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Preparing birds for showing, a personal experience by Robin Elflett.
The main ingredient in getting birds ready for the show pen is CARE. With care almost any bird may be got fit enough for the best of shows. Care alone will not ensure a prize but the exhibit will lose nothing in condition. As a regular judge around the shows I find it is usually the condition which wins the day. So many times you see birds of equal " type " but some missing the necessary "bloom ".
The care mentioned is not only in preparing your bird the night before a show and boxing it after washing it's legs . That is not enough. It is in your feeding routine, your penning, your handling and then your washing. All these procedures take a period of time and patience.
I will now try and illustrate what works for me, as I have been asked to describe the preparation of birds for show. All the procedures mentioned previously are top of my list when selecting my show birds from an early age. I am not proposing to suggest that these are necessarily the correct procedures - but they work for me, and I am still learning after 30 years of showing poultry.
WASHING A BIRD. A good bath will make a bird look and feel better. For this exercise I usually equip myself with two large bowls, one containing warm soapy water with a mild detergent and the other clean warm water. A jug and a supply of towels. I stand the bird in the soapy water and with a sponge wash all over, particularly the wing feathers. As the bird becomes wetter it is usually easier to manage. I then take off all the excess soapiness with another sponge, then transfer to an empty bowl or bucket and jug the clean water over the bird to rinse thoroughly. You may benefit from doing this twice. When rinsed I dry off partially with a towel and finally with a hair dryer .This is particularly good for silkies.
LEGS. I take a toothbrush to the legs to remove all grime etc. and will usually put olive oil on them. I also sometimes manicure the edges of the scales, especially older birds.
Washed birds will then be put onto a good layer of shavings in pens or large boxes. They will then stand and preen themselves straight away.
The other ingredient that I have learnt over the years - you only get out of the birds what you put into them. I believe firmly in good husbandry and stockmanship. It works for me. Good luck with yours.
Finally, a good reference book on the subject, if you can find a copy, is " How to Win Prizes with Poultry " by H. Easom Smith. This is a Poultry World Publication. I have the first edition which cost me 3/6d !!!!
Robin Elflett for Spring 1999 Newsletter.
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