78 



THE ORPINGTONS 



very little conditioning prior to a show, if they have had 

 a bountiful supply of ozone and range on grassy lawns 

 or pastures. 



Natural Conditioning 



Some of the best conditioned White Leghorns we 

 ever saw were raised in Western New York. They were 

 hatched in incubators and placed in brooders, the latter 

 being set along the edges of a growing field of corn; as 

 the corn grew up the little Leghorns had the time of their 

 lives scratching in the rows and getting the warm May 

 and June sun. When the stalks of corn towered way 

 above their heads in the broiling sun of July and August 

 the rapidly maturing Leghorns enjoyed the grateful shade 

 and grew into handsome, vigorous specimens that were 

 pure white in plumage and sporting rich yellow legs and 

 beaks. They needed no further conditioning except to 

 clean the legs and rub the combs with a little vaseline; 

 the plumage would shine if rubbed with a silk handker- 

 chief. Later in the fall the birds were housed, of course, 

 and those selected for exhibition were placed in roomy 

 pens, the fioors of which were covered with straw or 

 shavings and kept scrupulously clean. They won about 

 as many prizes in strong competition as modern birds, 

 specially prepared and washed do in these days. 



Assuming that birds have been properly conditioned 

 and trained, we come to the final preparation for the 

 showroom and that is grooming the plumage, the combs 

 and the legs. 



Washing White Birds 



The following method of washing white fowl is em- 

 ployed by one of the largest exhibitors in the country; 



"Having selected or purchased the birds you intend 

 to show, it behooves you to have your birds, when placed 

 before the critical eye of the judge, appear in the best 

 condition possible. About ten days before the show select 

 your birds and place them singly, or if to be shown in 

 pens, place your four pen females together, to prevent 

 fighting when you put them in the exhibition coop, in a 

 room or large coop. If you have no regulation exhibi- 

 tion coops it will pay you to buy two or three. Bed the 

 coops with cut straw, if possible, or coarse shavings. 

 Feed the birds a variety of grain with some green food. 

 Keep grit before them all the time as well as fresh water. 

 Handle the birds all you can, being careful not to break 

 a wing feather, for remember your Standard says cut one- 

 half point for every broken wing feather. Take your 

 latest illustrated Standard, if you have one, and if not 

 buy one, for you cannot select exhibition birds without a 

 Standard. 



"If you have a small number to exhibit, prepare to 

 wash your birds four days before the show. First, clean 

 up your coops nicely, putting in fresh straw, and see to it 

 that there is no dust on side of coop, on wires or in the 

 room. If possible, have a warm place to wash your birds. 

 Heat a boiler of soft water and secure four washing tubs. 

 In the first tub place four inches of luke-warm water, 

 just warm enough to cut dirt nicely. In tubs two and 

 three place five or six inches of luke-warm water. Have 

 tub four nearly full of water, with .chill ofif. This tub is to 

 be used for the bluing water. Make bluing water a little 

 stronger in blue than if bluing white clothes. Take a 

 cake of Ivory soap, a soft sponge, several Turkish towels 

 and a couple of palm-leaf fans and you are ready. 



"Place bird in tub number one, thoroughly wetting 

 the feathers in every section of the plumage. Ke«p left 

 hand on back of bird, so it cannot fly out of tub. Always 

 rub with the plumage, never against it. After you have 

 the bird wet, use soap, beginning at head and hackle, 

 washing clean; then the back, tail, fluff, breast and body 

 in rotation as named. After you have washed the bird 

 clean, get all the water you can out of plumage and then 

 place bird in tub number two. Thoroughly rinse bird, 

 taking a sponge and getting clean water through every part 

 of plumage, using one hand to loosen the feathers. Take 

 plenty of time for this and when you have all soap washed 

 out, place bird in tub number three and do the work over 

 again. In this way you are sure to get all soap out of 

 the plumage. 



"Washing birds is not such a difficult job once you 

 get the knack. After getting all water possible out of 

 plumage, dip bird in bluing water, letting it drain, and 

 then get all water possible out of plumage again. Now 

 place bird on a barrel covered with clean cloth so there 

 is no danger of the bird getting dirty; take sponge and 

 get all water possible out of plumage, with the towel dry 

 plumage as much as possible, then take fans and fan 

 bird, all the time picking out the plumage, that is separat- 

 ing the feathers. This will make bird fluffy and fine when 

 dried. Place bird in a warm room r^r near a warm stove, 

 not too close to a hot stove, for the heat will curl the 

 damp feathers, and ruin your work. In a few hours the 

 bird will be dry and as white as snow. 



"The bird is thoroughly dry, now you must clean its 

 legs, every scale must be cleaned the same as you would 

 under your finger nails, toes and all. Then rub with sweet 

 oil and alcohol, half and half, to brighten and smooth off 

 the knife scratches. 



"For head and face, just cleanse while in the show room 

 with witch hazel, or the sweet oil mixture; not too much 

 or too often with the witch hazel, as it will cause a white 

 scale to form all over the head. If you have done your 

 work well, your bird is at his best and ready for the judge 

 and you have, in a perfectly legitimate way, put from two 

 to five points on him." 



In looking over Barred Plymouth Rocks, or any other 

 parti-colored variety, it is necessary to examine every 

 section and remove the old or dead feathers.. This- is 

 perfectly legitimate and does not constitute what some 

 would call "faking." It is also a well known fact that 

 Barred Plymouth Rocks need just a little more plucking 

 than simply removing the old or dead feathers. An oc- 

 casional black feather needs to be removed or perhaps 

 a poorly placed or poorly barred one. In Silver Wyan- 

 dotte females the backs may need looking after. Over- 

 lapping feathers sometimes destroy the harmony of the 

 lacing. The same applies to other laced varieties of fowl. 



If every breeder who exhibits his birds al poultry 

 shows will be as careful in getting them fit, as he or she 

 is careful to appear in the best "bib and tucker" at a 

 social or church gathering, there would be less fault 

 found with condition birds in the showroom, and much 

 more satisfaction gained by winning prizes on birds be- 

 cause they were "fit as fiddles." Every legitimate means 

 should be employed to win a prize, but "faking," as de- 

 fined in the American Standard of Perfection is made 

 unlawful by tlie Association rules and should not be 

 practiced. 



