April 2008 Poultry Shows

South Arkansas Poultry Club - April 5th - El Dorado, Arkansas - Contact: Bill and Debbie Atwood 1.870.942.7361

Heart of America Spring Show - April 12th - Kansas State Fairgrounds - Hutchinson, Kansas. Contact: George Robbins 1.785.863.2184

2008 ABA Semi-Annual Gateway Poultry and Pigeon Show - April 12 - 13th - Monroe County Fairgrounds - Bloomington, Indiana. Contact: Rick Bond 1.812.988.8815

Missouri State Poultry Association - 26th Anniversary Show and Swap Meet - Double Sanctioned - One Day Show - April 19th, Missouri State Fairgrounds - Sedalia, Missouri. Contact: Bernita Miller 1.660.647.2474

Dayton Fancy Feather Club - 102 Annual Show - April 26 and 27th, Greenville, Ohio. Darke County Fairgrounds. Contact: Gary Overton 1.937.839.5626

Tags: poultry, poultry shows, april 2008 poultry shows, poultry association

March 2008 Poultry Shows

Muskingum County Poultry Breeders Association - 1st Annual Show - March 1st, Zanesville, Ohio. Contact: Carl Baker 1.740.453.1583

OEGBCONC - 28th Annual Unifour All Breed Show - March 1st, Rowan County Fairgrounds, Salisbury, North Carolina - One Day Show. Contact: Neil Mahaffey 1.336.769.4392

Northeast Oklahoma Poultry Club - Pryor, Oklahoma - March 1st - Contact: Kenneth Kvittum 1.918.476.5613

Carpet City Bantam Club - 7th Annual Double Spring Fling - March 8th, Dalton, Georgia. Contact: Jeff Wilson 1.706.695.7092

Heartland Classic Poultry Association - March 15 - 16, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Contact: Kirk Keene whtrock@hotmail.com

Delmarva Poultry Fanciers Club - 32nd Annual Show - March 29 - 30, Delaware State Fairgrounds, Harrington, Delaware. Contact: Rich Barczewsci 1.302.659.1211

Southeast Ohio Poultry Breeders - 7th Annual Poultry Show, March 29th, Washington County Fairgrounds - Marietta, Ohio. Contact: Jeff Oxley 1.740.593.6537

Tags: poultry, poultry shows, march 2008 poultry shows, poultry association

February 2008 Poultry Shows

Tri City Bantam Association - 16th Annual Show - February 2nd - Muscle Shoals, Alabama contact secretaries Stewart and Melody Pearson 1.256.356.8599

Hart County Bantam Club - 11th Annual All Game Show - February 9th, National Guard Amory, Hartwell, Georgia - Information: Keith Sokol 1.706.376.3211

The Chattahoochiee Valley Poultry Association - 4th Annual Show - February 16th, Coweta County Fairgrounds - Newnan, Georgia - Contact: Beth Smith 1.770.251.6510

West Alabama Poultry Club - February 23rd, Tuscaloosa, Alabama - JC’s Fairgrounds. Contact: Robert Tyler 1.205.339.0888

Tags: poultry, poultry shows, february 2008 poultry shows, poultry association

Central Indiana Poultry Show

This is one of the best organized shows we have been to. They had 193 showmen and 1439 poultry and waterfowl an turkeys. For their first show this was a good one, i really liked the one day show in and out. The kids did really well;

Trey’s Partridge Cochin got a First and a Second roosters.

Denton’s Dark Cornish rooster got a First and his Royal Palm Turkeys tom received BB,BV,first and Reserve Grand Champion of show.

Coty’s Silver Dutch received BB,BV hen and RV,RB rooster

Areil’s Light Brahma rooster received a First.

We are very proud of the kids and there poultry and turkeys. Now for the old folks placings. We wil start with Gayla’s Dutch Cream Light Blue rooster wich received BB,BV. Her Light Brown hens received First and Second.

Now for mine, Lets just say old dad got a real razing. Three hens placed Second, Third and Fourth.

How a Poultry Show works in North America

How It’s All Laid Out

Poultry shows are generally open to three types of fowl recognized by the American Poultry Association. Turkeys and waterfowl are shown at most shows, but we will focus on chickens here as they are by far the most common type of fowl at most shows.

It may appear at first glance that there are wall-to-wall chickens in no particular order. However, someone has worked hard to organize the birds. The pattern may not be apparent, but once you know what you are looking at, it will start to make sense.

Large Fowl or Bantam?

The first thing you may notice is that there are very large birds and very small birds. You might even notice that some look almost identical except for the size. The large birds are known as large fowl or standard size. The small birds are bantams, sometimes called “banties”. A few types of birds come only in large fowl or bantam, but most can be either. The relationship is similar to “toy” or miniature dogs and their “normal” size counterparts. The goal is to have virtually the same bird, except for size. Typically large fowl will weigh in at 9 to 12 pounds while a bantam will weigh 2 to 3 pounds. Large fowl are the standard size for a chicken, but bantams are popular because they are smaller, easier to handle, take up less space, eat less food and still provide many of the benefits of owning chickens. In the show, large fowl and bantams will be shown separately.

Class

The next thing you may notice is that birds are broken down into classes. For large fowl, the classes are named after the area of origin. You will notice an American Class, Asiatic Class, English Class, Mediterranean Class, Continental Class and an All Other Standard Breed Class. For bantams, classes are named after physical characteristics. These include Game Bantams, Single Comb Clean Legged (S.C.C.L.), Rose Comb Clean Legged (R.C.C.L.), All Other Comb Clean Legged (A.O.C.C.L.), and Feather Legged Classes. Every breed will be listed in one and only one class.

Breed

Within each class will be several breeds. Each breed will have specific characteristic(s) that differentiate it from all other breeds. One example of a breed is the Plymouth Rock. Breeds will differ in shape, feather characteristics, comb and other attributes. Some breeds originated for meat production, some for egg production, others originated from Asian or European fighting cock stocks, while a few breeds were developed for ornamental qualities. The Standard of Perfection will provide information on breeds, their characteristics and history.

Variety

If you look at a breed you will find that there are often many color patterns represented. Both large and bantam Plymouth Rocks are recognized in the Standard in Barred, White, Buff, Silver Penciled, Partridge, Columbian, and Blue varieties. The black variety was recently admitted, but for Plymouth Rock bantams only. Each of these varieties has distinctive traits that set it apart from other varieties. You may find some of the same varieties appearing in a number of breeds, for example, there are also Buff Cochins, Buff Cornish and Buff Orpingtons as well as a few other breeds. The Standard of Perfection will list the characteristics of each variety.

Gender & Age

Within each variety, birds will be divided based on sex and age. A cock (C) is a male bird over one year old while a cockerel (K) is a male bird under one year old. A hen (H) is a female over one year old while a pullet (P) is a female under one year old. Birds might also be placed in a trio, which will be either an old trio (2 hens and a cock) or a young trio (2 pullets and a cockerel).

Scoring Birds

Judges score birds using a detailed point system that compares various physical points on each bird. Certain characteristics are disqualifications and preclude a bird from being considered for placing. The closer a bird approaches the standard of perfection, the more points they will score and the better their chances of placing. For more information on the point scale, see the Standard of Perfection published by the APA. A copy should be available at the information desk at a show.

Placing

Judges will review the birds and place the best specimens. The first step is to look at all of the pullets of one variety and rank from first through third or fifth place. The same will be done with each age/gender group and the coop cards will be marked with a 1, 2 etc. After all of the birds in a variety have been judged, the official will select the best and second best representative of the variety and mark them Best of Variety (BV) or Reserve of Variety (RV).

After all of the varieties of a breed have been judged for Best and Reserve, the official will pick from those birds the two that best represent the breed and will mark them Best of Breed (BB) and Reserve of Breed (RB).

After all of the breeds in a class have been judged, the official will place a Best and Reserve in class from the Best and Reserve and of Breeds. Typically a show will have a Champion Row where the best bird in each class is displayed. From Champion Row, the judges will select a Champion Large Fowl, and Champion Bantam. Finally a Grand Champion, or Best Bird of Show, may be selected from among the best of the waterfowl, turkeys and chickens.

Judges

The judges of a show are licensed either by the American Poultry Association or the American Bantam Association (or both). The licensing process requires years of practice, an apprenticeship, and passage of a strenuous written and practical test. Judges are poultry fanciers who have taken the hobby to its full extent and are a wealth of knowledge. It is considered good etiquette not to talk with or interfere with a judge while they are judging.

What if a bird is not in the Standard?

There are many breeds, varieties or hybrids that are not recognized in the APA or ABA standards. (If they are not of a recognized breed, they may be placed but can not win champion if they are entered into a show.) If the standard of perfection for the breed has not been officially determined, there are no standards by which a bird can be judged. To be admitted into the APA standard, a breed must have several supporters that have been working with it for at least 5 years and are able to have a minimum of 50 birds exhibited at a show. If all of these conditions are met, a breed or variety may be admitted to the standard and written up in the Standard of Perfection. It will be eligible to compete in shows from that point forward.

This page is the reformatted text from a pamphlet that I created for our poultry club. It is geared towards those new to the poultry fancy or visitors to one of our shows. I have tried to cover some of the basics I remember finding mysterious as I joined the hobby seven years ago.

The original pamphlet is tri-folded, two sided, and has a few graphics thrown in. The reverse side has a cover, a panel on resource groups available, and an application to join the Pacific Northwest Poultry Association.

I have donated the pamphlet to the PNPA, but will share a master copy with individuals or organizations that will use it for free, educational purposes.

STARTING OUT IN SHOW POULTRY

A common question beginners ask is advice on what breeds to keep. The best way to answer this would be to visit shows and make your own choice. When inspecting the exhibits it would
be wise to ask breeders, showman & judges the advantages and difficulties of varieties that please your eye. It is best to avoid the rarer breeds/varieties when starting off as stock is harder to obtain, and is likely to be of doubtful quality. They will also receive little competition in shows and judges
may be unfamiliar with them thus not assessing them properly.

I would recommend a breed that lays well and make good mothers. This way you don’t have to get a separate breed to hatch the eggs or buy an expensive incubator. Despite this the beginner is most likely to do best with a variety that he/she most admires, so long as they obtain good stock and are
not easily disheartened by early set-backs.

A common mistake made by most beginner’s is to keep too many kinds. Concentrate on one or two breeds at first and don’t add another until you have gained experience on the first. This is the best advice in the world, but seldom followed.

OPEN RANGE VS CONFINED EGGS

Do you know the difference in open range eggs and confined eggs? Not many people do, it sounds good open range chickens running all over. Where do you think the chickens lay their eggs? How long do you think they lay out in the pasture before they are collected? I don’t much care for how they treat caged hens either, but most people have been buying caged eggs for years and they never complained about it. In confined layers they are not fertile eggs, in open range poultry they could be fertile. Open range eggs cost more because you have to hire twice the amount of people to collect the eggs. confined eggs roll down a line for a couple of people to collect.

All confined chicken are only confined to laying for one year. Open range poultry do have a better life to wonder and forage for bugs and grass but both confined and open range both get the same bagged feed. We confine our show poultry for one month prior to shows, they do lay inside. We do not like how confined poultry are treated but we do not think that open range eggs should be dollar or more than confined eggs.How do you now that they are truly open range poultry? We do not. We do know that either of the two are not as fresh as if you had your own egg layers. Their are too many people that want to make a profit from using words like open range or organic or lower cholesterol. Just something for you the people to think about. All we want is for you to think about things and ask yourself which is better for you and your family.

Ohio Nationals

Ohio Nationals will be coming up in November and is a great place to go and visit with other poultry folk. We will be going to try and add to our own flock, this is a great place to buy and sell poultry. hope to see you their.

our next show

Connersville Indiana in october will be our next show before we go to the Ohio Nationals hope to see you their

poultry washing

To get ready for a show you need to wash your birds, you will need 3 tubs and a 4th tub if you have white birds. Fill your tubs with warm water , in the first tub you need to add a show guality soap,seven (bug killer) and borax.

In the second tub filled with water you need to add vinagar.

Your third tub should be just plain water. If you have white bird you will need your 4th tub filled with water and add a small amount of bluing.

O.K. now that you have you tubs filled you are ready to wash. Now get your first bird and grab him with one hand under his body and the other over his wings.

Now slowly dip him into the water making sure his head is not below water level. You want to wet them down good and always rub with the feathers not against them.

Now making sure that you have washed legs, feet and all other part really well place your hand under him and over his wing and take him to your second tub wich has the vinegar in it.

The vinegar helps to gat the soap out of the feathers. Make sure to rinse the bird really well at this tub.You really do not have to rub just make sure the water reaches the skin.

Now to the 3 tub wich is just plain water, repeat the same thing as in the second tub.

If you have colured birds you are done get a towel and get as much moister off as you can. If you have birds that are fluffy like Cochins and Silkies they need to be dried with a hair drier. Now if you have all white birds they need to be taken to the 4th tub with bluing in it.

Repeat the same method as with rinsing. MAKE SURE NOT TO ADD TO MUCH BLUING AS THIS WILL TURN YOUR BIRDS BLUE, oNLY A FEW DROPS. Towel dry and keep your birds in a draft free room to dry. it takes about 2 days for your birds to dry all of the way. Now you are ready to so and good luck