I guess that you can be unselective about temprement with show chickens, but it makes chicken exhibitors look amateurish compared to anyone else: there is no excuse keeping a mean animal, even if they're not likely to turn you into a fine pink paste the way a bad bull will. My life got an order of magnitude easier when I got rid of a mean rooster. It's just too unpleasant and complicated no matter what their apparent physical perfection.
I've known people who were killed by bad cattle, horses, and goats, so I may be biased.
I used to have two hens that were incredibly friendly, would fly up onto my shoulder and call me whenever they saw me. I really loved them, UNTIL, it came time to part with them. Now I don't want friendly chickens. Just good , healthy birds for the pasture. I personally don't care about egg colour, just want good layers (although my buyers like the rainbow boxes). I want healthy birds that will lay in winter, and won't die from the weather. I like blue birds, but it doesn't "REALLY" matter. I like those that forage and don't eat a huge amount. I'd like ones that will make a good table bird if it turns out to be a cockerel.
IF I were to choose a bird for looks, I really like the dark Cornish. They look like predators and have a nice body, sort of like Schwarzenegger. I like the game birds in general (looks wise). While I love white birds, our weather is bad and they look horrible in winter.
Right now I have a few adolescent Dorkings (great foragers, good table birds, winter layers and hardy). The chicks are Marans, JG's (which I'm going to try a project with) and hopefully some Ameraucanas.
[COLOR=800080]But, truth be told I would NOT have chickens if it weren't for the eggs (I like eggs a lot). We have rabbits and I really like the higher dress out, and the taste. They can go in any recipe that calls for chicken, they are lower in fat and cholesterol and don't make any noise![/COLOR]
There is no difference between show birds and production. Or at least there shouldn't be. Form follows function. I just notice some preference differences depending on ones focus. A lot of folks that show will choose simple patterns or solid colors, because its easier to get a highly competitive bird, where as non show folks love the different complex colors and patterns. Exhibitors don't give a darn about egg color, it doesn't matter. Non show folk like tinted eggs etc. again not right or wrong, just interesting differences.
Edit: other big difference I've noted is exhibitors don't particularly care about the birds personality in general, while the non show people gravitate away from breeds that have tendencies to be flighty or aggressive.
I think having friendly birds to a point is needed, show or production, because you don't want a bird that is going to tear you, your friends, family, another animal or pet up if you are requiring eggs or show from them. I do love the complex patterns of the birds, and they are gorgeous. My mother is an artist, and loves to get new fresh pictures of my animals to paint, and they are fun to look at. I think a bird that is still afraid of things, is a good thing. They are more apt to stay away from predators, and they keep your cat away lol I have a rooster that is somewhat tame, but we had a raccoon attack not to long ago, and he beat up the raccoon pretty good, but not till after it got one of my birds, that in turn made him come after me in the morning. I keep him for that reason, otherwise, he lives his life, doing his thing, and I do mine. But if he were to attack all the time, his name is Chicken Dinner, and that's what he will be lol But it's also nice to go into the enclosure with the chicks (I have to flocks right now, one older, one younger) and they run up for treats, but it's going to make it harder to cook some of the cockerals when it comes time. They are pretty, and a pleasure to have around, and it's cute seeing them sleeping on top of my goats at night, they share the same pen and get along great. So I see both sides there. And I see why a show person would want a less complex color scheme to a bird, but then again I didn't get birds to show off, I got them to supplement me in food, and that's about it lol They could be ugly, I really don't care, as long as the end of the day I have something tasty.
How many of you show birds? What do you get out of it? To me it seems a lot of work for little gain? I get it more in a commercial sense, where you are selling meat or eggs, so having a flock with awards to it's name can mean the difference between non sale and sale, but as just a farmer, I am not so sure what you gain. I want to go back on my own for work, but cost for me is being prohibitive right now, and that means I am going to start small...really small. Was this a way any of you got into it?
