Something that made a huge impact on Chicken Corner and was the basic motivator for its existence was the Poultry Showing Scene. All of us Rainey girls at one point or another, had been members of the Norfolk Poultry Club and my 10 year anniversary back in 2014 was celebrated by quitting (whilst I was ahead), kind of like Usain Bolt.. However I never got the championship and true to form, finished the career on a solid, if less than satisfying, 3rd.
But don’t get me wrong, although the characters of Chicken Corner were never selected for championship row… they came very close, picking up prizes in the ‘Best Decorated Egg’ category… I knew my stuff when it came to that. No, really they did do well, with many rosettes (which were particularly good) snapped up in a range of breed classes.
But in general Chicken Corner’s showing reputation when a little bit like this …
Back in the day, Olivia (Vice-Manager and Vice-Director) showed her white call ducks. She had bred a particularly fantastic female named Anna Magdelaina; perfect proportions, small beak and a good nature. This duck was taken to countless seasonal shows and featured on the championship row a number of times… Having reached stardom, it might be said Olivia lost her passion for the whole endeavour but my plight continued.
My excitement would begin with the arrival of each new entry form through the post. This marked the formal ritual consisting of traipsing around Chicken Corner to see which birds would make the cut. The select few were transferred into the big shed, which they would inhabit for about 3 weeks. Everyday they were caught and held, making them tame(r) and hopefully keeping them clean. They would be washed, and the finishing touches would take from roughly 8 a.m. until 10p.m. It was a hectic lifestyle but Chicken Corner ran on adrenaline!
It was then up to the judges to decide their fate; this would be found out around 3pm the next day. More than I would care to admit, my efforts were not rewarded and that’s fine, it’s a cut-throat world. But the hardest element was when my attainments were compared to Olivia’s with her call duck. Olivia would catch her duck the day before, actually that’s incorrect, it was the night before. She placed her in a bowl and like a standard duck who loves water, would wash herself. Can’t be denied, Olivia did out-do herself when she brought out the toothbrush to clean Anna’s feet and beak… Olivia’s minimal efforts resulted in ‘Best Waterfowl in Show’.
Chicken Corner’s Showing years therefore, provided me with a vital life lesson from a young age. Effort doesn’t always equal success… at least that’s what I felt at the time. In hindsight, it was a character-building experience and I believe it would have won the nation’s hearts without a doubt.
Bye chicks x
Written: 26th October 2017
