost - a tablespoon of dry cat kibble, say, and some flax meal.

 

[Learningstill]

Would the cat kibble be too fattening? I have ground fax seed is that the same as flax meal?

Would you happen to know if black sun flower seeds would be a good thing or will that cause them to go into molt? (We use them to force a shed in the rabbits)

 

[Learningstill]

Are there not any show prep tips out there? We were hoping to find out what others do with their ducks and how far in advance does one begin prior to a show.

Our ducks look terrible this year, so we are not bringing majority of them now. Last year, my 10 year old was yelled at by the judge for not having her duck separated from the drakes and she had barely any feathers pulled. This year our ducks look awful They have feathers regrowing from their eyes to their shoulders We know our drake population is a little high, but you would think the drakes out number the ducks from the way they look.