# whats needed for showing



## stuart (Jan 13, 2008)

i am thinking of showing one of my pigeons what do i need to do before the show(ie wash the bird)


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*We just had a conversation about this*

As long as the bird is clean and in good feather and flesh, what else would it need? Bathing in clean water should make them clean enough and good health and good feed should take care of the rest. They need to be free of any and all parasites. If the bird had any stains, you could use a mild detergent (very diluted dish soap will work) and you take care of washing and rinsing the area with a stain so that the bird does not drink the soapy water.

People do "train" pigeons in show pens which are just small wire pens so that they are accustomed to being confined and are not too wild or nervous when placed into the show.

Bill


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## bluecheck (Aug 17, 2006)

overall, I agree with Bill, but there are also some acceptable things that need to be done before a show bird will win in the show cage. I speak both as an exhibitor and sometimes judge.

1) It's a good idea to make sure the bird is in primo condition for the show. That means, lots of baths before show time. Make sure that the bird is healthy, has no parasites, etc. Don't expect to pop a bird that's feeding young into a show and think it's going to win.

2) If the bird is a patterned one, then some clean up of foul feathers is usually permissible, so long as there are no bare patches left and no attempt at outright fraud in coloring, etc. Most patterned birds are show trimmed - i.e., the occassional colored feather in a white area or vice versa is removed. 

3) Broken feathers in the tail and/or wing should be plucked at least 6 weeks before a show to allow time for them to regrow and not be in blood.

3a) Depending on the breed - don't do this with Ice Pigeons, e.g., you can add either some oil seed to the feed for a few weeks before the show, or add a few drops of salad oil to the seed for the same amount of time to help give some extra sheen to the feathers.

3b) If you have browns, try to keep them out of the sun before showing so they don't bleach their feathers badly. 

4) I normally take along a small bottle of just salad oil and before showing add one half drop or so to a rag and clean up the bird's feet and legs (be careful not to get oil onto the feathers) to get rid of any crap that may have accumulated during shipping or in the show cage - it also brings out the bird's natural red color of the leg.

5) Make sure that you have entered the bird into the show -- you'd be surprised to find that sometimes folks don't know they have to do that. At some shows, you can do it when you arrive, at some of the major national shows -- where it takes a few days to get all the coop cards together - there may be a deadline ahead of the show when you have to have the bird registered.

6) BE POLITE! No matter what the judge does or doesn't do with you entry, be polite. Afterward, you can always ask why a bird was placed in a particular spot, but during the judging it's a no-no to talk loud, disrupt the judge, tell folks that it's your bird up there in a tone that the judge can hear, etc. Most exhibitors are polite, there for fun, and great folks -- but once in a while ...... (I never forgot one jerk who came up while I was judging and began slapping the top of the judging cages with his hat because he felt his bird wasn't performing for me -- it was his first show so I cut him some slack, but the second time would have meant I'd have disqualified all his birds on the spot.)

7) Have a lot of fun. You will meet such fantastic folks you won't believe it. I've been around the world because of pigeons, met millionaires and paupers -- and sometimes those paupers have better birds than the millionaires, but they all meet on equal footing at the show.


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## Becca199212 (May 10, 2007)

Trim their nails before the show as well- I also do their beaks with an emery board so their is no overhang, it's quite hard to do and you have to be careful.

A silk sheet works for shiny feathers also.

Oil makes their feet look alot better with oil like bluecheck said, I use baby oil and I also put some talcum powder onto their wattle, a very small amount, don't get it up the birds nose! 

I let my birds bathe them selves 2 weeks before the show, for a week after that I mist their feathers which makes them want to prune. I stop this after a week to give the feathers time to puff up.

Treat your birds for mites a week before the show, again before your box them to take them to the show and again before you box them before you bring them home- picking up mites at the show would not be good!


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