Hello! I’m Nora and I have shown chickens for 3 years in 4H and at the national poultry show! It’s super fun and allows me to interact with birds differently than having them as only pets. Since so many of my friends here have asked me about showing them, here is my introduction to showing!
Showing birds is a hobby for most that start, but it quickly turns into a lifestyle. It takes time to work with your birds and prepare them for shows. But this all pays off! When you start I recommend joining 4H because it’s a fun organization that is a great chicken show place! If you are older, best of luck to you at the larger shows! Here’s a timeline for showing:
1: GET YOUR BIRDS: usually we hatch our own birds or buy them from breeders. I love to get birds from the National Poultry Show when I buy, but these can be very expensive. So if you are first starting off, I would recommend buying 6+ of the same breed from a hatchery. This way they stay cheaper, but you still have a chance of getting a good bird. I have bought two batches of blue Orpingtons from Meyer Hatchery and they won at my fair 2 years in a row! But you want to make sure you get a good breed. I would try to stay away from pattern birds such as Wyandottes for your first year because it’s super easy to tell if you have a bad bird due to the pattern. Make sure they are an APA-approved breed as well! Check here for that!
Some birds I would recommend for first-year showers are:
Orpingtons
Sussex
Silkies
Leghorn
Plymouth rock
Austrolorp
NOTE: make sure you get them 9 months before your show!
2: PICK YOUR BIRD: usually people just want to pick one that’s pretty. But, you actually need to find the one closest to the A.P.A. Standard of Perfection! This is what all judges look at, they want the closest to the standard of perfection to win! This book is about 40 dollars, so I have a PDF linked HERE!!!
You will want to pick your two favorites (if you only show one) and your 3 (if you show two). This makes it so you can still have bird ready if anything were to happen to one. Use a small colored zip tie on their leg to mark them. (Make sure you don’t put it too tight! Just loose enough that it won’t slide off!)
NOTE: don’t pick your bird untill they are at least 6-8 months!
3: PREPARE FOR THE SHOW: hold your bird every day for a few minutes starting 4-6 weeks before your show. This is because your judge will hold them and you don’t want them to freak out. You want to open their wings as well.
You also want to wash your bird with poultry shampoo a week before the show. This is so they get oil back on them. You then can separate them from the other birds in a cage or other area so they don’t get poop and dirt on them.
The best shampoo:
Is this one!
If you are getting more advanced at showing you may want to use vinegar and other supplies!
Look here for directions on how to do that
4: SIGN UP FOR SHOW 4H VERSION: there are many classes at a poultry show. If you are doing 4H you sign up for classes such as fancy pullets (2F) or fancy pairs (1M 1F). Our fair you bring two birds, but for some you just bring one. This is important to figure out before the show. Your fair will have a list of classes you can look at, and all fairs do different classes. All fairs have showmanship. This is where you bring a bird up to judge and find you “show” it. The judge asks you questions based on your skill level. First year, junior (8-11), intermediate (12-15) and senior (16-18) are the classes offered at most fairs. You can move up if you win, and sometimes you have to skip a leva (for example, I won first year then competed in intermediate the next year, even though I wasent in that age class). After first year you go to your age class. HERE is a article about showmanship! Some helpful tips about showing your bird are stay confident (most judges are extremely nice and friendly), stay positive (even if you miss a question), study before hand (just google questions for showmanship and you’ll find lots of information) and look the part (in part 6)!
5:SIGN UP FOR THE SHOW NON-4H VERSION: you will have breed classes such as silkie pullet. All of these you only bring 1 bird. When your bird wins you move up to silkie class. I am not so good at these shows, but have learned a lot from a show called Chicken People. You should totally watch this and you will 100% learn so much about larger shows!
CHICKEN PEOPLE
6: DRESS TO IMPRESS: wear jeans, a belt, simple shoes (cowboy boots, black tennis shoes…) and a white lab coat or white button up. Wear your hair in a pony tail or braid if you are a girl and leave if you are a boy. Make sure you stay crisp and clean the whole show. This is what everyone is expected to wear.
NOTE: there is not a chicken brand. Wear any brand that matches this dress code!
7: AT THE SHOW: you will want to bring your birds to the show and set up. Put them in their cage with feed, water and shavings. You will then make sure that everything is full and clean for the whole time you are there. Re-read part 4 for what happens in classes.
There will be good chickens there and some bad chickens there. And good and bad showmanship people. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t win or place. You will get so much better! Keep at it (I promise you will soon be the best!)
8: CONTINUE YOUR JOURNEY: you will just move up! You will do harder classes and hopefully bring more chickens
. Redo all steps last year, but make sure you look at all my links! These will help you extend your knowledge at the show.
SUMMARY: I hope you know more about showing! Feel free to comment or post any questions about showing on my profile!
LEARN MORE:
How to show a chicken
How to understand large poultry shows
15 tips and tricks to showing
Steps on how to do showmansip
Best of luck to you on your journey!
Showing birds is a hobby for most that start, but it quickly turns into a lifestyle. It takes time to work with your birds and prepare them for shows. But this all pays off! When you start I recommend joining 4H because it’s a fun organization that is a great chicken show place! If you are older, best of luck to you at the larger shows! Here’s a timeline for showing:
1: GET YOUR BIRDS: usually we hatch our own birds or buy them from breeders. I love to get birds from the National Poultry Show when I buy, but these can be very expensive. So if you are first starting off, I would recommend buying 6+ of the same breed from a hatchery. This way they stay cheaper, but you still have a chance of getting a good bird. I have bought two batches of blue Orpingtons from Meyer Hatchery and they won at my fair 2 years in a row! But you want to make sure you get a good breed. I would try to stay away from pattern birds such as Wyandottes for your first year because it’s super easy to tell if you have a bad bird due to the pattern. Make sure they are an APA-approved breed as well! Check here for that!
Some birds I would recommend for first-year showers are:
Orpingtons
Sussex
Silkies
Leghorn
Plymouth rock
Austrolorp
NOTE: make sure you get them 9 months before your show!
2: PICK YOUR BIRD: usually people just want to pick one that’s pretty. But, you actually need to find the one closest to the A.P.A. Standard of Perfection! This is what all judges look at, they want the closest to the standard of perfection to win! This book is about 40 dollars, so I have a PDF linked HERE!!!
You will want to pick your two favorites (if you only show one) and your 3 (if you show two). This makes it so you can still have bird ready if anything were to happen to one. Use a small colored zip tie on their leg to mark them. (Make sure you don’t put it too tight! Just loose enough that it won’t slide off!)
NOTE: don’t pick your bird untill they are at least 6-8 months!
3: PREPARE FOR THE SHOW: hold your bird every day for a few minutes starting 4-6 weeks before your show. This is because your judge will hold them and you don’t want them to freak out. You want to open their wings as well.
You also want to wash your bird with poultry shampoo a week before the show. This is so they get oil back on them. You then can separate them from the other birds in a cage or other area so they don’t get poop and dirt on them.
The best shampoo:
Is this one!
If you are getting more advanced at showing you may want to use vinegar and other supplies!
Look here for directions on how to do that
4: SIGN UP FOR SHOW 4H VERSION: there are many classes at a poultry show. If you are doing 4H you sign up for classes such as fancy pullets (2F) or fancy pairs (1M 1F). Our fair you bring two birds, but for some you just bring one. This is important to figure out before the show. Your fair will have a list of classes you can look at, and all fairs do different classes. All fairs have showmanship. This is where you bring a bird up to judge and find you “show” it. The judge asks you questions based on your skill level. First year, junior (8-11), intermediate (12-15) and senior (16-18) are the classes offered at most fairs. You can move up if you win, and sometimes you have to skip a leva (for example, I won first year then competed in intermediate the next year, even though I wasent in that age class). After first year you go to your age class. HERE is a article about showmanship! Some helpful tips about showing your bird are stay confident (most judges are extremely nice and friendly), stay positive (even if you miss a question), study before hand (just google questions for showmanship and you’ll find lots of information) and look the part (in part 6)!
5:SIGN UP FOR THE SHOW NON-4H VERSION: you will have breed classes such as silkie pullet. All of these you only bring 1 bird. When your bird wins you move up to silkie class. I am not so good at these shows, but have learned a lot from a show called Chicken People. You should totally watch this and you will 100% learn so much about larger shows!
CHICKEN PEOPLE
6: DRESS TO IMPRESS: wear jeans, a belt, simple shoes (cowboy boots, black tennis shoes…) and a white lab coat or white button up. Wear your hair in a pony tail or braid if you are a girl and leave if you are a boy. Make sure you stay crisp and clean the whole show. This is what everyone is expected to wear.
NOTE: there is not a chicken brand. Wear any brand that matches this dress code!
7: AT THE SHOW: you will want to bring your birds to the show and set up. Put them in their cage with feed, water and shavings. You will then make sure that everything is full and clean for the whole time you are there. Re-read part 4 for what happens in classes.
There will be good chickens there and some bad chickens there. And good and bad showmanship people. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t win or place. You will get so much better! Keep at it (I promise you will soon be the best!)
8: CONTINUE YOUR JOURNEY: you will just move up! You will do harder classes and hopefully bring more chickens
. Redo all steps last year, but make sure you look at all my links! These will help you extend your knowledge at the show.SUMMARY: I hope you know more about showing! Feel free to comment or post any questions about showing on my profile!
LEARN MORE:
How to show a chicken
How to understand large poultry shows
15 tips and tricks to showing
Steps on how to do showmansip
Best of luck to you on your journey!
