Tips for conditioning show birds?

[FlashPointFarm]

That's great info. thanks Sharon!

 

[FlashPointFarm]

I just pulled these out of a grow out pen, and the feathers are pretty rough on the cockerel. What should I do to help get these feathers in condition, short of feeding high protein. Should I have him grow new ones?

And does anyone think she would be worth entering?

 

[FlashPointFarm]

Nevermind about the Orp, I don't think she's good enough.

 

[Ryu]

As long as the feathers aren't broken and the barbs are still intact, the bird can zip them back together and make the ruffled feathers look smooth again. A bath could speed things along, being black and the show being less than 2 mo away you could probably get away with washing now and spot cleaning legs/feet and shining up the comb for the show.

You could give them a few days away from the group to let them work on their plummage and see how they are. I always keep my show hens separate from the roos, just to keep the wings and back in good shape.

 

[shay20]

I wash my birds the night before the shows.
I et with warm water , sometimes i will use Dawn dish soap,
rinse and then rinse with ACV and rinse again.
some i use Skin So Soft body wash, i think this helps with keep a sheen and softness.
I use a soft toothbrush on there legs and feet, and clean there toes nail with a pick.
Then i put Vet Rx on there legs and feet, wattles face and combs.
and then let dry in a warm house.
The day of the show i reput the Vet Rx.

 

[shelleyd2008]

If I remember correctly it takes 6 weeks for feathers to grow back. So if the show is in 2 months and the bird has 'bad' feathers now is the time to pull them and let new ones grow back in.

For the person that asked about using boric acid to treat mites, I wouldn't do it personally. Boric acid can be pretty harsh, I'd be worried about skin problems. Sevin dust works good, or you can put some ivermectin pour-on cattle wormer on the back of the bird's neck, that will treat any external parasites. I think the only internal one it treats is roundworms, but I could be wrong about that being the only one.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Ivermectin is very broad spectrum. It is piperazine that only treats round worms (and not all of them).

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
That's what I thought, but I remember reading on the package that it treats roundworms in cattle and a few other parasites that I don't think chickens get, so that's why I said it was roundworms

Thanks Sonoran