The world of poultry showing is quite unknown to many people around the world, however for those who participate in the proceedings can take it quite seriously!
I was first introduced to the mad world of poultry showing back in 2015, when I took 4 Barbu d’anvers to a local show. To my delight one of the birds was placed 2nd in her class- I didn’t care that none of my other birds were placed. From this moment on I was hooked.
To some people the idea of showing poultry can be quite daunting, however I suggest you jump right in. While people do take it seriously theres still a great social aspect to it. Making new friends, sharing tips and advice from the previous year, chatting about how you’re breeding season was etc.
You may now be asking, how do I prepare a bird for a show?
The first step is to ensure your bird meets the standards for that particular breed. In the case of USA these standard are set out in the American Standards of Perfection book. Similarly standards in the UK and Ireland are set out by in the Poultry Clubs Standards Book. One of these books can be found online/on eBay.
Once you’ve checked that your bird is up to standards for a show, you’ll need to find a show in your locality. Again the web is quite useful for finding this type of information. Read the schedule, enter your bird into the appropriate class and send in your entries. Now, let the fun begin!
A couple of weeks before the show get your bird used to being in a cage and being handled. Place the bird into a cage for a couple of hours each day. Take them out and handle them, look at their wing feathers etc. After a couple of weeks the bird will be almost ready to show!
Around 7 days before the show it’s time to wash your bird. Get two big buckets, fill them each with warm water, and put shampoo into one of them (I use dog shampoo). First, place the bird into the shampoo bucket and wash its feet, and then start on the feathers. Once you’re happy with the cleanliness of the bird move it into the bucket without the shampoo and rinse it off.
Step 2; remove the bird from the bucket and place onto a towel. Wrap the bird in the towel and begin to gently pat it down. Once the excess water is off it’s time to dry the bird with a hairdryer! I find that this is generally the birds favourite part and often times they’ll begin to fall asleep.
Step 3; once the bird is dried it’s time to clip their beak and toe nails. You can use a normal nail clippers, or a dog toe nail clippers. Take a small bit off each nail at a time. This will ensure you don’t cause the bird to bleed. If a bit of blood begins to come out just dip the nail into a small bit of corn starch. Once you’ve the nails trimmed to an acceptable length you can grab an Emery board and shape up the nails. Repeat the same process with the beak. Trim a little off, and file with emery board.
Your bird is now prepared for the show- it’s simply a waiting game for show day now.
Step 4; It’s now the morning of the show. Box up your birds. Bring a bit of food and water along with you for the birds after judging. Bring some wet wipes and Vaseline along with you too.
Once you arrive at the show collect your penning slips (these may have been sent out to you prior to the show)
Take your bird out of its box and give it one quick look over to make sure it’s still clean. Sometimes their feet may get a bit dirty between them being washed and the show so this is where the wet wipes come in handy! Simply use a wet wipe to clean down the birds feet.
Now the Vaseline/petroleum jelly comes in handy. Take a small bit out on your fingers and rub this onto the birds comb, wattle and feet. This really brings out the colour on the wattles/comb and gives them a good shine.
Your bird is now ready to go into the show pen!
Step 5; wait until judging is over and go check out how your bird got on. If you don’t get a result you wanted don’t be disheartened. Try again at the next show and remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day!
After a show or two you’ll be hooked! Every year you’ll find yourself breeding more and more to try and get that perfect bird.
And the final step is to just enjoy!
Final tip: YouTube is a very useful place when it comes to showing birds. You’ll find so much information on there about how to wash birds, how to trim toe nails and beaks etc.
Here’s some photos;
My Black bantam Orpington which got overall show champion at a recent show
My Quail Barbu d’Anver cockerel- Champion Belgian and Best d’Anver
My Black D’Anver hen- Reserve Best Belgian
Champions Row- all of the best in Section birds are placed up here.
Some photos around the show once judging was finished
I was first introduced to the mad world of poultry showing back in 2015, when I took 4 Barbu d’anvers to a local show. To my delight one of the birds was placed 2nd in her class- I didn’t care that none of my other birds were placed. From this moment on I was hooked.
To some people the idea of showing poultry can be quite daunting, however I suggest you jump right in. While people do take it seriously theres still a great social aspect to it. Making new friends, sharing tips and advice from the previous year, chatting about how you’re breeding season was etc.
You may now be asking, how do I prepare a bird for a show?
The first step is to ensure your bird meets the standards for that particular breed. In the case of USA these standard are set out in the American Standards of Perfection book. Similarly standards in the UK and Ireland are set out by in the Poultry Clubs Standards Book. One of these books can be found online/on eBay.
Once you’ve checked that your bird is up to standards for a show, you’ll need to find a show in your locality. Again the web is quite useful for finding this type of information. Read the schedule, enter your bird into the appropriate class and send in your entries. Now, let the fun begin!
A couple of weeks before the show get your bird used to being in a cage and being handled. Place the bird into a cage for a couple of hours each day. Take them out and handle them, look at their wing feathers etc. After a couple of weeks the bird will be almost ready to show!
Around 7 days before the show it’s time to wash your bird. Get two big buckets, fill them each with warm water, and put shampoo into one of them (I use dog shampoo). First, place the bird into the shampoo bucket and wash its feet, and then start on the feathers. Once you’re happy with the cleanliness of the bird move it into the bucket without the shampoo and rinse it off.
Step 2; remove the bird from the bucket and place onto a towel. Wrap the bird in the towel and begin to gently pat it down. Once the excess water is off it’s time to dry the bird with a hairdryer! I find that this is generally the birds favourite part and often times they’ll begin to fall asleep.
Step 3; once the bird is dried it’s time to clip their beak and toe nails. You can use a normal nail clippers, or a dog toe nail clippers. Take a small bit off each nail at a time. This will ensure you don’t cause the bird to bleed. If a bit of blood begins to come out just dip the nail into a small bit of corn starch. Once you’ve the nails trimmed to an acceptable length you can grab an Emery board and shape up the nails. Repeat the same process with the beak. Trim a little off, and file with emery board.
Your bird is now prepared for the show- it’s simply a waiting game for show day now.
Step 4; It’s now the morning of the show. Box up your birds. Bring a bit of food and water along with you for the birds after judging. Bring some wet wipes and Vaseline along with you too.
Once you arrive at the show collect your penning slips (these may have been sent out to you prior to the show)
Take your bird out of its box and give it one quick look over to make sure it’s still clean. Sometimes their feet may get a bit dirty between them being washed and the show so this is where the wet wipes come in handy! Simply use a wet wipe to clean down the birds feet.
Now the Vaseline/petroleum jelly comes in handy. Take a small bit out on your fingers and rub this onto the birds comb, wattle and feet. This really brings out the colour on the wattles/comb and gives them a good shine.
Your bird is now ready to go into the show pen!
Step 5; wait until judging is over and go check out how your bird got on. If you don’t get a result you wanted don’t be disheartened. Try again at the next show and remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day!
After a show or two you’ll be hooked! Every year you’ll find yourself breeding more and more to try and get that perfect bird.
And the final step is to just enjoy!
Final tip: YouTube is a very useful place when it comes to showing birds. You’ll find so much information on there about how to wash birds, how to trim toe nails and beaks etc.
Here’s some photos;
My Black bantam Orpington which got overall show champion at a recent show
My Quail Barbu d’Anver cockerel- Champion Belgian and Best d’Anver
My Black D’Anver hen- Reserve Best Belgian
Champions Row- all of the best in Section birds are placed up here.
Some photos around the show once judging was finished
