I have a Buff Orphington and i want to enter it at a show but I don't know if it's show quality, how can I tell?
Show quality, I find can have two meanings.
One-The bird has no disqualifications from a show.
Two-The bird is actually of good enough type, and breeding to do possibly do well in a show.
Basically if you want show quality, you have to buy them from a breeder, and I am not talking about a hatchery. Hatcheries have one huge fault, which makes their birds such terrible quality, and that is they do not cull. Cull is cutting out birds that do not match a standard that you are breeding to. In the USA one should be breeding to the Standard of Perfection set from the American Poultry Association.
Now this being said you may read from a hatchery, someone claiming to have have a show bird, and maybe they won a show, but it most likely was a very small local one. I have show quality birds breed to the standard, from breeders , and hatchery birds, there is a huge difference in looks.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com So what you need to do is get the Buff Orpington standard of perfection. You may be able to find it online, or could purchase the book from the APA (American Poultry Association) website, and I would think the BPA British Poultry Association would have one available as well.
If you live in the US you can email me for the Buff Orpington standard, as I have it.
If you wan to show though, just make sure your Orpington doesn't have any disqualifications, and give it a try. You should be able to learn bunches from other showers, and could pick up better quality birds from someone there as well, if desired.
Best wishes,
Jamie/Rhoderunner
The easiest way might be to enter your chicken in a show. The entry fees in my area (MN) are only $ 1.00-2.50 per bird so as long as you don't have to drive far you won ' t have invested much. Also, at shows there will be many poultry enthusiasts to talk to and learn from. I have always found poultry showers to be very encouraging to new comers and it's always fun to connect with people who have similar interests. They will also be great contacts if you decide to purchase more quality birds or if you need advice later.
