When exhibiting birds...

[InviteTanner]

...do they need to be tame enough to be handled by the judge, or does the judge simply walk the pens and judge by sight only? Forgive my ignorance on this issue. In show horses it's against the rules for the judge to touch the animals so this is new territory for me.

 

[muddyhorse]

the judge will take the birds out and look at them. I have seen birds at shows have too wild written on their cards. With our show birds about a week before the show I put them in smaller cages and every time I go by I give them a treat. lately that has been Cicadas

this makes the birds attentive to the judge when they come by.

 

[WallTenters]

The judge has to handle them, and he usually pulls out their wings to look closely if it's any kind of a patterned breed. I play around with the bird's wings a lot, as well as their tail, etc. You want your bird to be calm enough that the judge can get a good look at all their patterning. Even the wildest bird can be calmed down with consistent handling, so there's hope!

 

[chickendales]

i like to put my birds that lil wild im cagesabout a month to get them use to people putting there hands in the cages

 

[chickendales]

most my breeder are in pairs and trios any ways so most my birds are always in cages where i have stick my hand in and feed and clean cages

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Quote:
X2!

I try to 'train' mine a few weeks before a show so they are easy enough to handle-it becomes one less thing I have to worry about on show day.

I recently went to one where the judge was trying to pull out a Polish cockerel and he was so aggressive that he severely drew blood from the man! Nothing was written on the exhibitor's cage card, the judge just cleaned his arm, shook his head, and walked away.