While the show season has been severely curtailed in many states, I have been getting a few requests to help people understand what goes on at a show.
It can be daunting walking into a full pavilion and seeing the 'organised chaos' that a show appears to the novice.
I will devote a few articles to explaining the show process as I have already covered preparing birds.
I had the privilege of visiting the Ipswich and Districts PC show which was held on the day the last lockdown occurred here in Queensland.
It was a super show at Rosewood Showgrounds and I will use it as a good example of what happens.
Shows require a lot of work by committee members and the show secretary is the important person on the day.
It takes an experienced and organised person to pull it all together.
Before you go to a show, enter your birds using a schedule entry form.
The schedule lists all the bird types and colours in classes and all you have to do is find your breed and colour and enter in that class as a cock (male over 12 months), cockerel (under 12 months), hen (female over 12 months) and pullet (under 12 months).
You might also see the letters AOC (any other colour) and AOV (any other variety).
Pens are always organised into types of birds, for example hardfeather and softfeather, and large and bantam, while ducks, geese, and turkeys have their own sections.
When you get to the show you will see rows of cages with numbers on them.
You will get your entry form back and it will have pen numbers next to your birds. Find your pen and put the bird in and if you have any problems, a steward from the club will help.
Stewards are experienced members who have a good knowledge of the shed and how the pens are organised.
Many clubs pen birds the night before and again on the morning.
Go when it suits you. You should water your birds with the containers provided and feed if necessary, although it's usually not done until judging has finished.
More on judging in the next issue. If you have any questions, write in and I'll endeavour to answer them.
While there hasn't been many shows or any in some states, there have been some well-engineered on-line shows which may well be worth a look.