The Plymouth Rock Breeders thread

[Yard full o' rocks]

They must be expecting a decent number of birds to be entered....here is the list of judges, and there are several on here that KNOW Rocks!!

JUDGES
Tom Carey, FL
Jamie Carson, Canada
Lou Cunningham, OH
Jeff Halbach, OH
Dwayne Jonas, TX
Melody Jonas, TX
Brian Knox, NH
Matt Lhamon, OH
Danny Padgett, FL
Tom Roebuck, VA

 

[uphilljill]

Looks like it's going to be a great show. We'll be waiting for your recap! Good luck!

 

[maryhysong]

Anybody have an idea what kind of treats she was giving them? Or have ideas on what works best for training treats?

most of my birds LOVE meal worms, but some will leave them and eat sunflower hearts instead; you might try different things and see what they go for

 

[desertmarcy]

I'll never admit that my chickens adore mini marshmallows above all else.

I'm not actually recommending them as a training treat. It's got to be horrible for them.

ICK

yes I bet they like them but I'm sure mini marshmallows do not fit in my organic non-GMO feeding regimen

 

[desertmarcy]

Fred

Looks like coop in is until 9pm Friday night!! Works good for me as we can leave as soon as Colby gets out of school

I think mine are just going to travel in plastic dog carriers (used for our beagles)

Last year I went a little overboard with how many chickens I entered in a show. I got a lot of apple boxes---they are heavy cardboard, with another cardboard that sleeves over top of the box. So except for the bottom and top, they are double cardboard. I took a hole saw, drilled 3 1" or so holes on each long side, a couple on each end; used some other scrap cardboard to fashion some flip lids that are glued on, then a piece of baling twine goes from the bottom, loops through the side holes, ties on top. Taped the bottom of the twine to the bottom of the box so it stays put. My feed bags are heavy paper, so took 1/2 of one for each box, folded into the bottom of the box to protect the cardboard and also fill over the gap/slat that exists in the bottom of the box so the wood chips don't fall through. I had quite the assembly line going in my garage last year making these, I think I have 16 made up. They are a tad small for a large PR cock, but I managed to fit some 10 lb cocks in those boxes, but the farthest I've driven to a show is 3 hours. Not sure you'd want to cram such a large bird in a box for much longer. Nice thing about these boxes is they stack really nicely. I can fit 8 (stacked 2 high) in the access cab of my Tundra (with the rear seat removed). I can fit another 20 in the pop-up camper that is on my Tundra. Shoot me if I ever think about taking that many birds to a show

But I know how many apple boxes will fit because I have driven to pick up cases of apples for a buying group I belong to. They are 40-lb apple boxes, so that is a lot of weight.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Transporting birds is old hat to me. As readers on this thread (and a few others) realize I've trucked birds 12 hours down and 12 hours back, across three states for years. Cardboard boxes are great because they have smooth sides. No messed up feathers. Perfect for trips under 8 hours. The birds mostly sleep the trip away. But for a longer trip like 12 hours, dedicated travel boxes are kind of a must.

Rule of thumb is 2-4" longer "space" than the bird. 4" wider, and 2 " of head room in each cell as the bird will stand and stretch whenever the car stops moving, such as at a human rest area.



These kind of wonderful boxes, with individual 4x or 5x or 6x cells are displayed at most shows. Someone typically builds these to your needs and sells them in the sales area. Nice? Yup and frankly, given the work and materials involved, sold at a steal.

Still, I enjoy just scrapping together my own travel boxes. I've transported as many as 20 birds in my boxes, in my utility trailer and moved them on very long trips. They do just fine. Last winter, I moved my entire breeding flock of 12 birds under my tonneau covered pickup in −20 weather, as we went south for a month. The birds were just fine, actually a touch warm in those travel boxes.

The typical plastic dog kennel carriers also work just fine.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Last year I went a little overboard with how many chickens I entered in a show. ….. Shoot me if I ever think about taking that many birds to a show

Oh my!!! What good advice.

3, 3 birds, I keep telling myself. Just take 3 birds.

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Fred I'm only taking 2!! First show, trial run. 2 sounds like enough to handle to me

 

[Fred's Hens]

I am actually only taking two as well. But, it is my hope that I will also be taking my 8 year old grandson, E-man, and he needs to take a bird to show over in Juniors, thus the third one. E-man is a good, dedicated chicken guy and has a heart for the birds. 4 day field trip with papa? Priceless.

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Fred

I jointly registered my birds for Colby and I in the open show. Colby is 16 so wasn't too interested in the juniors. Maybe worst case you could jointly register your 2. Just a thought

And as far as days with "papa", dang right. My boys were in my father in laws hip pocket all the time (and still are). Special relationship there