Which one for 4-H?

[mother o' chicks72]

I have 6 chickens and would like to know which 2 would do best in 4-H. thanks!
Buff Orpington

Dominique

Black Australorp

Blue Laced Red Wyandotte

Bantam White Polish

Barred Rock

Thanks!

 

[mother o' chicks72]

anyone? if none of 'em are good tell me, I'd just like to know.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Are you talking about a 4-H poultry show as in a judge comes to examine and handle their birds for their show qualities?

Or some other sort of contest or project?

If it's for show what kind of show will it be? A local county fair? A more formal APA sanctioned event?

County fairs and shows that are just 4-H and/or FFA are often more forgiving of having less than premium quality birds. More formal APA sanctioned events you'd really want to buy show quality birds if you want your child to have any chance of winning.

I am not a poultry judge so I can't give you the relative merits/demerits of each of your birds, but maybe this will bump it back to the top where someone who does know will see it. From what I can see in the photos I'd go with the Polish in the bottom pictures if it were me.

Showing can be as simple or as involved as you care to make it. For your child to have the best chance of winning you'd want to learn how to properly prepare the bird for show and if she's going to be doing the showmanship competition (not quite the same as simply showing a bird) then your child will need to be able to answer some simple questions based on their age and show the judge they know how to handle their bird.

The APA/ABA Youth Club at http://www.apa-abayouthpoultryclub.org/ can help a lot with that. Even if you don't join they offer a lot of educational and helpful resources to improve your child's chances of winning which can be found here: http://www.apa-abayouthpoultryclub.org/educational_material.htm

Showing birds (or goats, hogs, cows, etc) is a game that has both rules and strategies for improving ones chances of winning. The better you know both the better your chances.

Good luck!

 

[Oregon Blues]

Don't the 4-Hers have to take the birds out, present them on the table and answer questions from the judge?

If that is the case, I'd train the one that is easiest to handle.

If you find that you like showing, top quality birds are not expensive. You can purchase a very good trio for less than $200 of almost any breed. Some breeds a whole lot less than that. Compare that to the price of a show horse.

 

[greenscape]

Judging from the pics all are good looking birds. It looks like the Barred Rock needs her nails done. LOL just clip them off like you would a Dog.

 

[NicInNC]

The Dominique is my favorite. can you only enter one? I'd enter more than one if you can. We just entered our non-show quality chickens in the local fair for fun....not expecting to win anything. Our Mottled D'uccle took 1st place and our Silkie got 2nd. We were shocked!
GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[Sumatra503]

There are two types of showing in 4-H Showmanship and conformation.

Showmanship is all about you and not so much the bird. During showmanship you will need to be able handle your bird very well and show various parts. In some states you will have to walk your chickens down the table as well. You will answer knowledge questions and do other things to show your knowledge of poultry and showing them. For showmanship it is important to pick a bird that is easy for you to handle and is not spastic of flighty. For this purpose I would choose the chicken that you can handle easiest and seems to like you the most.

Conformation, however, is all about the bird and how closely it matches the standard of perfection. For conformation you will be able to enter multiple birds. Do a bit of research and try to find someone with a standard of perfection that you can read. Compare your birds to the standard's description and choose the birds that are match the standard the closest.

If you are showing just for the sake of fun you can just bring your favorite chickens or the ones you think are the prettiest.

 

[chickendales]

i enter the polish she most show quailty

 

[brahmakid11]

i like all chickens i dont have a favorite

 

[tandersphoenix]

Quote:
I agree the polish is looks like the best to me too.. The buff orpington is not very good, the white earlobes are a DQ if the judge knows their stuff.. I'd spend some extra time with your polish!!