Showing...cage set ups and conditioning

[trinacliff]

I have several bantam Cochin that my kids are showing in 4H this year. I know many people that show keep them in smaller cages to avoid pecking, to keep foot feathering from getting all messy, etc. So, I'm curious to see what kind of set ups you guys have?

Also, I have a gorgeous new bantam Cochin roo that my son is going to show, and I have him seperated in a dog crate with his girl for company. Apparently, my other roo and he must have gotten into it through the bars...my new guy has what looks like dried blood on his comb (darker spots that look almost black). He didn't have it yesterday...so should I just try to get off the dried blood and put antibiotic on it or just let it be and heal on it's own? Here I am with this gorgeous guy and I'm already screwing him up. Ugh...I'm so frustrated with myself.

Thanks for any input!

Kristen

 

[TK Poultry]

Well I don't really have feather legged birds or show them but I will try to help the best that I can. I keep my Bantam Ameraucanas dog pens with a tarp over it to detour rain and nastiness. I don't keep them in special cages because my show birds are my breeders as wel. I'm revamping the system soon and I'm going to make them all breeding hutches so that they can stay in their breeding pens throughout the winter and stay OUT of my garage!!! Through the winter I usually have one or two extra roosters that can't be in the community pen in the garage in the winter!

As far as the comb thing goes. I would just make sure it doesn't happen again and let it heal on its own. When my d'Uccle rooster first came home he got into a fence fight with a black bantam ameraucana rooster and bloodied up his comb. I just let it heal and the scabs came off and he was good as new. when it first happened i put some antibiotic cream on it to fight off infection.