4-H Steps for Showing Chickens

There’s nothing that teaches responsibility better than raising animals, and chickens are no exception. I credit my chickens and 4-H experience with being the inspiration for wanting to become a modern pioneer. What makes the 4-H Poultry Project so exciting is that not only are you raising animals, but you get to show off your skill’s with that animal in the show ring! These 4-H steps for showing chickens are the ones that I have studied over and commited to heart for seven years while being a champion in the 4-H poultry showmanship ring.

*Note: The following information is tailored towards youth showing chickens in the 4-H Poultry Project. These are not the correct steps for non-4-H related poultry shows.

One privilege that I had when I participated in the 4-H Poultry Project for seven years was being a Poultry Teen Superintendent. I love teaching other young people how to show their chickens. I especially like it when they show genuine interest in not only showing their bird, but also caring for it and preparing to bring them to fair. Here are a few tips that I give first time poultry project enthusiasts.

Beginner Tips

hold your bird in your right hand if you’re right handed or your left hand if you’re left handed
there are two ways to hold a chicken for showmanship- #1. position your pointer finger between the bird’s legs, grip the bird’s thighs with your thumb and remaining fingers. Hold the bird with its breast bone resting in your palm and its head facing you. #2. Same as the first method but instead of your pointer finger being between the legs you can use your middle finger instead
make eye contact with the judge
smile
listen to the judge and if you question whether or not you should do something, just ask them!
prepare your bird properly for fair- check out my post 5 Steps for Preparing a Show Chicken

person showing how to properly hold a show chicken

Proper Holding Technique

The picture above shows method #1 for holding a chicken. You can see the pointer finger is between the legs and the remaining fingers are gripping the thighs on either side.

In order to show a chicken, you must hold it in a way that is comfortable for both you and the bird. I mentioned the two most common ways above.

Holding a chicken with one hand may seem unstable and hard at first. However, this is where working with your bird becomes important. Hold your chicken like this a lot, like everyday and every time you pick it up. Soon it will become second nature for both you and the chicken.

By gripping the legs with one hand, you have firm control over it kicking or squirming. It also allows you to place your other hand over the chicken’s wings if it starts to flap.

a svart hona hen posed and ready for showing

Before the Show

The 4-H poultry showmanship steps outlined below are the ones that I go through with every young person who wants to show chickens! Be sure to practice these steps regularly with the same bird.

It’s okay if your bird is squirmy or flaps while you are practicing showmanship. The more you work with the chicken, the calmer it will become. Eventually you will have the steps memorized and your chicken will be a well trained show bird! If your bird acts up on show day while you are showing, just stay calm and pick up where you left off. Most judges will overlook the occasional accident unless it is obvious that you did not work with your bird prior to showing.

Once you receive your showmanship number, you will wait until it is your turn to enter the show ring. I advise you don’t get your bird until you are the third or fourth individual in line. Depending on your county, you may enter the ring with several other competitors.

Once it is your turn (or your group’s turn), wait until the judge motions you in, then walk calmly up to the judge and judging table, holding your bird in the proper position at about waist level. Some judges may want you to introduce yourself, telling them what your name is, your age, what 4-H club you are a part of, the age and sex of your bird and its class, breed, and variety.

Listen for what the judge wants you to do next, they may ask you to pose your bird on the table, or in the cage, pass them your bird, or have you examine your bird.

Posing the Bird in a Cage

Open the cage door
Turn your arm so that the bird enters the cage head first
Rotate the bird once it is in the cage so that it is facing you
Set the bird down and pose it (you should pose your bird in the correct position for that breed of chicken)
Close the cage door and take a step back, keeping your arms at your sides

If your bird takes more than 3-4 steps while it is posed in the cage, you can open the cage and repose it. Also, if you come up to the cage and the door has been left open, close the door before opening it again to pose your bird inside. When the judge tells you, you can remove your bird from the cage.

Open the cage door
Put one hand under the bird and one hand on it’s back
Take the bird out head first
Close the cage door

When you are putting the bird into the cage and taking it out of the cage, make sure none of its feathers touch the edges of the cage and make sure you do not drag its toenails. Also, when posing the bird on the table, make sure you do not drag any of its toenails across the table.

Posing the Bird on a Table

Some judges ask you to pose your bird on a table.

Place the bird on the table so that it is facing the judge
Pose the bird just like you would if it were in a cage
When the judge asks, pick up your bird

Judging methods vary depending on the judge. Some judges have you pose your chicken on both the table and in the cage and some judges have you only do one. Also, some judges may have you pose your bird before you examine it or after you examine it, or sometimes both!

If that’s not enough, some judges will have you pose your bird in the cage, ask you a few questions, then ask you to remove your bird from the cage! Practice, practice, practice with your show bird to get it to stand still for as long as possible.

Passing the Bird

Some judges will want to handle your bird. Here are the steps for properly passing your bird to the judge.

Hand the bird to the judge with the bird’s head facing the judge
When the judge returns the bird to you, the bird’s head should be facing you
Slide one hand underneath its breast to grab its legs properly and place your other hand on the bird’s back
Look at the judge to signal that you have control of the bird
Once you receive the bird, fix any feathers that got ruffled during the process, then look at the judge

As I mentioned earlier, judging processes vary, so always listen to the judge. Talk to your 4-H Poultry Superintendent or contact your local 4-H Extension office for information about your county’s 4-H Poultry Showmanship techniques.

4-H chicken showmanship steps examples with pictures

Examining a Chicken

The judge will ask you to examine your bird at some point during the showmanship process. Examine your bird in this order and also tell the judge what you are examining each body part for.

Overall look your bird- tilt the bird slightly from side to side to look over its body type
Check the eyes for blindness, bleaching, and color- point at each eye with your pointer finger and wait until the bird blinks
Feel the comb for texture and abnormalities
Feel the wattles for texture and abnormalities
Examine the head feathers for molting- pull back a few head feathers around the comb
Feel the beak for abnormalities and check for the correct color of the beak
Check the earlobes for color for the breed standard and bleaching- point at each earlobe
Feel the neck for smoothness and check for molting- run your hand down the bird’s neck and pull back some feathers to check for molting
Check the back for length and width of bird, molting, skin color, abnormalities, and size- run your hand down the back. Pull back some feathers to check for molting and skin color. Gently squeeze either side of the back to check for the size
Check the tail feathers for molting and feather condition- fan the tail feathers out with your finger

Flip the bird upside down with it’s back against your chest
Find the vent and check for mites and lice and bleaching- the vent is located right before the fluffy feathers of the abdomen begin and the where the long tail feathers end
Check the ‘handling quality’ for thickness or thinness- roll a little bit of the skin right below the vent between two fingers
Feel the pubic bones for thickness and flexibility, which indicates laying ability- the pubic bones are the two pointy bones on either side of the vent
Check the abdominal capacity for laying ability- see how many fingers you can fit inbetween the pubic bones and see how many you can fit between the pubic bones and the end of the breast bone
Feel the abdomen for hardness or softness, hard would mean that the bird is not laying, and check the feathers for feather condition and molting
Feel the thighs for meat content- the thighs are the part of the leg that you grip when you are holding the bird
Examine the shanks for cleanliness, scaly leg mites, and bleaching
Spread the toes out and examine for number of toes, condition of the toenails, defects, bleaching, and straightness
Feel the foot pad for defects and check for bleaching
Feel the breast for straightness and length, check for breast blisters, other defects, and meat content- run your fingers up the breast bone. Pull back some feathers to check for breast blisters and defects. Run your fingers up either side of the breast bone to check meat content.
Open up one wing and blow in it to check for molting and mites and lice- open the wing by grabbing the boney part of the wing close to the wing shoulder.

Move the bird to your other hand
Pull out the other wing and examine the same way, then switch back to your original hand
Feel the crop for abnormalities- the crop is located on the breast and is used for storing and grinding food
Tilt the bird back upright, fix any feathers that got ruffled, and stand at attention

If you are showing a rooster you will want to skip steps 12-15 because you do not need to check the laying ability of a rooster. You may want to make mention of this to the judge when you skip those steps during the examination. Also, do not examine for bleaching either if you are showing a rooster. Bleaching is the loss of skin color in hens as the xanthophylls is used to color egg yolks instead of the skin.

a svart hona cockerel in a sunny enclosure

Interview Time!

At some point during the 4-H chicken showmanship process the judge will ask you some poultry questions. The judge may even take your chicken from you and ask you to label some body parts of the chicken.

The questions will range in difficulty depending on if you are a junior, intermediate, or senior. Juniors will want to study facts on chicken anatomy (inside and out), incubating and raising chicks, and other basic poultry terms. Intermediates will need to study a little bit more in-depth poultry facts about hatching and raising chicks and caring for adult poultry. They may also want to study some common poultry ailments and diseases.

Seniors will need to study poultry diseases and ailments (symptoms, how to treat them) and they should also know their chicken breeds (what breeds have crests, beards, five-toes, etc…). They need to know a little bit of information about other poultry species too, such as turkeys, geese, or ducks.

Every showmanship individual should know a lot of information about the breed of chicken they are showing. They should study its breed standard and know what defects and disqualifications would dock off points in a professional poultry show. You may want to study some cool and interesting facts about poultry too. To get you started, be sure to check out my post on 10 Crazy Chicken Facts!

4-H Poultry Showmanship Tips

My advice is always study more information than you think you need to know. Tie breakers do occur and that’s when the harder questions come out! Some simple and easy ways that I have found to study include making flashcards, reading poultry books and taking notes, attending poultry workshops, and learning from experience with my own flock! Judges may also try to trick you to see if you are paying attention. Here are some tricky things a judge might do to test you:

ruffle your birds feathers to see if you will quickly and quietly fix them
place litter on your bird’s back to see if you will quickly and quietly brush it off
hand the bird to you with it facing the wrong direction to see if you will politely ask them to hand it to you facing the right direction
stand across from you when you are posing the bird on the table to see if you will pose it facing them
ask you a tricky question, such as “What variety is your duck?” knowing that you are showing a chicken, or “Tell me something I don’t know”

a svart hona pullet in a sunny enclosure

Showing chickens is a great activity to participate in and is very educational! I love showing my chickens at the county fair and enjoy studying the facts and learning the showmanship steps. With consistent practice and diligent studying, showing chickens can be rewarding too!

I have found that some breeds of chickens are easier to show than others! Check out my Show Chicken Breed Reviews to find out my opinion on several chicken breeds! Also, don’t forget to become a modern pioneer with us! If you’re a 4-Her, then you will find practical tips for raising chickens as well as some inspirational ideas for 4-H projects!

by Alexa