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Showing Silkies |
So, you've decided to show your silkies! Congratulations, you are about
to embark on a new adventure, one that will be enjoyable and educational.
You'll see breeds of birds you never knew existed and you'll probably make new
friends too.
I'm assuming that you found a show you want to participate in, and have
entered your birds. If not, check the Poultry Press, or the American
Bantam Association or the American Poultry Association websites (links in our
Silkie Links section) for upcoming shows.
You will want to bathe your silkies about 3 days before the show. At that
time, also clip nails, and trim and shape each bird's beak. If your
silkies have large crests, hold each up at eye level and pluck any feathers that
are obstructing the bird's vision. Just pinch the little feathers at the base
and pull quickly. It's kind of like tweezing eyebrows, it hurts a little
but they will see much better when you're finished! When you are finished,
look at the silkie's face at your eye level, and you should be able to see
his/her eyes. Some judges will penalize a bird if they don't think
it can see. In one of my first shows, a judge did not place my best silkie
pullet any higher than Best of Breed, because he said he didn't think she was
able to see. I could have argued the point, but I wasn't going to
change his mind. Now I just pluck enough so there is no question as to the
bird's vision.
Prepare your show supplies, a large tackle box or plastic tool box works really well for this. These are the items in my show box:
Small container of shampoo
clean toothbrush (for dirty feet)
nail clippers
emery boards (to shape and smooth beak)
3-4 small hand towels
Paper towels
Extra shavings (sometimes the show runs short and I like to bed my silkies
really deep in shavings to keep their feet clean)
kitty litter pooper scooper (once you have cooped in, you will want to remove
poop to keep them from stepping in it - this works great)
flea or lice comb (for silkie crest)
VetRX (to use on silkie comb and beak)
Probiotics to put in water
wire brush to fluff up tail
blow dryer
scissors
Shout pump spray or packaged towelettes (for stained foot feathers)
small package of baby wipes or wash n' dri wipes
Oxine spray
Adam's Flea & Tick Spray
Blood Stop powder
Terramycin eye ointment
Business cards (people will ask you if you have silkies to sell)
Aspirin, Excedrin, Tylenol or your preferred headache remedy
notepad and pen (for the questions, tips and new ideas you'll want to record)
gum or mints
chapstick
magazine or other reading material
Those are the items in my show box, but I also bring:
Water from home for my birds, a gallon milk jug works well
A large container of their regular feed mixture
Small feed cups, however the shows usually provide a dixie cup in each cage for
feed
pop bottle waterers - I love these for shows, we save the 20 oz Deja Blue water
bottles and keep them for show use. The white plastic waterers snap right
on them. We can tell our birds' coops by the blue bottles and 20oz will
keep them supplied throughout the show. But the BEST part about pop bottle
waterers is that the silkies can't dunk their crest in them, so they stay
cleaner.
Folding chair
Camera
Cell phone
Money (always comes in handy)
plastic zip ties
Depending on how far the show is from home, you might opt to coop in the night before and stay in a hotel. If so, make your hotel/motel reservation in advance, and bring a change of clothes and whatever personal items you will need (although you can borrow your silkie's blowdryer and shampoo if necessary).
When you arrive at the show facility, first find out if there is a check-in
table, and if so, check in there. Then find where your birds will be
cooped and get each bird set up in the proper cage, and equipped with water,
feed, and extra shavings if needed. I usually spray the show cages with
Oxine spray, just to kill any bacteria that might possibly be there, and add
extra shavings to each cage before I place my birds.
Morning of the show, arrive at the venue early. Check your birds over, make sure each has clean feet and butt, spot wash if necessary. Scoop poop, and rub a little VetRx on each silkie's comb and beak. Fluff feathers as necessary for the best presentation. Check feed and water, then just walk around and look at all the other birds, meet other exhibitors. And try not to be nervous!
The judges will be wearing long white coats, and will put a cord across the aisle when they begin judging. No traffic is allowed in the aisle while birds are being judged. If you can handle the stress, watch the judge handle and evaluate your birds. The judge will remove each bird from the coop, and look it over thoroughly. Some judges will make little marks on the coop tag, especially if the class is a large one. They will then mark their final decision for Best of Variety, Reserve Variety, Best of Breed and Reserve Breed. When all birds in a division (silkies are in the Featherleg division) have been judged, the judge will then award the Champion Featherleg and Reserve Champion Featherleg. The division winner and reserve winner will then compete against all other division champs for the final awards on Champion Row.
When the show is over, I spray the inside of my carriers with Oxine spray (just to kill any bacteria that might have been present in the show hall) and spray each silkie under the wings with Adams spray (in case there were any mites or lice on any adjacent birds) before putting them in their carriers. I always take my coop tags to record the show results in my own records. When we get home, the birds that have been shown are quarantined in a separate building for a week to 10 days, just to make sure they haven't picked up any chicken diseases. I also fog them with Oxine twice during that week.
Poultry shows are one of my favorite aspects of keeping chickens. I have met so many wonderful "chicken people", learned so much from really knowledgeable folks, and generally I always have a great time, win or lose!