# Feathered Feet



## Courage (Sep 21, 2013)

Any tips on keeping a feather footed breed's feet in good condition for showing? I don't have the ability to keep them in a covered run, but any other suggestions?


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Keeping them in a pen with very deep shavings is how most that show do it. Or in a cage. I mentioned the cage last because that really is no life for a bird.


----------



## realsis (Jan 13, 2013)

I have feather footed birds silkies and they are in shavings in their runs. However before a show it is still and will be necessary to bathe them and groom their feet and nails. I use a fingernail scrub brush and toothpick to clean the nails and toe nails. You mentioned your pen wasn't covered. May I suggest covering your pen. No matter which flooring you use with out a covered pen they will be a muddy mess in the winter. Home depot has really nice fiberglass siding you can use for roofing for around 5 dollars a sheet. I'll attach a pictue of it for you. You can easily make a covered pen out of this. Also I'm not sure what breed you have but if its a silkie breed water does not run off the feathers like other breeds and they must be covered. I'll attach a pic of my run where you will see the shavings put down. This helps protect the feet. hope this helps you out. best wishes I'll show the photos in a seprate post


----------



## realsis (Jan 13, 2013)

Here is more of the siding I use as roofing. This is how I did it. Hope this helps. Also a covered area not only protects agsinst the weather but it helps protect from preditors. Its in the area of home depot where siding is. I like the new siding better than the older galvanised metal siding because its a mix of rubber and fiberglass and won't rust or leak as easily. It only took four sheets to cover my run that's only 20 dollars. It has a inclosed wire roof under it to prevent other wild birds or preditors from getting in. The siding is over lapped and then nailed to the roof boards. Its at a angle so water can run off it and not pool on top. It comes in colors. Mine is green. Very easy to use and install.


----------



## Courage (Sep 21, 2013)

I need to learn to be more specific, as people seem to assume a lot of wrong information. Here are the facts:

1. I will be getting Sultans, if you were following my other thread.
2. In my first post I said that I don't have the ability to keep them in a covered run. This means that I don't have one and can't build one. I will try more persuasion to get my dad to build it, but at the moment he said no. The run is fairly big and would be a lot of work to build a cover for it. If I can get him to build it for me, these designs will come in handy, thanks!
3. I know how to bathe my chickens - I have done it for three years and even given a presentation on it. But my question was is there a way to help keep the feathers in good condition in the long run - keep them from breaking. I can deal with them being dirty before a show, but the breaking feathers is what i'm worried about. Broken foot feathers won't help when showing.
4. Again, just to be clear, I am showing in 4-H - my county fair and a local show or two. I am not a big breeder or a shower.

Hope this helps get some facts straight! If you need any more info, let me know!


----------



## Courage (Sep 21, 2013)

Haha, thanks!

So, again, if you follow my other thread ("Choices, choices, choices..."), you'd know that I changed my mind from the sultans. I decided it would be a lot more work to keep them in good shape for showing, and it would be easier to get a clean legged, clean headed breed. I might go with the Modern Games, but I can hardly find any information on them anywhere! The bantam version is way more popular, but I want info on the large version. I can't even find hardly any good pictures of them! Crazy google images... Any sites that would prove useful?


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Other than the Modern breed club, I don't know of any good information on them. Part of the reason you're not finding the large fowl easily is that they are not that popular yet in N. America. They are out there but if you are ordering as a group from one hatchery you might not get the large fowl.

Have they told you yet what hatchery they will be using?

One of the main reasons you are not finding a lot of images is they have not gotten that popular yet. I've seen them at poultry shows but that's about the extent of my knowledge on them.


----------



## Courage (Sep 21, 2013)

Yes, we'll be ordering from Murray McMurray Hatchery. That only have standard sized Black Breasted Red Modern Games. I would get the bantam version if they had it. I'll probably get this breed in the spring, as the others are flighty.

The breed only has one review on the site, saying that they are "spunky". I wish that there was more info on them and more reviews.

Since that are not common in the US, and definitely rare in this area, they would get a lot of attention at shows, as they are small 4-H shows and county fairs! I have always loved the breed's tall, skinny look. They remind me of myself! And they look so proud and regal. They should be! XD


----------



## Apyl (Jun 20, 2012)

If your considering the any of the Game breeds , be prepared to dub their comb. SOP requires the combs dubbed for show. My daughter looked at Old English Games but we decided we couldn't cut the combs off so ended up not getting them. Good luck on picking a breed, it's exciting to add new breeds.


----------



## Courage (Sep 21, 2013)

I can only get females, as I'm not allowed to have roosters. Even if I was able to have them, the county fair says that we aren't required to dub the combs, as they don't support that. I wouldn't be able to dub them, I love them too much! Females are not dubbed.


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Apyl said:


> If your considering the any of the Game breeds , be prepared to dub their comb. SOP requires the combs dubbed for show. My daughter looked at Old English Games but we decided we couldn't cut the combs off so ended up not getting them. Good luck on picking a breed, it's exciting to add new breeds.


Even in 4H the combs have to be dubbed?

There has been a push in recent years to remove that requirement for large combed birds. Let's hope those doing the pushing can get it changed.


----------



## soratosjc (Jul 8, 2013)

this is just a suggestion and not meant to be combative: spend as much effort on kindness in communication as you have in your chicken research. I have read many of your posts and I realize that you are young but as you grow up it will become increasingly important that you communicate information in a kind manner and not be condescending or rude. I am sure that you didn't intend for your posts to come off this way but sadly they have and this makes many people defensive and angry with you before they even know you. I wish you the best of luck in your life and future poultry endeavors.


----------

