Preparation is the final act in putting your bird in front of the judge. It is most important to give a good bird a chance, so it is up to you to present it in top condition and help it in its final presentation. A bird that has not had early growing care will never have the conformation which a potential winner must have. The feather needs feeding with the proper proteins, plus fats in moderation. These proteins - given sparingly as a 'treat' - will help give a good wealth and condition of feather.

I myself find that bringing the birds into my penning room about six days previous to a show day gives them time to settle down and makes them easier to handle. When they have been washed, they go onto clean sawdust, without a lot of flying around. Then three days before the show day I give them that all important wash.

Now for the bath! First, prepare your water in a bowl of Lux flakes or similar washing agent. Place a cloth on the draining board so that the bird will not slip. Begin by holding the bird's wings firmly with one hand and give the legs a good scrubbing to get all the dirt from under the scales. Next, place the bird in the bowl of warm, soapy water and give it a minute or two to soften the feathers so that they do not break when you start to scrub. Yes, scrub! I use a small nail brush which gets down under the feathers and gets out all the dirt. Make sure that you scrub the same way as the feathers lie.

Next, lift the bird out and put it on the cloth. Then fill the bowl with clean water and give your bird a good rinse. If washing a white bird, once again fill your bowl with clean water but this time you add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda and a dip of dolly blue to bring out the whiteness. A drop of glycerine in the final rinse is very beneficial to the feathers whatever the colour.

Next comes the drying. Give the bird a good towelling and then place it in a box with a wire front in front of a fire. I usually wash mine last thing at night and in the morning you have a good clean bird ready for the penning room. A rub of hand cream or olive oil on the comb and face on the morning of the show will give the bird a brighter look.

Adapted from 'Show Preparation', by J.Hey, in the Poultry Club Yearbook, and 'Washing Birds for Show', by J.Hey in the Poultry Club Yearbook.