The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club > Exhibiting & Promoting

Training for show (the bird and me)

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Cesar “CJ”:

--- Quote from: Birdcrazy on February 08, 2016, 08:49:29 PM ---
--- Quote from: Dan Pitts on February 08, 2016, 07:48:56 PM --- For you guys that show regularly, are the show birds kept separate from the breeder flock? I do have the space for separate pens.

--- End quote ---

Dan, I seldom show birds from my breeding pens as feather condition can be a problem. It seems cocks and cockerels are prone to tail feather damage, and hens and pullets back, head, and neck feather damage. I do let my male birds run with the females all the time. Perhaps if I only let the cocks stay in the pen for a short time and remove them and reinsert them a few days later and remove them off and on, this might help on feather condition. Another factor may be many of my breeding pen runs are only 3' X 8-10'.

--- End quote ---

Have you thought about AI? That way your females dont get torn up by males

Birdcrazy:
Cesar, I haven't used AI. I seldom show in spring shows since there are few in our surrounding area. I usually rotate my winners from late summer and fall shows to the breeding pens the next spring. It seems I always have excess older cocks along with a few younger cockerels that I could always find something to keep out to show. I have on occasion kept out a pullet or two separate from my breeding pens for show  birds. I usually stop setting eggs the 1st week in June so I can always pull hens out for late fall showing. The problem I face is after getting birds back in feather and you think you are good, here comes an early moulting. This is not unique to these hens but all of the flock. Sometime it's a scramble at the last minute to replace the birds I had intended on showing and entered with others in better feather.

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