Fancy Poultry say it all

by Doris Cote
(Bergen County, NJ)

This show seemed to concentrate on fancy breeds and although there were ducks, geese, pidgeons, game birds and chickens, I was surprised that there weren't a greater variety of chickens. There was an abundance of the same breed in the same coloring. We passed by cage after cage of silkies and then the bantam silkies. I was interested in seeing the hens of the chickens I will be getting. There wasn't an Australorp hen, or any Cuckoo Marans. I was amazed at the variety of Plymouth Rocks.

There was no one near the birds to answer questions or tell about their birds which, as beginning poultry keepers, would have been very interesting to us. This show seemed to be purely for getting your birds judged. I stopped one young man and asked a few questions, but he seemed the only one approachable.I thought a purpose of such a show was to spread an interest in raising poultry. This show did not seem to have that in mind.

We had recently gone to a 4H show in south Jersey and there was a wider variety of chickens, people were friendly and asking us if we had any questions, telling us about their chickens and the whole atmosphere was just inviting.

In another barn, there was one vendor who had a great variety of poultry items and took the time to explain to me about how a product was used.

We spent a considerable amount of time with the vendor selling coops and may be purchasing one. They were very helpful in explaining things and giving their view points on some of my ideas.