Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Northeastern Poultry Congress


The ABA National at the Northeastern Poultry Congress will be held at the Big E Fairgrounds West Springfield Mass, January 16 & 17Th 2010. Cheryl Barbaba, u16582@snet.net, sends this comprehensive advance information:

Our prestigious judges line-up includes Warren Carlow, Jim Sallee, Jeff Halbach, Tommy Lee, Lew Cunningham, Clell Agler, and Matt Lhamon. Our most excellent Junior judge is Mr. Paul Kroll. The Junior Showmanship classes will be judged by the following experts: Dan Castel, Donna Schopac, Lindsay Halbach, and Melissa Cunningham.

Our list of Meets at this time is as follows: National Meets: The Modern Game Bantam Club of America, The Cochins International, The North American Hamburg Society, The International Cornish Breeders, and the International Waterfowl Breeders Association. For District Meets we are hosting the American Poultry Association, the Plymouth Rock Fanciers Club, the Nankin Club of America, the Rosecomb Federation, the American Lanshang Club, and the Wyandotte Club of America.

The Congress has several lectures lined up. Our round table hosted by Don Schrider is top on the list ! This ever-popular, Ask the Experts forum is centerpiece of Saturday's lecture series. Come prepared to get those nagging poultry questions answered! Dan Honor is presenting this year. Dan is a lifelong fan and expert on the Buff color. If you are working with Buffs, you won't want to miss this one, as you are going to need all the help you can get in this most beautiful of colors. Joel Henning is doing a lecture for us on Crested Breeds! In Crested, knowledge is power, so be sure to gain some by attending this most informative of lectures. Poulin Grain is bringing out their Chief Nutritionist to tell us just how we should be feeding our flocks. This most elemental of things is often over ooked back at the coop. For chickens, like humans, you are what you eat, so it’s a good idea to eat like a winner. We also have a most unusual and interesting class to announce. Dr Joan Smyth of UCONN is holding a poultry anatomy class. This will be a hands-on wet lab. Groups of attendees will be directed on how to properly post a predeceased chicken. Dr Smyth will then show you just what was ticking inside each of the posted birds. I guess the vegans among us may want to skip this one. The lecture series culminates with the Annual ABA General Meeting. The meeting will be hosted by the ABA’s President Jeff Halbach and Vice President Matt Lhamon. This is the most informative meeting of the year. Stick around and get current scoop.

For the new folks and the visitors, our friend Howard Kogan is holding two Show Hall tours. Howard will guide participants around the hall and answer their most challenging questions. For the ladies who prefer to get away from it all, Lynne Crevoiser will be arranging a shopping tour. Wear comfortable shoes and bring lots of plastic as Lynne has all the good spots mapped out.

As far as numbers go, I think this is going to be a pretty big show ! Of course we have no way of knowing what will happen, but I am confident it's going to be a pretty major event. In fact it may be a good idea to book your room now if you want to stay in the host hotel. There are lots of places to stay in the area, but there is only one host hotel. Details on our web page, http://www.poultrycongress.com/. We are expecting our biggest Junior show ever ! It's an exhaustive list, so please refer to it online.

For the gregarious, the Congress is hosting a Sunset Social at the Clarion host hotel Saturday night. That’s right, no banquet. However, there will also be no need to drive at night as you are already home ! The Sunset Social gives us a chance to get in the Groove and Chill worry-free.

There will be ample opportunities to make some pocket poultry money at the Congress this year. We are working hard to let the poultry buying public know we are here and that there are birds for sale. The sales area will be busting through to the arena side this year. One thing we will have is ample room! Sales spaces will be sold at fifty dollars for a 10’x10’ space. I know this is a cramp for some folks, but we just don’t know if we will have any extra cages as rentals this year. If we do, we will provide them at the show.

This year we are planning a special Eggs Alive fertile egg raffle. It will be a silent raffle with the top bidders taking home some great eggs. We believe that this auction could be a great fundraiser for the Congress. I sent out an email asking for donations of fertile eggs last week and the reponses were very good. One of our club members suggested I do a flyer promoting the egg auction with the names of the donors on it. It will be an impressive list for sure. Will you please consider bringing some fertile eggs as a donation from your farm? I know the birds may not be laying or the eggs not fertile (I will be sure to tell all bidders of this potential pitfall). One of our members had a great suggestion for dealing with this. She suggested we could place an empty carton with your name and the type of eggs your going to send via US mail to the winner in the breeding season.

IF all that is not your cup of tea, would you be willing to consider donating birds to our bird auction ? This is a tried and true way to raise some funds ! The Congress founders were really generous when it came to bird raffles. Would you be willing to save a pair til the show and donate to the raffle? Please let me know if you can do either the Eggs Alive auction or the Live Bird auction, as I would love to get you on the list ! THANKS !

Show Booklets will be out by mid-November. If you do not get one by that time, contact Janet Winnett at 508-923-0051 or click on over to our web site and download one.

A couple of reminders friends…. The Monday after our show is Martin Luther King Day. Perhaps you have this day off making your life easier. As for the local government, all you need is a current pullorum card. Please make a copy and mail it in with your entry. The State of Massachusetts is easy to a point. If you forget your paperwork you may be refused entry. So whatever you do, don’t forget your legal credentials. PLEASE NOTE THE ENTRIES close earlier than usual this year! Mark it on your calendar. It’s the holidays and you may forget otherwise. I will be hard pressed to accommodate The Late this year. So don’t be part of the Disappointed and get them in ASAP.

Recently I shamelessly stole a line from the March 1900 issue of The Feather. The magazine was reporting on the Madison Square Garden show. The following line works so well in 2010 I could not resist plagiarizing. It is as follows: "This show is a battle royal for supremacy and well may the victor shout his glory !" I promise to use this line again because I love it ! All it needs as far as I am concerned is the word "Her" ! The Pick of the Best is to be found at the Congress !

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