Shows & Swaps Archives - https://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/category/farm-animals/chickens/shows-and-swaps/ Sat, 13 May 2017 02:55:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2 https://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cropped-logo-square1-32x32.jpg Shows & Swaps Archives - https://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/category/farm-animals/chickens/shows-and-swaps/ 32 32 Spring 2017 Poultry and Homesteading Faire https://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/spring-2017-poultry-and-homesteading-faire/ Sat, 13 May 2017 02:55:40 +0000 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/?p=8319 It has been a couple years, but I finally made it back to be an Oregon Poultry Swap vendor. OPS has grown a lot over the years and are now known for more than just poultry. It makes for a fun event. There was, of course, many chickens and other poultry for sale. Also rabbits …

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Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

It has been a couple years, but I finally made it back to be an Oregon Poultry Swap vendor. OPS has grown a lot over the years and are now known for more than just poultry. It makes for a fun event.

There was, of course, many chickens and other poultry for sale. Also rabbits and pigs. Plants, honey, homemade soap, and craft items, too.

There was a seed swap, activities for kids, and lots of education information.

 

RIDGETOP FARM & GARDEN BOOTH

Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

 

I brought week old Olive Egger, White Leghorn, and Delaware chicks, as well as a few pullets. I was surprised how quickly the pullets sold.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

 

I also brought goat milk soap, hatching eggs, and hand designed canvas totes.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

 

Rusty Rooster

Rusty Rooster greeted everyone at the entrance and biosecurity area.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

 

The Faire

Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

A few tables set up with a ton of education material. I loved that!
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

After I got all set up, I had a few minutes before the Faire opened to the public. I got a breakfast sandwich from the vendor doing food. So good! I don’t remember the price, but it was reasonable for the huge, delicious sandwich.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

Of course we couldn’t leave the Faire empty handed. I found a few chicks from a couple different breeders. Farm Girl was my helper for the day. She picked out a rabbit, that she named Thumper.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

 

END OF A GOOD, BUT LONG, DAY

After a very long day of driving, setting up, tearing down and being a vendor, we came home to unknown sheep and goat friends near our goat pen. Thankfully, with a bit of grain I was easily able to catch them. Then, drive around and hope to find the owners. Which, I did.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Poultry and Homesteading Faire | Spring 2017 | Oregon

 

Another successful event in the books. Time to register for the next one.

 

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Vendor Pricing Signs https://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/vendor-pricing-signs/ Mon, 20 Oct 2014 20:07:55 +0000 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/?p=1218 As I was getting my stuff together for the Poultry Swap, I realized I could make reusable price tags. So, I got to work making them out of materials found in my craft stash.   THE SIGN There are multiple layers on the main sign, but it’s fairly simple to put together. 1. The first …

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Price Signs title

As I was getting my stuff together for the Poultry Swap, I realized I could make reusable price tags. So, I got to work making them out of materials found in my craft stash.

 

THE SIGN

There are multiple layers on the main sign, but it’s fairly simple to put together.

1. The first thing I did was create the wording & border in Photoshop. I printed the signs on scrapbook paper using my ink jet printer.
2. Black scrapbook paper cut slightly larger than the first tag.
3. Cream colored paper cut slightly larger than the black paper on 3 sides & about 4 times as thick on the top.

After attaching the 3 layers of paper together, I laminated them.

Next, I used a hole punch to make 2 holes on the top.

Finally, I applied one side of a velcro dot that had a sticky back to the sign.

Price Signs 2

 

INTERCHANGEABLE PRICE TAGS

The price part of the sign is a separate piece so I can change prices as needed.

Using Photoshop, I created individual price tags. They are one piece and printed on the same cream colored paper as the background of the main tag. I laminated these tags, as well.

The second side of a velcro dot is stuck on the backside of the price tag.

Price Signs 1

 

ATTACHING THE SIGNS

I used raffia to tie the signs onto cages.

Price Signs 5

 

SALE PRICES

Having interchangeable prices is convenient for a couple reasons. I may want to change my prices from swap to swap. Also, I can use the same main tag for chicks, pullets, or laying hens and only need to change the smaller price tag. The changing price tags also allows me to add sale prices, as needed.

Price Signs 6

Price Signs 3
An Easter Egger sign and optional pricing tags. I could use it for pullets, but in this case it was used for a container with chicks. It has the original price tag on the sign. But, two sale options are ready if I decide to mark things down a bit.

 

OTHER SIGNAGE

I also made matching signage for other items for sale.

Price Signs 4

 

These signs looked just as good after the swap, as they did when I first made them. So I’m hopeful they could last quite awhile.

 

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Oregon Fall Poultry Swap 2014 https://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/oregon-fall-poultry-swap-2014/ Mon, 13 Oct 2014 21:35:38 +0000 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/?p=467 Saturday was the Oregon Fall Poultry Swap in Corvallis. This was our first time being a vendor at the Fall Swap. Although, earlier this year we were vendors at the Spring Swap. We didn’t sell everything we brought, but I am very happy with what we did sell. It was a good day. The customers …

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Fall Poultry Swap title sized

Saturday was the Oregon Fall Poultry Swap in Corvallis. This was our first time being a vendor at the Fall Swap. Although, earlier this year we were vendors at the Spring Swap.

We didn’t sell everything we brought, but I am very happy with what we did sell. It was a good day. The customers were friendly & eager to learn about our birds. All three of our kids ended up needing to come to the swap & they were very helpful & behaved well. I really couldn’t have asked for things to go better.

 

OUR BOOTH

Fall Poultry Swap booth1
Our setup. It was functional, not beautiful.

Fall Poultry Swap signage

 

Fall Poultry Swap chickens
A few of the birds that came with us to the swap. We sold all the Marans, Easter Egger & Olive Egger pullets we brought.

 

Fall Poultry Swap Rhode Island Red
But, the Rhode Island Reds we couldn’t give away. An older gentleman bought one. Other than that, nobody even looked at them. They didn’t sell well at the Spring Swap either.

 

Fall Poultry Swap chicks card
We also brought Easter Egger chicks. At the Spring Swap they sold very well. This time, not so much. Very few people were interested in straight run chicks. Another flop were the Christmas Cards I made.

 

OTHER VENDORS

Fall Poultry Swap view

Fall Poultry Swap vendors

 

Fall Poultry Swap kid pics
I sent the kids out with my phone to take pics. Here are a few things they found interesting.

 

Fall Poultry Swap birds
A few birds that caught my eye: Frizzle Serama Roosters, Royal Palm Turkeys & Sebastopol Geese

 

WHAT WE BROUGHT HOME

Farm Kid2 bought a Muscovy duck from a vendor across from us. He also bought hatching eggs from the vendor right next to us. The 3 light brown eggs are Seramas & the white egg is an Olandsk Dwarf. Ooh, I hope they hatch.
Update: Day 6 I candled the eggs & all 4 looked to be developing. I was so excited. However… about day 14 we were in town all day & sometime early in the morning our power went out. By the time we got home the eggs were cold & had been for a number of hours. Our power didn’t come back on until the next day. They never did finish developing.

Fall Poultry Swap purchases

 

The day went very well. My only complaint is that going to the swap as a vendor, I don’t have time to look around at what everyone else is selling or take part in the other activities. Last year at the Fall Swap I had a great time browsing & taking pics. Whether going as a vendor or a customer, though, the event is fun. I’m sure we’ll be back next year.

 

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DIY Vendor Sign https://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/diy-vendor-sign/ Wed, 04 Jun 2014 19:09:04 +0000 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/?p=604 When I decided to be a vendor at a poultry swap for the first time I knew I had to put together a couple things for the booth. Most importantly was figuring out the cages for the chickens. Next on my list of importance was creating signage that easily stated what we were selling as …

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Vendor Sign Title

When I decided to be a vendor at a poultry swap for the first time I knew I had to put together a couple things for the booth. Most importantly was figuring out the cages for the chickens. Next on my list of importance was creating signage that easily stated what we were selling as customers walked by. I came up with an upcycled project using only materials we had at home.

MAKING THE SIGN

For the individual pieces stating the items we have for sale, I used bender board. I originally installed the bender board when I designed our bird village with the hopes of it separating the garden dirt from the gravel path. It kind of worked for awhile. Then the boards split and/or came out of the ground. Maybe I didn’t install it correctly. Whatever the reason, the boards don’t work & are more of a hazard than a help. So, I pulled most of them out & used what I could to make my vendor sign. They work perfectly, primarily because they are lightweight.

The first thing I did was measure each board. Then, I used my computer to print out words that would fit on the board. I chose a font that was simple & easy to read.

The bender board is so soft that I simply traced the letters with a pencil & the pressure made an indent in the board. I used those indentations as guides to paint the words.

Using outdoor acrylic paints, I painted inside the indent first with my main color, then went around the outside in white. I also used Behr’s indoor/outdoor primer & paint. It was all paint I had on hand, and I’m sure regular acrylic paint would work, too.

Vendor Sign1

 

THE STAND

Farmer John built me this stand as a place to attach the bender board painted signs. It is quite sturdy & doesn’t require any weight to keep from falling over. The only downfall is that it doesn’t come apart & is awkward to fit in my car. But, it does fit.

Farmer John predrilled holes in the bender board signs so they wouldn’t split when screwing them to the stand.

Vendor Sign2

 

USING THE SIGN

I bring a cordless drill & screws with me to the swaps & attach the individual signs to the stand once I get there. It is simple & takes no more than 5 minutes to set up.

Vendor Sign3

I love this sign for a few reasons:
1. Perfection was not necessary. It’s meant to be fun & slightly wonky.
2. Super simple to make
3. It’s large & legible, yet easy to haul & set up
4. No out of pocket expenses

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Oregon Spring Poultry Swap 2014 https://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/oregon-spring-poultry-swap-2014/ Mon, 28 Apr 2014 21:13:25 +0000 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/?p=463 On Saturday a friend & I were vendors at the Oregon Spring Poultry Swap. This was our first time as sellers not buyers. It was a long, yet fun, day starting with my alarm going off at 4:20am. Most of the chicks we’ve been hatching this year came with us to the swap. I was …

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Spring Swap title sized

On Saturday a friend & I were vendors at the Oregon Spring Poultry Swap. This was our first time as sellers not buyers. It was a long, yet fun, day starting with my alarm going off at 4:20am. Most of the chicks we’ve been hatching this year came with us to the swap. I was wanting to also bring a few laying hens that hatched last spring, but there was no room in my car for them. Bummer. Maybe next time.

OUR BOOTH

Spring Swap booth

This was our first swap & a good learning experience. I learned our company sign rests perfectly on the legs of a particular table we have. I learned people really enjoyed the sign I made listing what we were selling.

I layed our booth out in an L shape trying to give us more table space, expecting people to come in and look at the other table. They didn’t.

So, we moved one cage from the back table to the top of the dog crate. That was perfect. The cage then was up front & at eye level. I constantly moved birds to that cage as the ones in the cage sold. We got many questions about the nipple waterers.

I also tried selling hatching eggs & my friend brought vanilla extract. FYI, the vanilla is fabulous.

Spring Swap booth2

 

Chicks we brought were:
Rhode Island Reds: ages 2 days & 1 week
Marans: ages 2 days & 5 weeks
Easter Eggers: ages 2 days, 5 weeks & 10 weeks

Spring Swap chicks

I brought a couple crafty things just to see if they would sell. They didn’t.
I made small garden signs out of pallet wood. They are painted with outdoor paint & sealed with a clear coat.
I also brought 2 of the cement leaves I made last summer.

Spring Swap crafts

 

OTHER VENDORS

This swap was set up in two different barns. We were in the goat barn with most of the vendors selling animals. The sheep barn was mainly for the craft vendors.

Spring Swap sheep barn
The Sheep Barn. My 8 year old & my friend’s 5 year old hung out with us at the swap. They did fantastic all day. At a slow point in the day, I took them to the sheep barn for a quick look around. Some people selling honey had a bee frame with them with busy little bees doing their thing. The boys searched for the queen, but never did find it.

 

Spring Swap goat barn
The Goat Barn. The fun thing about these swaps are the variety of animals. Of course there’s lots of poultry, but there are also goats, sheep, rabbits & more.

 

It was such a good time. The day started out slow. But, once it picked up we never slowed down until close to closing time. My crafts didn’t sell, but I sold most of the chicks. People were just as interested in the 5 & 10 week old chicks as they were the 2 day old chicks. I’m sure I would have sold a couple laying hens, too, had I been able to bring them. Many vendors had Marans & Easter Eggers & many customers wanted them. Not many shoppers were interested in the Rhode Island Red’s. I’m not sure why not. They are great layers & a fairly calm bird.

All the shoppers were friendly & great to talk chicken with.

The only downfall of the day was that I didn’t get to do shopping of my own. I would have liked to look around more than I was able. But, it’s hard to complain when the reason I couldn’t leave our booth was because there was usually customers at it.

My friend & I decided it was such a good time that we signed up for the Fall Swap.

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Halloween 4H Small Animal Show https://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/halloween-4h-small-animal-show/ Fri, 11 Oct 2013 23:21:38 +0000 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/?p=7153 Last weekend Farm Kid2 showed his chicken at the Hocus Pocus 4-H Small Animal Show held at the Polk County Fairgrounds. Farm Kid2 is a Cloverbud in the 4-H program. In 4-H you can’t compete until you’re in 4th grade; he is in 2nd grade. He can do many fun 4-H activities, he just can’t …

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Ridgetop Farm and Garden | 4H | Hocus Pocus Small Animal Show

Last weekend Farm Kid2 showed his chicken at the Hocus Pocus 4-H Small Animal Show held at the Polk County Fairgrounds.

Farm Kid2 is a Cloverbud in the 4-H program. In 4-H you can’t compete until you’re in 4th grade; he is in 2nd grade. He can do many fun 4-H activities, he just can’t win the blue ribbon – which kind of ticks him off. But, he has fun anyway.

We are fairly relaxed with his show skills at the moment. Right now it’s all about learning as much as he can & having fun. There’s no need to have the added pressure of winning.

 

Getting Ready

Farm Kid2’s show chicken is a SCCL Light Brown Leghorn named Percy. She is a fabulous chicken for him as a newbie to showing.

To get ready for the show Percy got a bath.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | 4H | Hocus Pocus Small Animal Show

 

At the Show

All small animal Cloverbuds showed together, so there was a mix of chickens, rabbits & cavies.

My favorite part of him showing is when he has to answer questions the judge asks him. I think it’s such a great life skill. He has to speak loudly & clearly, answer confidently, and figure out the best way to answer if he doesn’t know the answer.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | 4H | Hocus Pocus Small Animal Show

 

Since Cloverbuds can’t compete, they usually get a participation ribbon or some other goody. This Halloween themed show handed out candy.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | 4H | Hocus Pocus Small Animal Show

 

The fun part of the show was the costume contest. There were many fun ideas.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | 4H | Hocus Pocus Small Animal Show

 

Percy was a ghost.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | 4H | Hocus Pocus Small Animal Show

 

Happy Halloween!

 

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Oregon Fall Poultry Swap 2013 https://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/oregon-fall-poultry-swap-2013/ Tue, 24 Sep 2013 17:45:42 +0000 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/?p=335 A friend & I spent the day at the Oregon Fall Poultry Swap. There were so many great vendors, friendly people & gorgeous chickens. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we are planning on being vendors at the Spring Swap.   VENDOR AREA   SERAMA SHOW As well as the swap, there was also a …

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Fall Poultry Swap 2013 title sized

A friend & I spent the day at the Oregon Fall Poultry Swap. There were so many great vendors, friendly people & gorgeous chickens. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we are planning on being vendors at the Spring Swap.

 

VENDOR AREA

Fall Poultry Swap 2013 Vendors
Presentations and Raffle
Presentation & Raffle Areas
Fall Poultry Swap 2013 Birds
Ducks, Pigeons & Sebastopol Goose.  A number of other birds were for sale, as well, including turkeys, quail, guineas, peafowl, & pheasants.
Fall Poultry Swap 2013 Mammals
Super cool mammoth donkey & a bottle fed calf on display. Lots of rabbits for sale.

Fall Poultry Swap 2013

 

SERAMA SHOW

As well as the swap, there was also a Serama Table Top Show. I gotta say, I left there really wanting one of those birds, particularly a frizzle.

Fall Poultry Swap seramas

 

MORE VENDOR STUFF

There was much more than live birds to bring home. Lots of vendors brought handmade goodies.

Fall Poultry Swap 2013 Crafts
Homemade soap. Homemade jams & jellies. Home grown honey. Hand painted drums made from elk hide.
Fall Poultry Swap 2013 alpaca fiber
And, my favorite – this woman spinning her alpaca fiber into yarn. The fiber & yarn were so, so soft. It makes me want an alpaca… and to learn to knit.
It was a great event & I can’t wait until the spring swap.

 

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PNPA Spring Poultry Show 2013 https://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/pnpa-spring-poultry-show-2013/ Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:03:36 +0000 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/?p=472 The Pacific NW Poultry Association Spring Show was this last weekend. All 5 of us went & stayed nearly all day Saturday looking, learning & exploring. This was our first show. We were planning on going to the show just to check it out. But, last month when Farm Kid2 went to a clinic on …

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PNPA 2013 title sized

The Pacific NW Poultry Association Spring Show was this last weekend. All 5 of us went & stayed nearly all day Saturday looking, learning & exploring. This was our first show. We were planning on going to the show just to check it out. But, last month when Farm Kid2 went to a clinic on how to show your bird he left there wanting to show his bird. So, I signed him up. Win or lose, I figured it would be a great learning experience for him.

Farm Kid2 showing his bird for the first time. He has a Light Brown Bantam Leghorn.

PNPA Spring 2013 showmanship
He didn’t win – not even close. But, all the kids were given blue ribbons. He is proud of his ribbon & I’m proud of him for trying something new. When we left I asked him if he wanted to show again & he said yes without even thinking about it.

 

Show Birds & Raffle Items:

PNPA Spring 2013 cages raffle

A Couple Winners:

PNPA Spring 2013 awards

A few of my favorite birds at the show:
PNPA Spring 2013 poultry
Non-bearded White Showgirl Silkie. Silver Spangled Appenzeller Spitzhauben. Crele Old English. Non-bearded White Crested. Black Polish. Modern Game. White Crested Duck. Table Top Frizzle Serama

To see a couple more bird pics from the show check out our facebook page.

 

Both our boys made posters to enter in the poster contest. Neither won, but I think they did a great job.
Left: Farm Kid2 (age 7) wanted to make his poster about chicks hatching. He wanted to include both hatching from an incubator and hatching from a broody hen.
Right: Farm Kid1 (age 10) chose to make his poster about our Golden Polish chickens. Those do seem to be his favorites. If he’s going to go hold a chicken, it’s almost always a Golden Polish.

PNPA Spring 2013 posters

 

A few more fun things at the show:
Left: Any time Farm Girl could pet a bird, she did.
Middle: Farm Kid2 also wanted to enter our eggs in the egg judging contest. So, we did that too. Again, this was a first for us & I really didn’t know how they were going to be judged. We did get 2nd place, though, out of 4 entries in our class.
Right: Farm Kid1 asked if he could get a quail & that he’d pay for it with his own money & take care of it. Farmer John has said for years that he would like quail, so it wasn’t hard to sell dad on the idea. I will admit they did look pretty cute. They are like tiny, little jumping beans. Each of the kids picked out a quail.

PNPA Spring 2013 eggs quial

 

It was kind of a long day & parts of it were a bit slow, but we all enjoyed the show. Next time we know to bring a few things to entertain the kids. I’m sure this was the first of many shows we will take part in.

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