FINCHforum

Show season will be here before we know it, so it is time now to start making plans. I am making the same offer this year as I did last year. If you will be attending any of the shows that I am attending and you would like to show your birds but don't have show cages, I will bring extra cages for you to borrow for the show. For many, the big factor keeping them from showing is a lack of show cages (though you aren't actually required to use a show cage for NFSS shows).

Showing is a fun and educational experience, great camaraderie within the Texas group of exhibitors, and a chance to network with other finch owners. Even if you aren't interested in showing, I encourage all to attend any shows in your area just for the chance to meet others, plus learn from our experienced and knowledgeable judges! This is the show schedule for Texas:

Sep. 12 - San Antonio (Seguin) - not sure yet if I will be attending this one, but if you would like to borrow a few cages, let me know.

Sep. 19 - Cleburne - definitely attending this one, put on by the Fort Worth Bird Club.

Oct. 10 - Houston - definitely attending this one.

Nov. 7 - Temple - definitely attending this one.

I will loan up to five cages per person (more if available). All you need to do is bring your bird(s) to the show in a travel cage, arrive at least one hour before judging is scheduled to start, and plan to stay for the whole show. At the end of the show, we'll transfer your bird(s) back to the travel cage. I will be show secretary for the finch division at Cleburne, Houston, and Temple. I have learned that those duties keep me pretty busy, so I won't be able to help you as much as I would like, but there will be others there who can offer help. If you will read the information on showing at the NFSS website, it will help you prepare your birds and know what to expect the day of the show.

http://nfss.org/showing-birds/

For those in the DFW area, the Fort Worth Bird Club will be putting on a program about show preparation at their regular meeting on August 9. If you haven't shown before, this would be an excellent opportunity to learn the tricks of the trade. Several members will be bringing birds in show cages, and they will walk you through how to prepare your birds, how to enter your birds, how to show your birds.

We meet from 2-4 pm at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, and we'd love to see you there.

Oops, one more thing. If you enter any birds in the show(s), you will have to pay the entry fee. For most shows, it runs $3 to $4 per cage.

Sally one day my aunt Ginene and I will fly to Texas for some shows!!

delray That would be great fun!

sally, I would love to take you up on your offer for the Cleburne show again. I have one cage of my own, but would love to show more birds.

Wow! How exciting!

Can anyone post a video or two of what the shows are like? Only videos I find are ones that just scan the showcages of birds and the ribbons.

Would be nice to see some of the excitement of the people around the birds, and some of the behind the scenes preparation, etc

SeaChelle Great, just let me know how many you will want.

The Fort Worth Bird Club show is just two weeks away. I'm getting show cages ready now, so anyone who would like to borrow show cages, please let me know how many. For those in the Dallas area, I will be going to Frisco next weekend, I can bring show cages to that area so you can pick them up in advance of the show. It is SOOO much easier to add your birds to the show cage at home! There is a small room at the hall that they will let us use for transferring when needed.

I'll be in Frisco this Saturday, so let me know if you want me to bring show boxes for you to use at our show in Cleburne. I'll be at the Fort Worth Bird Club meeting at the FW Botanical Gardens this Sunday, so I can also bring show boxes to that meeting. Just PM me with how many you need to borrow!

I've loaned out all my show cages for now, except I have 5 that I bought used from someone years ago. I have used these in the past as training cages, they aren't in the best of shape, so I cleaned them up today, and tomorrow I am going to try to get a fresh coat of paint on them. I may try to bring a few birds, but I will be happy to loan these out if wanted.

This show is going to be big!! We have 123 birds coming that I know of, and there will be more. We are hoping for a total of 150 birds in the Finch division!! Since this is a regional show for NFSS, all birds on Top Bench will get double points. This means that if we get 150 entries, first place would get 16 points, and then double that for regionals, for a total of 32 points in just one show!

Ken Rampersaud is a new apprentice judge with NFSS, so he will be judging, with Clarence Culwell at his side to mentor him. This should be a very fun and informative day, so any forum members who are in north Texas are invited to come and watch. Judging starts at 9am, we'll break for lunch around noon, and continue through the afternoon.

We are not doing our traditional barbeque lunch this time, we decided it was time for a change. The Fort Worth Bird Club will provide pasta, salad, bread and drinks. FWBC members will be bringing desserts and/or additional sides. Donations towards our lunch expenses are always appreciated.

I will be the show secretary for the finch division, so I will be pretty busy, but please do come up and say hi!

Sally sounds like a great show!!

I'll be unavailable tomorrow (Saturday, Sep. 19), as I will be involved all day with our bird show. It will probably be a long day with so many entries.

Sally good luck!!!! Pm me If there is anything you would like me to do to help tomorrow when you aren't on.

We had a fantastic show today! Seven exhibitors brought 156 finches/dove/quail to show. This was a regional show, so there were lots of points to be had with this large an event.

Clarence Culwell was the judge, he is one of the best loved judges in the country, and he was mentoring Ken Rampersaud, who was doing one of his required apprentice judge shows. We warned Ken that he was going to get a workout today, but this is good, as this gave him lots of opportunity to practice his skills.

I was so excited to see that our own forum member SeaChelle did just great at the show! She won two of her classes, placed second in another class, and then the topper is that she went on to win 5th place on Top Bench with a fawn Owl finch!! She is a novice still, and for a novice to make Top Bench at such a large regional show is quite the accomplishment!

The judges commented that there were some really good birds at this show. Regional shows offer double points, so competition was stiff. All in all a very fun day, and now I am ready to put my feet up and take the rest of the day off.