the NYS fair?

[rancher hicks]

so I anticipated the NYS fair because I thought there would be some good representations of chicken breeds. Well it was one of the worst fairs for chickens I have ever seen. In fact most of the birds were for sale by someone named Lou.
To say I'm miffed is an understatement. I have been to the fair many times and this was the worst.
I'll definitely be writing to the newspaper. We do have a new fair director and he is just ruining everything.
It would be easier to tell you what was there than what wasn't. I don't think there were more than 100 birds and most were silkies.
I could have probably won ribbon with the crap birds I have.
Anyone here go?

 

[trilyn]

Tell me about it! I was so excited to go and when I ran into the poultry building and saw the pitiful displays, I was

None of the birds were correctly labeled and the birds were ragged looking! I think I could have won first place hands down with my hatchery stock for pete's sake!!

The only thing I loved was the new coop setup with the barred rocks, orpingtons, rir and ee. We went on Saturday night and there was a blue egg and a brown egg in the nesting boxes. I told my dh-"See that's what our girls will be laying soon-blue eggs"! *I hope* To me, that was the highlight of the ol' poultry barn. Otherwise, I was disappointed to say the least.

I think I'll be writing a little letter to the fair administrators and letting them know politely what a sucky job they did this year! Although, I never really paid attention before this year, because I didn't have a vested interest-I just got my birds this spring! lol

 

[tgrlily]

I was a bit disappointed in the variety of birds at the fair also. We showed birds for the first time & were hoping to see more breeds. I was very surprised at the condition of some of the chickens & that some people brought in birds that were not what they thought they were. After judging the large fowl, I saw "Not a Breed" written on many coop tags -- which I had already realized. This was the fault of the breeders, not the fair. I do feel I have to speak out in defense of the NYS Fair poultry show.

Unfortunately, they had to change the way they do the poultry show so they could house the pigeons downstairs with the chickens. Apparently someone complained last year about not being able to walk up the stairs to see the pigeons. This forced them to split the chickens into 2 groups because the pigeons took up so much room. They showed the Large Fowl the first half of the fair & the Bantams came in for the second. This was not only inconvenient for the fairgoers who came to see birds, it was difficult for the exhibitors to come in on Tuesday to coop out the first group and bring in the second while the fair was going on. The people working there had to move the birds & break down the large cages so they could set up the bantam cages. My kids and I volunteered & filled waterers so the birds would have water as soon as they were brought in because the staff was so busy. There were a lot more bantam than large breeds represented.

I do agree that there should be more organization & information available to fairgoers. The individual cages should have cards with the breed, color and gender instead of just numbers. The silkies that are colored for exhibition should have an explanation of how they're colored. My kids gave more people information than the kids working there, and I'm certain that mine knew more about the breeds. I'll talk to the poultry superintendent next time I'm there to see how things can be improved for next year. Unfortunately, they probably won't open the upstairs again, which would really help!

 

[flagday76]

My daughter showed modern game bantams and light brahma bantams in 4-H. She won reserve featherleg with one of the brahma hens. We decided not to enter the open show. I was also disappointed in the birds exhibited, but it was not the fault of the superintendent. I feel he tries to do the best he can, but there are other factors at play here.

I know that very few people who show at regular poultry shows will show fair shows. It is just too hard on the birds to go through the fair. If you want to see good quality birds, go to the shows coming up this fall. I will have to miss the Bath show, but will be at the Northern New York Poultry Fanciers in Waddington, the Mumford show (if we don't go to the rabbit show in Syracuse), and the Yankee Classic in Syracuse in October.

Who judged the open show at the fair? Jamie Matts judged the 4-H show.

People really need to get a copy of the standard and check their birds against it before showing them. There were VERY few birds that met the standard, let alone were 'show quality' at the NYS Fair. There were some very good quality birds at the 4-H show, though.

I hope it gets better...

 

[Camelot Farms]

Oh no. How sad. We used to go to the fair in NY every year when we lived there and the poultry barn was always a highlight...hundreds of birds, great variety, nice show.

I hope the OP is able to get some attention drawn to this. Good luck!

 

[rancher hicks]

Does anyone know if there is a posting on line for poultry shows?