CHAPTEIR X 



Conditioning and Training Fowls for Exhibition 



Training and Posing Necessary. What io Feed. Milk as a Conditioner. Importance of Dry Sound Grains, 

 Animal and Vegetable Foods. Health, Vigor and Stamina Essential to Success 



J. If. Drevenstedt 



THE fact of a bird being well fed and groomed, show- 

 ing splendid condition, while absolutely necessary 

 and essential in competing for the prizes at our 

 modern poultry shows, is not always sufficient in a tight 

 place where two specimens are about equal in merit and 

 in condition. This is where proper training of the show 

 specimens will often determine the result. We remember 

 an instance of this kind which occurred at the Madison 

 Square Garden ten or more years ago. It was in the 

 palmy days of the Buff Cochins when such noted fanciers 

 as the Sharp Bros, of Taunton, Mass., and Adams, Purdue, 

 and Young of Orange, N. J., made great entries of the 

 once famed Buffs. The pick of English and American 

 flocks could be seen at the 



Garden in those days. The 

 imanager for Messrs. Sharp 

 •was an experienced condi- 

 tioner and had his charges 

 in beautiful fettle. Their 

 plumage glistened and ev- 

 ery little detail was looked 

 after so that no fault 

 could be found with groom- 

 ing. 



George Purdue, a past 



master in the art of feeding 



and conditioning birds, had 



his birds in equally fine con- 

 dition as those in charge of 



Mr. Marshall. Bue he went 



just a little beyond that, he 



had his birds trained to the 



hour. No sooner was one of 



these birds touched by the 



judge's stick, than it would 



seem to know what was 



wanted and the proper pose 



was seldom lacking. One 

 , huge scholar especially was 

 { an apt scholar and would 



stand and look his prettiest 



when handled by the judge. 



And that pose won the blue 



ribbon. 



Edward B. Thompson, 

 of Barred Plymouth Rock ' 

 Ringlet fame, is another 

 great believer in training his 

 show birds. At a show held in Troy, X. Y., in the early 

 nineties the creator of the famous Ringlet Rocks ex- 

 hibited a cockerel that "did stunts," to use Mr. Thomp- 

 son's expression. In other words the bird was a great pet 

 and was taught to jump over rods and through the arms 

 of his owner, remain in a statuesque pose when stroked 

 under the lower mandible or touched with the judging 

 stock. It is needless to say that this bird attracted much 

 attention, especially from the judge who simply could not 

 resist the temptation to put the blue ribbon on its cage. 

 The famous old Plymouth Rock hen, "Helen of Troy" 

 was another one of Mr. Thompson's trained troupe of 



performing chickens. The cockerel he exhibited at 

 Madison Square Garden and won the blue ribbon with, 

 was most carefully trained and a splendid actor in the 

 show pen. It is not going "behind the returns" to say that 

 this training was largely responsible for the award going 

 to the cockerel, for there were several other cockerels 

 there that some breeders preferred to the winner, but 

 they lacked that finishing touch without which the 

 chances in a hot class at a Madison Square Garden Show, 

 are greatly reduced. 



A bird that has not been retarded in its growth from 

 the time it was hatched until nearly feathered out, is 

 easily conditioned for the show. There is nothing better 



than sound red wheat and 

 Canadian flint corn to put it 

 in condition when the birds 

 are at liberty and have a 

 good pasture to forage over. 

 When finished indoors, more 

 care must be taken in using 

 the proper grains. A mix- 

 ture of cracked corn and 

 crushed oats in equal parts 

 makes the best dry mash 

 with red wheat for a whole 

 grain. Granulated beef 

 scraps of the best sterilized 

 brand, given in small quan- 

 tity twice a week will fur- 

 nish the cheapest and best 

 animal food. Vegetable food 

 ise best supplied by either 

 mangel wurzels, cabbage or 

 lettuce leaves. But there is 

 just one food that is super- 

 ior to all others in bringing 

 birds up to a high condition 

 and that is milk. 



Milk as a Conditioner. 



An English breeder in 

 a recent issue of Poultry 

 speaks of the value of 

 milk as follows: "Now- 

 adays condition plays such 

 an important part in the 

 successful exhibiting of a 

 bird that only two or 

 three weeks special feeding 

 will ensure its being put down in first rate form. Per- 

 sonally, I think the finest 'conditioner' there is, and the 

 finest 'conditioner' that could be desired is milk and from 

 what I have seen among big Rock and Wyandotte ex- 

 hibitors in the North and elsewhere, I should say this 

 opinion is shared by a good many. The extraordinary 

 value of it in this direction is, I believe, known to but 

 few amateurs; at any rate, very few take advantage of it 

 in any useful way. To be really efficacious, it must play 

 a part in almost everything the fowl eats or drinks for at 

 least a fortnight. The drinking troughs must be filled 

 with it twice a day, and the mashes likewise must be 



BUFF ORPIXGTOX COCK 



