5 Tips for Picking out Show Chickens

I love showing and exhibiting my chickens! The spring show season is here and the summer show season is right around the corner! For 8 years I raised and showed chickens in my local county fair through 4-H. I have also made it a goal each year to attend at least one other poultry show as well. To be successful at a poultry show you need to be properly prepared and have at least some idea of what you are doing. These 5 tips for picking out show chickens will help you choose the right birds to show and exhibit at any poultry show!

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Types of Showing

Let me just touch briefly on a few confusing topics about showing chickens. There are two types of showing that you can refer too: poultry showmanship and poultry exhibition. Here are the differences:

• Poultry Showmanship– This type of showing is when you examine your bird in front of a judge. Then you are judged on how well you do the examination.
• Poultry Exhibition– This type of showing is when you bring your bird to a show and the bird is judged on how well it conforms to the breed standard. Typically each bird is competing against other birds in the same breed and/or variety.

There is also 4-H showing and professional showing. You can learn more about 4-H showing by checking out my post on 4-H Chicken Showmanship.

When picking out show chickens for either showmanship or exhibition, there are a few factors you should consider. In general, you only want to bring your best, healthiest birds to any poultry show! The following 5 tips are the ones that I follow when choosing birds to bring to a poultry show.

Tip #1. Don’t Get Disqualified

When chickens are judged in a poultry show as part of exhibition, points are deducted based on defects and disqualifications in a process called cutting. You will want to choose chickens to bring to a show that have minimal defects and, preferably, no disqualifications. Here is the difference between a defect and disqualification.

• Defect– A defect is a minor flaw in the bird’s appearance or color that does not meet the Standard of Perfection set for that breed. A few points are cut for each defect a bird has.
• Disqualification (DQ)– A disqualification is a major flaw or a culmination of defects that disqualify the bird from competing. A DQ will more than likely not get you kicked out of a show, it just means your bird cannot win any awards.

A perfect score is 100, the more defects that chicken has, the more points that get cut and the less likely it is to win any awards. Here are some defects and DQ’s to watch for when picking out show chickens:

• Defects– blindness in 1 eye, wrong weight, wrong color eye for the breed, split tail (only on juvenile birds), lack of spurs, missing toenail
• DQ’s- slipped wing, vulture hocks (on most breeds), blindness, lopped comb, side sprigs on comb, split comb, wrong type of comb for the breed, beak malformed, wry neck, crooked back, split tail, squirrel tail (for most breeds), wry tail, stub feathers on shanks, multiple spurs (for most breeds), bow legs, crooked toes, wrong number of toes, webbed feet, duck foot, crooked or dented sternum, split wing

When choosing a show chicken, pick the one that has the least amount of defects and disqualifications.

Breed Specific

Breeds that are recognized by the American Poultry Association or American Bantam Association will have a standard that outlines the perfect specimen for that breed. In reality, you may not be able to get the ‘perfect’ specimen for the breed you are showing, but try to get as close to the standard as possible. Each breed will also have specific defects and disqualifications. What may be a defect for one breed may be desirable in a different breed. Do research on the specific disqualifications and defects for the breed you plan on showing.

If your breed is not recognized by an association and does not have a standard, then simply avoid general defects and disqualifications. The breed may have a breed club, in which case you can consult with other breeders to find out what is desirable and undesirable for the breed.

Learn more about breed standard in the next tip!

Tip #2. Meet the Standard

The Standard of Perfection is put out by the American Poultry Association. The book specifies the ‘standard’ for all large fowl breeds that have been accepted by the Association. Each breeds’ standard outlines what the ‘perfect’ specimen of that breed would look like. Here are some things that a standard would include:

• Weight
• Specifications for comb, wattles, and earlobes
• Color for beak, shanks, toes, and eyes
• Varieties that are excepted by the standard
• Proper body conformation
• Head and tail carriage

You will want to pick out chickens to show that meet the standard for their breed as closely as possible. Judges will look for certain standard traits first and then examine the bird more closely for more specific traits. A chicken may have the right number of points on its comb, but the wrong body conformation. A judge would probably evaluate body conformation before the comb, so that bird would not do as well as another bird that had the correct body conformation. This evaluation may vary depending on the judge. 

You will want to look up the Standard of Perfection for the breed you are showing and compare your birds to their standard. Choose show chickens that come as close to their standard as possible.

Tip #3. Handsome and Beautiful

The chickens that you bring to a show need to look good, not just in regards to their standard. Well fed, fully feathered, properly groomed chickens will catch a judge’s eye. Here are some things look for when evaluating which birds look their best for showing. 

• Fully feathered- In general, you don’t want to show juvenile birds who have not completed their third molt. You can tell if a chicken has all of their feathers after a molt by checking their primary flight feathers, they should have ten.
• Nice plumage- Show chickens should not have any ratty, torn, or missing feathers.
• Clean- A show chicken should be clean with no dirt on their feathers, no manure clumps on their feet, clear nostrils, and tidy vent feathers.
• Uniform coloring- The coloring of a chicken is called its variety. You will want to know the variety of your chickens and make sure that their coloring meets the specifications for the variety.
• Matching- If you are showing a trio (1 male, 2 females), a pair (1 male, 1 female), or a pen (3 of the same sex) you will want to make sure they match each other as closely as possible in body conformation, size, color, and other characteristics.

For more tips on making your show chicken look it’s best, check out 5 Steps for Preparing a Show Chicken.

Tip #4. Well Trained

A show chicken should be well trained, use to being handled, and coop trained. Judges will appreciate a chicken who does not flap and try to fly away when they go to examine it. A well trained chicken is especially important if you are performing showmanship with it. Here are some things a well trained show chicken should be able to do:

• Adapt to new surroundings easily
• Be cooped trained, meaning the chicken is comfortable in a cage
• Easy to catch and doesn’t mind being caught in a cage or outside of a cage
• Easy to handle, meaning it doesn’t mind its comb, wattles, beak, or other body parts being touched
• Trained to ‘pose’, meaning it will stand in the proper position for its breed

While these are not requirements for a show chickens, they make the showing experience much nicer for the exhibitor, the judge, and the chicken. Some judges may even take into consideration how well a chicken behaves. It never hurts to have a chicken who poses for the judge! 

For more tips on how to train chickens, check out these secrets that I learned for training my chickens!

Tip #5. Healthy as a…

Lastly, when choosing a show chicken, only choose healthy, parasite free chickens. More than likely if you bring a sick or parasite infested chicken to a show, you would not be allowed to enter the chicken in the show. However, a chicken can appear healthy but still be a carrier of disease. It is up to the exhibitor to be honest about their bird’s health. This will protect both your own chicken and other peoples’ chickens. Poultry shows can be bio-security hazards, but that is a risk poultry exhibitors choose to take. Here are some tips for making sure you only bring healthy birds to a show:

• Examine your show chicken for external parasites and apply parasite protection before going to a show.
• If any of your chickens have been sick recently (last 2-3 weeks) do not bring any birds to a show. Chickens can be carriers of a disease long after they have been exposed to it.
• Test your show chickens for internal parasites. While it may be hard for internal parasites to be spread at a poultry show, it is still a good idea to make sure your show chicken is parasite free.
• Do not bring chickens to a show who are sneezing, wheezing, have discharge coming from their eyes or nostrils, have diarrhea, or otherwise appear un-healthy.
• Always practice good bio-security measures before and after going to a show. Inspecting for disease, sanitizing equipment, cleaning clothing, and quarantining are just a few measures you can take.

Ready for Show Time!

With these 5 tips for picking out show chickens, you should be well on your way to having a fun and successful experience at your next poultry show! I find showing chickens challenging, educational, fun, and rewarding. When you are properly prepared to show chickens you will have a more fun and relaxing experience. Your show chickens should be….

• defect and DQ free
• meet the standard
• good looking
• well trained and
• healthy

Hopefully you will have a fun and successful time at your next poultry show! Good luck!

Also, don’t forget to join our weekly modern pioneer newsletter community! You can reach out with any questions about raising or showing your homestead flock!

by Alexa