Noelene Thompson, of St Andrews, shows off her
prize-winning Silkie bantam. Mrs Thompson has 27 poultry
entered in the Waimate Winter Show, which starts tomorrow.
The Waimate Winter show begins tomorrow and looks likely
to be a bird-fancier's paradise, with all manner of poultry,
pigeons, ducks and other birds set to be on display.
Noelene Thompson, of St Andrews, is one enthusiast who has
entered 27 of her finest poultry in this year's show.
Fresh off winning first prize at a show in Milton with one of
her Silkie bantams, Mrs Thompson said although she was never
confident of winning prizes at shows, she generally ‘‘came
away with something''.
And even if her poultry did not win a prize ‘‘they're still
the best in my eyes'', she laughed.
Mrs Thompson started showing poultry six years ago after her
husband Robin, who shows caged birds, encouraged her to do
so.
She said going to shows was ‘‘the way to go'' for anyone
wanting to learn everything about poultry, especially if they
worked as a steward or a judge.
At one stage, she had about 26 different breeds.
She now focuses on her favourites, which include New
Hampshire Reds, Sussex and Leghorns.
She also keeps other birds, such as ducks and pheasants.
Getting her poultry ready for a show involved a lot of
grooming, with Mrs Thompson giving her white poultry a bath
before the big event.
This was done ‘‘very carefully'' and involved some detergent
and a good blow-dry afterwards.
When bathing poultry for the first time, she said it was
‘‘usually me that has the bath''.
- The Waimate Winter Show will run over two days at the
Waimate Stadium - from 2pm to 8pm on Friday, and from 10am to
4pm on Saturday. For further information contact Noeline
Wells on (03) 689-7629.
- Andrea Kydd-Law
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