Sure ribbons and trophies are nice, but thats not what showing is all about - its about having fun. Everyone has a different idea of what "fun" is tho - like to learn, some like the competition, some like the comradery.
I used to show dogs - I was involved with conformation showing, field trials, and obedience. It was fun at first, and I learned a LOT, but honestly, I didn't find much comradery there. The competition in my breed was pretty tight, which was fine because I knew that going into it - but the judging was so political that only the people that paid big bucks for a professional handler seemed to get anywhere, and even then only dogs with certain lineages ever won anything - it seemed that it was more about who you were, how much money you had and what kennel your dog was from than anything else. I was told over and over again, "you'll never put any titles on that dog without a handler" and "find him a home and get a dog worth showing". Well, this made me more determined to prove them wrong, regardless of how long it took to do it. They finally shut up four years later, when one of my dogs and I got our CD in obedience and came in FIRST PLACE in a class of 58 dogs. After that, I just lost my taste for showing dogs - we accomplished what they said we couldn't do, but we just didn't have as much fun along the way as I was told we would in the beginning. We had more fun hangin' out at home just being best buds.
Fast forward a few years and now I have chickens - I don't show them (yet), but I catch a lot of flack just for *having* them. Most people around here just don't understand - to them, they're just dirty birds and only good for eating. When these "non-believers" come by the house, I casually pull out a couple lawn chairs and a little bucket of scratch, and as we sit down, the birds gather round, and I start throwing out the scratch. Within SECONDS, my non-believing friends are hooked! I've now got several friends that have converted to my way of thinking, and if they haven't started their own flock already, they come by to hang out with me and mine - and more often than not, they take home a dozen eggs or two. Suddenly, these "dirty birds" aren't so dirty anymore! I still have a few friends to convert, and I will in time. Until then, they can say whatever they want, it doesn't bother me. I've been a "bird person" since I was a little girl - I've done my share of rescuing/rehabbing wild birds, and I've kept parrots for many years - but now I wish I'd gotten into poultry a LOOOONG time ago, because I tell ya, I'm having more fun with them than I ever imagined! Granted, chickens aren't as brightly colored and they're not as trainable as parrots, but being able to keep my birds outside in the sunshine and fresh air, where they can do what comes natural to them, rather than having them in a cage in the house, well, its just awesome in my book. To me, they each have a personality, and they're just plain COOL - and having a constant supply of beautifully colored fresh eggs is just a bonus, IMO. I may decide to show them one day, and if I do, it won't be JUST for the prizes or notoriety that comes with winning. It will be to meet people who share my interest, and to learn from them - maybe later down the road, we might win something, but if we don't, thats ok, too - because poultry people are down to earth, fun to hang out with, and willing to share their knowledge, all traits that I value in people. For now tho, I'll just rely on BYC for all that.
What I'm trying to say here is, you shouldn't have to prove yourself to anyone in order to have fun, and you certainly don't owe anyone any explanation as to WHY you enjoy keeping/showing your birds. Its a personal choice, and as long as you're gaining from it - whether that be in knowledge, friendships or prizes - I say GO FOR IT!!!
