Birds of every feather will flock to the Westerner Grounds next month.
The Canadian Heritage Breeds is hosting the Alberta Provincial Poultry Show and the Canadian Pigeon Fanciers Association Pigeon Classic which will take place Dec. 9 and 11 at Westerner Park.
“It’s 42,000 square feet of fur, feather and fun,” said Liz Munro, organizer of the show and director for CHB. “We’re looking at having about 500 poultry entries and about 1,000 pigeon entries. We’re also going to have a sales side to the show where you can purchase from the top breeders in Canada.”
The show will also offer a number of seminars and demonstrations.
“We’ll have a cheese making demo and a fiber spinning demo,” said Munro. “We’ll also have about 20 vendors selling their egg-related products. And we’re going to have a petting zoo as well.”
There will also be an urban chicken display at the show.
“With all of the discussion around urban chickens right now in the City, people can come out and see how they can be kept and learn to be a good chicken neighbour,” said Munro. “We’ll have different coops on display that fit into a yard that are like a piece of furniture.”
There will be a large variety of breeds at the show including guinea fowl, geese, ducks, turkeys and chickens on display and for sale, with a number of them being on Rare Breed Canada’s critical list. There will also be a rabbit display.
The Pigeon Classic will provide visitors to the show education and information on how to raise that particular breed. “Pigeons are an easy pet, they are quiet and they are easy to handle,” said Munro. “They are really quite neat.”
Munro added the event is family friendly and it’s a great introduction to getting children involved.
“It is to help entice children into the hobby,” said Munro. “This hobby is great for children who are socially challenged because birds are an easy animal to take care of and they get to spend time with other children who are also involved with this hobby. We’re finding it’s helping to bring the children out of their shell.”
For more information about the show check out www.canadianheritagebreeds.com or call Liz Munro at 403-347-9106.
Admission is $5 for adults and children under 12 get in free.
efawcett@reddeerexpress.com
