Going to a Chicken Show

The show hall

Over the weekend I attended a fun chicken show. It was a double show put on by the Apache County and Four Corners poultry clubs. It's a lot of work getting the birds ready for a show, they have to be bathed and checked over, nails and beaks trimmed. We oil their legs and combs to make them shinier and to bring their color out.

Black Silkie hen

When you go to a double show you pay double entry fees, but you save on hotel bills and travel expenses. This show is very nice and has some nice awards, which darn I didn't take any pictures of.

One of my black Silkie hens was Best of Breed in one show and Reserve of Breed in the other. Since there were quite a few Silkies entered that was pretty good. One of my blue hens was Best Variety in one show and 3rd place in the other.

Buff Ameraucana cockerel

My buff Ameraucana cockerel was Reserve Breed in one show and Reserve Variety in the other. There were only about 5 Ameraucana entered in total but still not bad. He does have a large number of faults that I'll be working on going forward.

Buff Ameraucan hen

My buff Ameraucana hen was 2nd place in both shows, but her competition won the class, AOSB (Any Other Standard Breed)

Me and some of my chicken buddies, Marcia and Suze

I didn't get any more pics of my chickens, silly me. I was too tired by the afternoon. A couple of my Welsh Harlequin drakes traded off being Best Light Duck and Reserve Light Duck. they didn't have a lot of competition though. 

If you've never been to a chicken show it is a lot of fun and pretty amazing to see all the different breeds. Next time I'll try to take more pictures.