What Qualities Do You Look For In Show Chickens?

[poltroon]

Check out Henderson's breed chart, at ithaca.edu, also. It's got a great cross section chart of qualities from rare to personality to egg color, size, cold-hardy, etc.

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

For yourself, aside from the qualities that are aesthetically appealing (white or color or pattern? Looks like a chicken or doesn't look like a chicken?) there are some other practical considerations.

Large versus small - it's easier to transport small birds and if you're having them in a barn, more of them fit; if you have acreage and want them on pasture, larger birds may be easier to keep.

Feather footed vs clean legged - I live in the pacific northwest, and we like our chickens to have access to some kind of outdoors. In our experience, this is not a great match with feathered feet. On the other hand, they can be very beautiful, and the feather footed breeds are often especially docile and nice to handle.

Certain colors are easier/harder to keep lustrous and perfect; certain colors are easier to breed correctly. Some colors, like speckled in Sussex, tend to progress over time, meaning that a bird that looked great may only look that good for a molt or two.

Do you enjoy the challenge of taking a rare or uncommon breed to a show, knowing that your birds may be the only ones from that breed entered, or do you prefer a more common breed where you will have more choices in your sources of stock and you're likely to have other fanciers and a mentor in your area?

 

[Chris09]

Where can I find a copy of Standard of Perfection?

You can get the Standard of Perfection here;
http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/store.htm

Chris

 

[upthecreek]

Number one Quality is "Body Balance" !!! Ever notice all the great football players are balanced individuals , same for Basketball , Boxing and other sports(same is true for chickens) . Body Balance means the body is put together perfect and working like a well oiled machine !! Without Body Balance the ability falls , inability to perform on top level is visible to the naked eye . A chicken without Body Balance will not survive very long in free range environment . Shannon

Hi All, I am looking at getting into showing chickens. I know nothing about showing though

. What are good characteristics or qualities in a good show chicken? Do they need proof of a pedigree to show? Any feedback is appreciated!

 

[Bo Garrett]

First and foremost is type, if the bird does not have the correct shape and carriage then it will not represent the breed, no matter how perfectly it is conditioned or how perfectly marked it is in its color pattern. A Rock must be a rock, a cochin a cochin, ect.....
This is the reason the Shape is described first in the standard and color second if they have the correct shape the balance will be there. Always remember that the written text is the description of the perfect specimen for each breed/variety, not the pictures.

Blessings,


Bo