A cacophany of cheeps, chirps, cackles and crows could be heard in Dunedin as the national bird show opened its doors today.
It's the first time the southern city has hosted the show and roughly 1500 chickens, ducks, canaries and other birds will be judged over three days.
People haven't chickened out from travelling with some driving down from the North Island with their birds in tow.
Nineteen-year-old Serena O'Brien travelled down from Nelson to prepare her birds which she keeps at her parent's place in Oamaru.
"My dad has been showing poultry ever since he was 12. He got into it, he got given some eggs and hatched them out, and he's been hooked ever since so pretty much I've been following Dad with a grain bucket ever since I could walk," she said.
"I've been hooked on to it ever since I was a kid."
She didn't want to miss the national show.
Bob Middlemiss' family have been showing birds for the six generations - his daughter and grandson have continued the tradition.
He was one of the judges at the national bird show and travelled down from Levin with a trailer load of chooks over two days.
"[It was] a little bit hard really, but we get there and you get on the boat and they're crowing away, and the captain on the boat says hello, welcome to the chooks," he said.
It was no easy feat to get a bird ready for show and some people start months in advance.
"Like with a silkie, you have to wash it and dry it with a blow dryer, and fluff it all up and get it all nice and clean. It has to be clean right down to the skin and you might do that three or four times before a show just to get spotless," Middlemiss said.
"Cleanliness comes into it and you have to all your birds in good condition for the judge. Because if you don't have them clean, they walk past you."
Silkie. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
By 11am, he had already judged 200 birds - some of the 10 judges looked over 250 birds today.
Each bird is scored out of 100 to create a pecking order and an eventual winner.
Alistair McKinlay started breeding and showing racing pigeons when he was 15.
Fifty years later, he still trains racing pigeons and has 20 on show.
Each racing pigeon is separated into different mileage classes.
"I've flown Gisborne all the way back to Dunedin ... the North Island breeders they send birds down to Invercargill, Stewart Island and fly all the way back up, even to Auckland," he said.
Dunedin Poultry, Pigeon and Cage Bird Club is running and hosting the national show.
Normally their annual local show would have 600-odd birds on display - this show has more than double that amount.
Club president Stuart Aitken said it took four days to organise and set up all the cages, and he has also entered some birds.
He was no spring chicken when it came to bird shows - his first prize ticket was in 1958.
"It's very competitive and it's marvellous fun. We have a lot of fun. I wish a lot of other people would come along and have a look and see the enjoyment, and the bonus of it all is you breed a beautiful bird, win a prize and you get an egg," he said.
The national bird show will be open to the public over the weekend at Forrester Park in Dunedin.
Most of the winners will be announced today, and for the rest it will be better cluck next time.
