🐓 My First Chicken Show:
…Where All Six of My Birds Decided to Become Overachievers
Farm life is constantly filled with “firsts” — the first lamb born, the first egg laid, the first buyer for your prized mini Highland calf. And now I can officially add another milestone to the list: my very first chicken show.
I went in with six birds, and exactly zero expectations. Truly. My only goals were:
Don’t let any chickens get loose when transferring them from the carriers to their cages
Learn how chickens are judged and how the whole poultry show works
Make the experience as stress free as possible on the birds
🏆 The Calm Before the Cluck
Walking into the show hall at the fairgrounds was sensory overload for me. Everywhere I looked, there were cages of chickens, ducks, turkey and geese (800 entries into this show for the entire NW). Most owners clearly knew what they were doing. They had actual chicken salons set up with blow driers and combs and scissors and were coifing birds and prepping them all for the judges who had traveled from across the country. Meanwhile, I was over here trying to figure out where each of the chickens was supposed to be and getting them into their cages. I did not have the time or bandwidth to bathe any of my birds or even wipe poop off their legs. It was all I could do at o’dark thirty to grab birds and get them loaded into their carriers and into my truck for the short journey to the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe to be in their cages at 8 am and ready for the judges.
As birds were brought in the noise level in the exhibition hall got deafening. My birds were not thrilled to be taken from their comfy coops at Black Horse Farm and put into wire cages for judging. They were also a bit overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of 800 birds. But into the cages they went and spend the entire day being judged as well as observed by the spectators that come to a chicken show to learn about different breeds, buy birds that are there for sale, or just to see what the whole thing is about.
🥇 Best of Variety… Best of Breed… Wait, All of Them?
Judging consisted of multiple judges coming around to inspect the birds and give their placings. I entered two varieties of Belgian D’uccle bantam birds: Two of my Silver Mille colored hens (One frizzle and one smooth feathered) and a breeding pair of my black mottled d’uccles for inspection. There were well over 30 d’uccles in a variety of colors. My 4 all received first and best of variety. I take great pride in producing and selling high quality birds and hatching eggs and it is always helpful to have confirmation that you are doing a good job.
I also brought a breeding pair of my Jubilee Orpingtons. The Orpington are the newest breed on the farm and by far the largest. I have only been breeding them for only about a year so I was anxious to get a professional take on their overall confirmation, appearance, and how close they meet the standard of perfection for the breed. My hen received first and best of variety and the rooster not only received best of variety but also best of breed for all the variety of Orpington at the show. He is a stunner so I was so happy he did so well.
💛 What the Wins Really Meant
Sure, the placings were so exciting for my first-time showing chickens — I won’t pretend I didn’t take a celebratory photo of all of them in their cages with their placings. But the real reason for taking the chickens to show was more important:
Seeing months to years of care, feeding, and breeding top quality birds be reinforced
Having the educational experience of what showing chickens entails
Having a tangible verification for those buying my birds and hatching eggs that they are purchasing from a reputable breeder with quality birds
Plus I went with my good friend (and “chicken sister”) Jen of Woods Creek Poultry so we could have our first (and probably only) show experience together.
Showing with my friend Jen who owns Woods Creek Poultry in Monroe
🐓 Looking Ahead
Now that I’ve survived — and shockingly succeeded at — my first chicken show, I am able to check that off my bucket list and get back to breeding amazing birds to sell to those who love quality and fun varieties as much as I do.