Showing chickens & Houston

[MULDOON]

I know that this is a cattle pages,
But I just wanted ya'll to know that my daughter is going to be showing her broilers at the Houston show!
This is her first time at a major show , so we really don't know what to expect,
From what I can understand we bring the birds on the 16th , then we go thru a pre show cut (sift), there will be about 600 kids trying to get in,
If we are lucky she'll make it thru the first cut , and make it to the show.
we weighed them today and we have 3 that are 6 pounds, ten more days!!
We are doing all that we can do to keep them eating.
If any one has secret recipes for supplamental feed ,,, please feel free to let us know 8) :lol:
We are using purina feed , keeping the water fresh,, mixing the feed with manna , and bacon grease & condesed milk twice a day ,I don't know what else we can do.
Any way my daughter's name is Amy Wallace , and she is showing out of Fayette county 4H,
If we do make it thru the first cut , and we are waiting around on the 17th feel free to cme by and say howdy!!!

Bill Wallace

 

[jaydill]

Good luck to her!

 

[la4angus]

Bill, wish Amy good luck for me.

 

[-bherefords]

i know this is an off the wall comment, but i have heard that the chicken people use birth control to make the rooster breast biggers.. :lol: is it true??

 

[TxSimbrahShower]

My son hasn't done Houston since they moved back to Reliant/Dome last year. Talked to several that went in to Reliant last year, they said it was hot, so, bring a fan or make sure you have a water spray bottle to keep them cool.

I guess they are doing it the same way. The birds are presented for sift, the judge gives them numbers, the numbers are added up and that's your score. Is she taking hens or cockrels?

Like I said, my son hasn't shown since they moved back, but, at the Ft. Bend Co. Fairgrounds, we know of someone that took a pen of both, stayed outside the gate, walked in found the ag advisor to check to see how many pens of each there were. Went in with the pen of cockrels, not very good birds, and ended up making the sale.


Good luck to you guys.

 

[warpaint]

Never knew there was a chicken show! Good luck to your little one. ;-)

 

[Rustler9]

From what I know of the broilers they are scientifically bred and fed a ration to gain so much weight per day. The white broilers are a White Rock/Cornish cross and they have been genetically bred especially for meat. The poultry farms that breed the adult stock to produce the eggs to hatch into these broilers carefully guard their genetics from the competitors. If you take broiler chicks and try to keep them into adulthood they usually don't live very long. They will collapse as their bodies grow faster than their leg muscles do so they have trouble supporting their weight. I believe that they also die, just kill over from heart attacks. The littyle Rock Cornish Game hens that you buy in the store are actually just young chicks of either sex that have been butchered at a few weeks old while they are still small.

 

[happer]

I hope its not too hot. We are heading to Houston for the swine show for Monday morning. My two sons each have a pig showing .Its amazing the crap people put into pigs to make them " show quality". Whatever happened to building muscle by exercise. You cant raise a show pig without this stuff and compete with the people who do . I think i need to write a book telling just how bad this is. Does anybody know of a Q&A Board for swine. David

 

[Gale Seddon]

From what I know of the broilers they are scientifically bred and fed a ration to gain so much weight per day. The white broilers are a White Rock/Cornish cross and they have been genetically bred especially for meat. The poultry farms that breed the adult stock to produce the eggs to hatch into these broilers carefully guard their genetics from the competitors. If you take broiler chicks and try to keep them into adulthood they usually don't live very long. They will collapse as their bodies grow faster than their leg muscles do so they have trouble supporting their weight. I believe that they also die, just kill over from heart attacks. The littyle Rock Cornish Game hens that you buy in the store are actually just young chicks of either sex that have been butchered at a few weeks old while they are still small.

Rustler9, you are quite a poultry expert! Always learn something interesting from you...thanks.

 

[LaurenE]

I have never raised poultry for show, but I have raised several batches of chicks. Mine went crazy for mealworms and would eat them as if they were starving. I don't know if they would help them grow at all, but mine definately were eating.

 

[TxSimbrahShower]

Well how did your daughter do?

 

[MULDOON]

O.K.
After three days in Houston , I'm back!!!
WOW!!!!!!!!
I have just had the greatest time.
Amy showed Pullets, She competed against 193
other kids , and ended up # 53
She made the sale, and I have been bitten by the "SHOW BUG"!!!
This was our first time at a major show , So we really didn't know what to expect.
First of all , Hats off to the Fayette county extension people, We brought our best six pullets , and they looked over our birds , (as they did with all of the Fayette county kids)They helped us pick out our best birds to show , and gave us advice.
By the way,,, out of the top 20 pullets and cockerals at Houston(40 places) Fayette county had 12 kids!
I was so impressed by the fact that, evan though we were competition , how many people were eager , and helpful to us.
With Broilers , when a kid goes out to show, they have to depend on to other kids, to come out and hold their birds , so they can be judged.
It's really cool , because it makes the kids , kind of have to depend on each other.
I was also very impressed with the judges, Those
judges were from Texas A&M, and they sure worked hard .
I could go on & on about the last three days,, but , The silver bullets are starting to take effect,
So I'll sign off.
Take care,Bill