It was our third try to hold the American Poultry Association (APA) B.C. provincial show and it was well worth the wait!
The Sept. 10 Salt Spring Island show was held at the busy Salt Spring Fall Fair and welcomed 183 birds, 17 adult exhibitors and 18 junior exhibitors. With thousands of people through the gate, the poultry show was a highlight for all exhibitors, showing off 27 breeds of poultry, including chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys.
Clayton Botkin was our APA judge and offered the chance for feedback and learning to our junior exhibitors and volunteers. As many of our club members are new to APA shows, this was a huge benefit for everyone involved.
Last year’s winner, Izzy Nowell, showed up with a new flock of bantam Rhode Island Reds (RIR) and again took the championship with an excellent cockerel hatched this spring. He was a clear winner and had Nowell taking open grand champion (CH) and junior champion. Her cockerel won CH bantam, CH single comb clean legged (SCCL) and CH RIR. Another cockerel took reserve bantam and JR reserve (RES) champion (RES.SCCL). Nowell is excited to bring her group of RIR to the Canadian national show in October and hopes to do Salt Spring Island proud.
Reserve champion was Ramona Trombley’s bantam call drake. Trombley joined us from Cowichan and we were thrilled to welcome her for the day to the island. The call took champion waterfowl, with Salt Springer Elsie Born’s Toulouse gander having reserve waterfowl.
Champion large fowl was given to Ted Baker’s Rhode Island Red hen (CH American) and reserve large fowl went to a pretty black australorp pullet (CH English) from Ali Yildizalp.
With only one turkey in the show, Anezka Sikora’s bourbon red was a clear winner. At seven years of age, he still knew how to show off and gobbled away all weekend, bringing in the fans.
Champion continental was given to to Born’s Maran hen (reserve to Julie Nowell’s salmon Faverolle hen), champion Mediterranean to Baker’s black leghorn pullet (reserve to Tilly Buck’s light brown leghorn hen) and champion all other standard breeds to Rainie Bevilacqua’s silver phoenix pullet (reserve to Julie Nowell, silver phoenix cock).
Champion SCCL and reserve went to two of Izzy Nowell’s bantam RIR cockerels and champion rose comb clean legged to Ramona Trombley’s partridge wyandotte pullets. Champion feather legged went to junior Heidi Magnus Fischer’s lovely little Belgian bearded d’uccle pullet (reserve to Dorothy Copeland’s Belgian bearded d’uccle cockerel).
We had a small waterfowl showing, with only nine entries. Junior large fowl went to Oliver Thring and his australorp pullet, and reserve junior large fowl to Buck and her light brown leghorn hen. We had no junior waterfowl entries this year.
We had 10 pet class birds entered with Robin Magnus Fischer taking champion with a beautiful RIR bantam pullet in excellent condition, and Bryn Pyper bringing in reserve.
The poultry club was excited to be able to share such a diverse and exciting range of poultry to the island this year.