showing question

[EZFarms]

Soooooo after finding out that EE and Ameraucanas arent the same ive now realized the hen i was going to show is nothing more then a mutt that i cant show yayyy .-.
anyway, i have other chickens (australorps,buff orphintons,RIR,etc) but now im curious if any of them are purebred (all hatchery chicks) and if id be able to show any of them.
also since ive only worked with my EE the most the rest dont really like to be touched is there a way i can get them over that in order to show them or am i just better off finding someone with purebred chicks and starting with one of them? Also if the chickens i have no arent purebred what would be a good breed for a beginner at showing?

 

[Wyandottes7]

What type of showing were you planning on doing? Showing Easter Eggers would be fine at county fairs (many county fairs have a class for "crossbred egg-type hens", which Easter Eggers would go under). Of course, if you were going to show at anything other than a county fair, you couldn't show Easter Eggers.

Many hatchery chicks ARE purebred, but aren't very show quality. A hatchery bird would not win a show, unless it was up against other hatchery birds (like at a county fair). You could post pictures of your hatchery Orpingtons, Australorps, and RIRs, and I could tell you how show quality they are.

Almost any breed of chicken would be fine to start out with. I'd recommend against the large breeds like Malay, Shamo, and Cornish, though, as they can be agressive and are more difficult to handle. Bantams are often great for those just getting started in showing, as they are easy to handle. Bantams also tend to be more show quality than large fowl in general, just because they've almost always been bred for show.

 

[EZFarms]

Well originally i was gonna start at just cou.nty level and go up. our 4-H here though is going to start going by apa standards though (even for just county fair)
i will have to do a later post with the pics due to my hens are in the middle of molt and only certain hens still look okay.
i have two phoenix roos but they are so hard to keep the tails clean and they are flighty as hell same with the two females. i also have two top hats abd two appenzeller (german spitzhauben) but i dont think apa recongizes them yet

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Trust me, you really do not want to show hatchery birds even at a county fair. Purebred birds from actual breeders are invariably going to be much better quality. You do not necessarily need to start with chicks. Many serious breeders do not sell chicks or eggs, although a few do. If you start with an adult pair, you 1) know the quality of what you have and 2) can raise up your own chicks.

What categories are available for entry depends entirely on the show--some have a laying hen category, or meat birds; others only have exhibition classes. Your best bet to find out what is available for the shows you are interested in is to call the show secretary or superintendent.

 

[gander007]

If you want to show a animal at the Fair first you need to
get show quality as standard is just meeting the standard
and show is above that ........ You need to take time with
your birds as I have 6 week olds and I can go out in the
yard and pick them up most of the time with out much
fuss this is the kind of time you need to spend or you
wont be able to Show them ..........

gander007

 

[EZFarms]

I spend alot of time with my birds. as for show quality i wouldnt even know where to find breeders that are atleast somewhat cheap and would ship birds