With Canowindra’s agricultural show coming soon, have you started thinking about what you can enter?
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Do you have any fowls at home that you want to enter the poultry section but not sure how?
We have asked Poultry Chief Steward, Paul Cooper, some questions in entering this year’s poultry section.
Is the poultry section just for chickens? No! You can enter quails, waterfowl and chickens in the poultry section. There is also a junior section for all classes also!
Are there great prizes available in this section? Yes, there are great prizes including ribbon, money or feed for all reserve and best of classes, reserve and best junior and reserve champion and champion bird of show.
The major prize for Champion bird in show is $100 and $50 for Best Junior bird in show. Our national chook, The Australorp, is a featured chicken in the Canowindra show and attracts special prizes and ribbons also.
Can any bird be entered? The poultry section is an opportunity to showcase pure bred fowls in the community.
How do you prepare a fowl for a show? I breed bantam (or small) Australorps. There are 3 recognised colours, black and rare blue and white. Each require different preparations, but generally I wash, dry, groom their nails, beak, legs and comb in the lead up to the show.
How are the birds judged? Excluding the quails, the judge will need to take your bird out of its cage to assess its characteristics to see how close it meets the standards. The judge awards points for each section of the bird like its beak, comb, legs, shape and feathers. The perfect bird would achieve top score of 100 points and the bird who gets as close to that perfect score is awarded the champion bird of show.
Poultry grooming, that would be something to see! Yes, it is!
There will be two poultry grooming sessions on the September 23 to show people some tips on preparing birds for shows. First at 11.30 am and second at 12.30 pm.
Any tips for people wanting to show poultry? Leading up to the show, regularly putting your bird in a cage that comfortably houses it for a few hours at a time is helpful.
Frequently handling your bird, taking it in and out of the cage is also helpful.
Any other advice on showing? Just have a go! Enter your bird and the stewards, judge and other breeders there are always happy to be asked questions.
Photo by Maddie Cooper.