# Poultry show > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Poultry_show > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Poultry_show.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poultry_show > Source revision: 1339749176 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Events involving poultry A [Black Minorca](/source/Minorca_chicken) cock at a Scottish poultry show. A **poultry show** is a specific subset of a [livestock show](/source/Livestock_show) that involves the exhibition and competition of [exhibition poultry](/source/Animal_fancy), which may include [chickens](/source/Chickens), [domestic ducks](/source/Domestic_duck), [domestic geese](/source/Domestic_geese), [domestic guineafowl](/source/Domestic_guineafowl) and [domestic turkey](/source/Domestic_turkey). [Domestic pigeon](/source/Domestic_pigeon) are also exhibited but not universally considered poultry. As well as being independent events, they are also sometimes held in conjunction with [agricultural shows](/source/Agricultural_shows). ## Preparation Significant effort is put into exhibiting poultry. Birds are trained for the cages used at shows, and washed and manicured in preparation for an event.[1] ## History The first poultry show in the United Kingdom was in 1845 in London.[2] The exhibition of poultry was promoted as an alternative to [cock fighting](/source/Cock_fighting) in the United Kingdom following the banning of such activities in 1849. The first poultry standard in the world was produced in 1865, the [British Poultry Standard](/source/British_Poultry_Standard).[3] The height of the poultry showing in the United Kingdom was during the late 19th and early 20th century, when [The Crystal Palace Poultry Show](/source/The_Crystal_Palace_Poultry_Show) were held at [The Crystal Palace](/source/The_Crystal_Palace), the largest attracting 10,533 filled cages, the actual number of birds unknown as many were pairs.[4] [Charles Darwin](/source/Charles_Darwin) regularly attended and showed pigeons at these from 1857,[5] and [Queen Victoria](/source/Queen_Victoria) exhibited her [Cochins](/source/Cochins) in 1846 at the Royal Dublin Show.[6] The Crystal Palace Great Poultry Shows continued to run with great success until the Crystal Palace burnt down. The first poultry show in [North America](/source/North_America) was held on 15-16 November, 1849, in [Quincy Market](/source/Quincy_Market), [Boston](/source/Boston), surpassing expectations to receive over 1400 entries[7] however it proved a debacle as no poultry standard existed and judging was cancelled as there was no way to decide what was a [purebred](/source/Purebred). A poultry association was organised afterwards and another show attempted the next year, which attracted 12,000 birds. Overcrowding led to judging being cancelled again.[8] In 1854 [P. T. Barnum](/source/P._T._Barnum) staged a *National Poultry Show* at his [Barnum's American Museum](/source/Barnum's_American_Museum), which the guidelines of are unknown. It wasn't until 1874 that the [American Standard of Perfection](/source/American_Standard_of_Perfection) were adopted by the recently formed [American Poultry Association](/source/American_Poultry_Association), creating the first poultry standard in North America.[8] ## Governance Poultry shows are generally organised by a poultry club. Many of these are accredited by a national body, such as the [American Poultry Association](https://amerpoultryassn.com/) or the [Poultry Club of Great Britain](/source/Poultry_Club_of_Great_Britain) while others, such as Australian poultry clubs are only managed on a state level. Birds exhibited at poultry shows are judged to the local standard, a compiled manual that describe the ideal form of a [poultry breed](/source/Breed). ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["How to prepare your chickens for a poultry show"](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2013/nov/11/chickens-showing). *The Guardian*. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2015. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Dohner, Janet Vorwald (2001). [*The encyclopedia of historic and endangered livestock and poultry breeds*](https://books.google.com/books?id=WJCTL_mC5w4C&dq=first+poultry+show+in+britain&pg=PA411). New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 411. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780300138139](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780300138139). Retrieved 28 March 2015. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["History of poultry"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140228121601/http://www.poultryclub.org/poultry/history-of-poultry/). *www.poultryclub.org*. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived from [the original](http://www.poultryclub.org/poultry/history-of-poultry/) on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2015. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["The Journal of Agriculture and Horticulture"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=385&dat=19070115&id=HKkaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DTAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3812,1804446&hl=en). Council of Agriculture of the Province of Quebec. 15 January 1907. Retrieved 28 March 2015. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Frederick Burkhardt, ed. (1993). *The correspondence of Charles Darwin* (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 108. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780521442411](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780521442411). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Percy, Pam (2006). *The field guide to chickens*. St. Paul, MN: Voyageur Press. p. 82. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780760324738](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780760324738). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Steup, H.H (1926). [*Fitting and Exhibiting Standard - Bred Poultry : Volume 127 of Kansas Agri. Exp. Station Circular*](http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/historicpublications/Pubs/SC127.pdf) (PDF). Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Retrieved 28 March 2015. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-coopedup_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-coopedup_8-1) Lacey, Patricia (2010). [*All Cooped Up: The History of the American Bantam Association A 131-Year Evolution*](https://books.google.com/books?id=nJvLImWj8bUC&dq=poultry+showing+history&pg=PA17). Xlibris Corporation. pp. 17–22. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781450060837](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781450060837). Retrieved 28 March 2015. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Poultry show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poultry_show) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poultry_show?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.