showing help

[white guinea333]

I am showing 2 muscovy fowl (1 male and 1 female), 1 black australorp hen, 1 rhode isand red hen, 1 silver laced wyandotte hen, 1 white male guinea fowl, 1 black langshan rooster, and 1 buff orpington rooster. I am doing showmanship with the rhode island red hen, but I am wanting to now what type of questions will be asked in chicken showmanship. This is my first poultry show so any showing help or tips would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

 

[ccassidy18]

Some questions that you will be asked include:
What are some possible disqualifications on your bird?
What are some interesting facts about this breed?
What are some possible strong points on your bird?
Hope this helps.I was asked these questions when I showed,but,questions vary depending on judge,good luck.

 

[SilkiesForEver]

First off, I would recommend getting a bantam to use for showmanship. They are smaller, and are easier to handle. BUT, if you are comfortable with the bird you are using, great!

I was asked different questions by different judges. The first judge was very tough. He asked trick questions. Like, what is squirrel tail? Is it a defect or disqualification? (if you used a bantam he would ask-) If your bird was standard, what class would it be in? (for that question you need to know if your bird is a true bantam.)

Feel free to Pm me if you have any questions. It's difficult to put everything into one short post.

 

[white guinea333]

I am planning on using either my male, white guinea fowl or my rhode island red hen. I have a couple more things to add. The two roosters I mentioned showing I can't show because one has no fingers on his comb along with terrible looking leg feathers and the other one has leg feathers which shouldn't be there due to his breed along with wrong colored shanks and a bent and messed up comb.

My white guinea fowl drake I just washed with dawn soap, whitening shampoo and a bit of hydrogen peroxide to make his feathers nice and white, but they are still stained and off white in color. Any suggestions on how I can get him really white?

For all my show birds I would really like to know how to get out all the dirt from under their feet and leg scales. Any ideas?

I really appreciate you guys helping me out with my first show. I will post how I did after the show or during.

Thanks a million!

 

[SilkiesForEver]

I am planning on using either my male, white guinea fowl or my rhode island red hen. I have a couple more things to add. The two roosters I mentioned showing I can't show because one has no fingers on his comb along with terrible looking leg feathers and the other one has leg feathers which shouldn't be there due to his breed along with wrong colored shanks and a bent and messed up comb.

My white guinea fowl drake I just washed with dawn soap, whitening shampoo and a bit of hydrogen peroxide to make his feathers nice and white, but they are still stained and off white in color. Any suggestions on how I can get him really white?

For all my show birds I would really like to know how to get out all the dirt from under their feet and leg scales. Any ideas?

I really appreciate you guys helping me out with my first show. I will post how I did after the show or during.

Thanks a million!

I use a toothbrush for the shanks, and also for the feathers (different toothbrushes ). But be sure to brush the feathers in the right direction so as not to make them frayed.

I forgot to ask, when is your show? Good luck!

 

[NemerLuvPoultry]

Look at the standard of perfection for your breed also know different body parts!!

 

[white guinea333]

The show is July 9-12. I used the tooth brush idea and it did a pretty good job. What would you guys recommend I use for their combs and wattles so they look nice for the show?

 

[NemerLuvPoultry]

I use vasoline for the comb and wattles

 

[poltroon]

You can google for chicken showmanship questions, which will help.

Know the standard of perfection to the greatest detail you can manage for the breed you are showing. Know all accepted standard varieties for that breed (ideally both LF and bantam). Know the class for both the bantam and LF. Know if there are any disqualifications for that breed or variety. Know the comb of your bird.

Know all the parts of the bird, to the detail of for example the different types of feathers on the wing.

Know all the classes (meaning American, Asiatic, Single comb clean-legged bantam, etc) and at least one chicken breed in each one.

Be able to name all the comb types.

That knowledge should put you in good stead for your first time, if you are showing novice. After that, you can start knowing more about internal anatomy, more breeds in each class, facts about incubating eggs, chicken diseases, all the defects, etc.

Some recent popular questions in our area would be to name some five-toed chicken breeds, name some varieties of turkeys or breeds of ducks or geese.

I find that some judges are more interested in health and kind of practical and husbandry type knowledge, and others are more interested in questions from the SOP. Over time, you'll develop expertise with both!

The good news is that there is lots of great information out there for you. Absorb all you can and it will serve you well.