I’m a bit behind with this blog post, since the National was held on 16th and 17th November 2013. We’d thoroughly enjoyed the show in previous years, and so it’s a fixture on our calendar. We went on the Saturday. Unlike 2012, though, when it was crowded almost from the moment the doors opened, this show was nothing like as well-attended. But (to our untutored eyes at least) the standard of the birds was absolutely superb.
So this blog entry is going to be a picture-fest of chickens. Be warned!
These colourful “gate guardians” were on sale at one of the trade stands.
When we arrived, the judges were already hard at work. These are judging a rare breed Slate Turkey.
This picture was taken mid-afternoon, and shows how quiet it all was
Regency Poultry’s new feeder
We love Regency Poultry, and regularly order from them. We were in the market for a new feeder and a large capacity drinker. Last year we bought a Grandpa’s Feeder and have been absolutely delighted with its performance. So we were tempted by the Regency Poultry Deluxe Feeder, which is larger and cheaper than the standard Grandpa Feeder. But our Ixworths can be thuggish brutes, and give their kit a hard time. We noticed that the Regency feeder could stick open rather easily. So in the end we went for the heavier duty and better quality Grandpa’s, on offer at the show.
We bought our drinker and a few other things from Regency, though, and highly recommend them!
We sought out the Ixworths, of course!
But there was much more to see.
Booted Millefleur bantam
A beautiful display of eggs, each entry far more consistent than anything we could manage!
The “Painted, Decorated & Displayed” section
A glamour model, posing for pictures
And finally, for this post at least, a stroll along Championship Row:
Modern Game
Large fowl like this magnificent Brahma, and on his right, a Cochin
Frizzle bantams
The homely Sussex can be very handsome, too
We’ve always fancied keeping Derbyshire Redcaps, but, alas, space does not permit
And let’s not forget the turkeys and geese. The lectures this year weren’t as good as last year, but we went to one on keeping turkeys, which was fascinating. Sadly, if we don’t have room to keep Derbyshire Redcaps, we certainly can’t accommodate turkeys!
I’ll do a continuation post focusing on the birds that were for sale at the show.
