SHOWING YOUR CHICKENS
Raising standard-bred chickens for show can be an interesting and rewarding hobby. If you go into it without preparation, however, the fun can easily turn into frustration. In this brief chapter, we hope to convince you that showing and breeding for show are not as simple as bundling up a pet chicken and trundling off to a competition. Before deciding to exhibit your chickens, visit a few poultry shows, join one or more local or national poultry organizations, and, above all, look, listen, and ask loads of questions to gain an understanding of the subtleties and intricacies involved.
GETTING UP TO SPEED
A good way to enter the world of exhibition poultry is by joining a local or statewide poultry fanciers club. By attending local meetings, you will connect with other people who are interested in showing chickens. They can help you get started by telling you where you might obtain good show stock and by answering your questions on the unique care show birds need.
If you already know what breed you want to show, join a national organization that specializes in that breed. Most of them have websites offering pertinent information about their chosen breed and listing members who raise and sell show-quality birds.
An indispensable resource is a copy of the American Standard of Perfection, published by the American Poultry Association (APA). The Standard includes descriptions of all the APA-recognized breeds, with illustrations to acquaint you with what they should look like. The birds you will want for show should look as much as possible like the ones described in the Standard.
If your chosen show bird is a bantam, also obtain the Bantam Standard, published by the American Bantam Association (ABA). Although the APA Standard does include bantams, the breed and variety descriptions are not always identical to those in the Bantam Standard. Once you get your feet wet, membership in the APA and/or the ABA makes you eligible for prizes offered at their respective sanctioned shows.
For serious exhibitors, a subscription to the monthly newspaper Poultry Press (or, in Canada, Feather Fancier) is a must-have. Each issue announces dates and contact information for upcoming shows around the country, reports on the winners of past competitions, often contains useful articles about breeding and caring for show chickens, and includes ads for just about anything you might want or need related to exhibiting your chickens.
CHICKENS FOR SHOW
The best way to find out what show chickens look like is to attend exhibitions and see the real deal for yourself. Try to determine why the judges ranked the birds as they did. Compare the winning birds with those placing second and third, and compare them all with the pictures in the Standard.
Always take the Standard along when you intend to look at show chickens. Many well-respected show judges carry a Standard while judging exhibitions, and they consult it before making any important decisions, despite having judged chickens for so long that they likely have the entire book memorized.
By first acquainting yourself with birds at competitions, you will be better able to make wise choices in purchasing your own stock. Once you are ready to purchase show chickens, exercise caution in deciding whom to buy them from. Many people raise and sell pet-quality purebreds. While these chickens roughly fit the description of their breeds and are readily identifiable as such, they are not likely to win any prizes.
“Not likely” doesn’t mean never. We know one fellow who bought a chick at the local farm store, raised it to maturity, entered it in the county fair, and walked away with first prize. But, that was beginner’s luck more than skill and is certainly not a good formula for raising consistent winners.
BUY OR BREED
A big temptation for beginning exhibitors is to go out and buy the best chicken they can afford, enter it into shows, and enjoy the pride of winning first place time after time. Whatever skill is involved in grooming a chicken that someone else bred, the real skill is in breeding your own show stock.
Chicken-keepers who’ve been seriously bitten by the show bug invariably want to breed their own potential prizewinners. The reason is that no chicken looks exactly like its description in the Standard, and serious exhibitors develop breeding strategies to raise birds that come as close as possible to the ideal for their breed. After a few years, each breeder’s flock has an unmistakable look. Show judges and fellow exhibitors can identify these breeders just by looking at one of their chickens.
We have several friends who breed particularly outstanding show chickens and have rooms full of trophies attesting to the quality of their birds. Invariably, along comes a newbie who aspires to win big at show and, wishing to take a shortcut, offers an obscene amount of money for a top winner, and then proceeds to best everyone, including the bird’s original owner. We once asked a breeder how he felt about being beaten by someone who had bought the winning bird from him. He replied that it made him feel good, because he knew he had bred the bird, and so did everyone else.
When buying chickens for show or as show-breeder stock, look not only at the bird you intend to purchase but also, if possible, at its parents, siblings, and offspring to determine if they are of consistent quality. A good seller will be happy to help you make a decision, pointing out any problems each bird may have, as well as its finer qualities. And be prepared for sticker shock when you hear the price; a show-quality chicken sells for many times more than your run-of-the-mill backyard chicken.
SIX POPULAR BANTAMS FOR EXHIBITION
Cochin
Modern Game
Old English Game
Plymouth Rock
Silkie
Wyandotte
A common newbie mistake is to want to enter many different breeds into competition, with the hope that at least some will come out winners. A better strategy is to select a breed and variety to specialize in. Once you get good at that, you will be ready to expand into different varieties of the same breed, or into a different breed altogether.
SIX POPULAR LARGE BREEDS FOR EXHIBITION
Australorp
Brahma
Cochin
Jersey Giant
Plymouth Rock
Rhode Island Red
Electing to specialize in a popular show breed has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that good show-quality stock is more readily available. The disadvantage is that competition will be stiffer. The rarer breeds have fewer competitors, but finding show-quality birds is more difficult, and so is finding a judge with experience in evaluating the breed.
Choosing a breed and obtaining good-quality stock is just the beginning for someone who is serious about raising birds for show. Show birds require specialized housing arrangements, a feeding program aimed at keeping the birds in peak condition, and a more carefully regulated breeding program than is necessary for the average backyard chickens. They also require specific attention before and after each show.
THE PREMIUM LIST
An excellent way to prepare yourself for showing chickens is to obtain a copy of the premium list before you attend a show, even if you are not yet ready to show your own chickens. The premium list tells you when and where the show will be held, which organizations, if any, have sanctioned the show, fees exhibitors are required to pay, the deadline for registering to enter the show, and what prizes are offered.
Prizes are also called premiums, which is how the premium list got its name, and typically include ribbons, trophies, and small amounts of cash. Most people spend more money preparing for and entering shows than they win back in prizes, although top contenders do sometimes come out ahead, or at least break even.
The premium list also includes the rules for entering—such as any required vaccinations, blood tests, or health certificates—and the specific requirements for each class. A class is a group of similar chickens judged against each other, organized according to Standard classifications. Not all shows accept chickens in all classifications. Each chicken entered into a show must be registered in one of the classes named in the premium list. Entering a chicken in the wrong class is embarrassing—the entry will be marked “out of class” and will not be judged, so you might as well have left the bird at home and saved yourself the entry fee.
SHOW CLASSES: LARGE BREEDS
American: Buckeye, Chantecler, Delaware, Dominique, Holland, Java, Jersey Giant, Lamona, New Hampshire, Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Rhode Island White, Wyandotte
Asiatic: Brahma, Cochin, Langshan
English: Australorp, Cornish, Dorking, Orpington, Redcap, Sussex
Continental: Barnevelder, Campine, Crèvecoeur, Faverolle, Hamburg, Houdan, La Fleche, Lakenvelder, Polish, Welsumer
Mediterranean: Andalusian, Ancona, Catalana, Leghorn, Minorca, Sicilian Buttercup, Spanish
Other: Ameraucana, Araucana, Aseel, Cubalaya, Frizzle, Malay, Modern Game, Naked Neck, Old English Game, Phoenix, Shamo, Sultan, Sumatra, Yokohama
Each bird must also be correctly entered according to its breed and variety, and whether it is a cock, hen, cockerel, or pullet. A cock is a mature male chicken, at least 1 year old. A cockerel is a male chicken under 1 year of age. Similarly, a hen is a female chicken, at least 1 year old, while a pullet is a female chicken under 1 year of age.
Having a copy of the premium list with you the first few times you attend a show will help you sort out the details and avoid confusion when you finally feel ready to show your own chickens. If anything in the premium list seems not to make sense to you, most of the exhibitors you meet at the show will be happy to demonstrate how smart they are by explaining things to you.
At each poultry show, you will meet some highly competitive people for whom winning is everything. You will also meet a lot of people who rarely win, if at all, but continue to show their chickens for the joy of being with other people who share their interest in all things chicken.
SHOW CLASSES: BANTAM BREEDS
Game: Any standard-bred American, Modern, or Old English Game bantam
Single Comb, Clean-Legged: Any standard-bred nongame bantam with a single comb and no feathers on its shanks
Rose Comb, Clean-Legged: Any standard-bred bantam with a rose comb and no feathers on its shanks
Any Other Comb, Clean-Legged: Any standard-bred bantam with a comb other than a single or rose comb and no feathers on its shanks
Feather-Legged: A standard-bred bantam with any kind of comb and with feathers on its shanks
SHOW PREP
Assuming you feel ready to dive in, well before show time, separate the males from the females and the males from each other. Injuries occur when males fight with one another or mate with the females. Separating your show specimens prevents further injuries and allows time for any existing injuries to heal.
Examine each bird to make sure it is healthy, free of lice and mites, and has no other disqualifications. The Standard lists all the possible reasons for a chicken to be disqualified. Some disqualifications apply to specific breeds, others apply to all chickens. General disqualifications include a crooked back, a wry or crooked tail, and stubs (downy feathers on the shanks or toes of a clean-legged breed). Such features are disqualifications because they are nearly always passed on to the offspring.
After deciding which of your birds are acceptable to show, you next need to spend time conditioning and training them. Conditioning involves feeding and grooming each chicken to look its best, including giving the bird a bath. Numerous websites offer step-by-step instructions for washing a chicken prior to an exhibition.
Training involves teaching each bird how to act while on display, and preparing it for the experience of being judged. An unprepared bird is likely to be frightened. It may crouch in the show cage and attempt to fly when anyone comes near. It may struggle when the judge handles it, making the judge’s job more difficult. A calm, well-trained chicken nearly always places higher than an unprepared frightened bird.
HONING SHOW SKILLS
Each exhibitor develops specific procedures for conditioning and training their birds, and each breed has unique characteristics that require different conditioning and training techniques than would be of similar benefit to other breeds. The ideal way to hone your exhibition skills is to make friends with someone who is proficient at showing your chosen breed. That person may be willing to mentor you and even reveal some of the show strategies used by seasoned insiders, in exchange for your assistance at home or during a show.
However, chickens, like judges, have their good days and bad days. A bird may display itself differently from one day to the next, because of changes in its physical condition, health, training, or stress level. Even the fairest judge may place the same group of birds in one order on one day and in a different order on another day. If a bird doesn’t place high in its class, don’t be hasty to cull it until you find out why the bird did poorly. The best bird in the world won’t win if it lacks maturity, is out of condition, or is out of sorts on the day of the show.
HOW THE JUDGING WORKS
At most shows, the judges look at birds individually in their coops. The ones with the best conformation, or body type, are usually removed from the coop and examined more closely. Most judges prefer to concentrate on their job without interruption. During the judging, spectators may be barred from the showroom, or at least from the area where the judge is working. But afterward, most judges are willing to discuss the placings.
Within each classification, the entries are organized according to breed, then variety, then gender. The judge starts by examining all the birds of one variety, gender, and age, then moves on to the next gender and age within the same variety. After all four groups (cock, hen, cockerel, pullet) within one variety have been judged, the winners within each group are compared with one another, and the best specimen of that variety is chosen as Best of Variety. The second best is designated Reserve of Variety.
The judge then moves on to the next variety within the same breed, and follows the same procedure in selecting Best of Variety and Reserve of Variety. After all the varieties within a breed have been judged, the winners within each variety are compared and the Best of Breed is selected. The second best is Reserve of Breed.
When all the breeds within a class have been judged, the winners for each breed are compared and the Class Champion is chosen. The runner-up becomes Reserve Class Champion. At this point, the showroom starts to buzz with excitement, because all the Class Champions and Reserve Champions are moved to Champion Row.
The champion large breeds will be compared to one another, and a Champion Large Fowl will be selected, as well as a Reserve Champion Large Fowl. Then all the champion bantams will be compared, and a Champion Bantam and Reserve Champion Bantam will be chosen. If the show includes other types of poultry, such as turkeys, ducks, or geese, the same procedures will apply to them.
And finally, all the champions are compared to one another, and the Grand Champion of Show and Reserve Grand Champion are announced. At this point, showroom tension is typically released in either cheers or tears.
AFTER THE SHOW
Each time you return home from a show, clean and disinfect all carriers, waterers, feeders, and other equipment you took to the show. Isolate your returning birds for at least 2 weeks, and watch for any sign of disease. To avoid the possibility of infecting your chickens that stayed at home, continue to feed them first before caring for the returning show birds. Despite these necessary precautions, take heart in knowing that most people who raise chickens for show take great pride in the good health of their potential winners and would not knowingly show a chicken that might spread a contagious disease.