The Northeastern Poultry Congress is held in Massachusetts annually and, as fate would have it, it’s only a fifteen minute drive from my house!

Mr. Chicken Chick and I packed up two vehicles for our booth and headed to the show first thing in the morning. The day was filled with major feathered eye-candy, chatting with old and new peeps and catching up with several sponsors and we returned home with three new flock members.

The American Poultry Association provides information to locate shows nationwide here. Do try to catch one if you’ve never been- they are a real treat.  I regret that I was unable to clone myself- I ran out of time to see all of the breeds in the competition, catch most of the presenters who attended and speak with all of the peeps that gathered at my booth to say hello, but did the best I could and am happy to share a peek at the day’s events.

Some of the junior chicken-keepers showing their peeps

I caught a small portion of a riveting presentation by Dr. Michael Darre. Dr. Darre is a Professor of Animal Science at my alma mater, the University of Connecticut, as well as the Department of Agriculture Extension Poultry Specialist for Connecticut and New England.

Each wire cage at the show is labelled with a “Coop Tag,” which contains a great deal of information about the bird, including breed, sex, the chicken-keeper/exhibitor’s identifying number and more. To learn how to read a Coop Tag, visit the Northeastern Poultry Congress’ how-to here. I relied upon the Coop Tags to help identify the birds below, I apologize in advance if I got any of the identifying information wrong. I did the best I could in rushed circumstances. (Mr. Chicken Chick was texting me to return to our booth!) To learn more about many of the breeds that follow, I have provided clickable links to additional information.

Tanner, a young exhibitor and his Serama cockerelWhite Modern Game CockBantam Red Pyle Modern Game CockBlack Langshan pulletBlack Langshan cockBantam White Crested Blue Polish cockerel

The following photos are of double-tufted, rumpless, true Araucanas and they made my heart skip a beat. They were amazing! Read what makes them special in my article here.

Bantam Mottled HoudanBantam frizzled White Crested Blue PolishBantam Blue Laced Red Cornish Pullet Bantam White Laced Red Cornish cockerel Bantam Dark Cornish cock Bantam Bearded Silver Laced Polish pullet Bantam Feather legged Mille Fleur Belgian d’Uccle hen Buff Cochin henBuff Cochin male Buff BrahmaLight Brahma cock Dreamy!Bantam Salmon Faverolle pulletBantam Salmon Faverolle cockerelBantam Feather legged Black Langshan cock Bantam Feather legged Splash Langshan cockerelBantam Black Feather legged Langshan hen (who just laid an egg!)Bantam Barred Cochin cock Baby got BACK! Bantam Buff Cochin cockerelBantam Red Cochin cockerelLarge Fowl Blue Andalusian hen Large Fowl Dominique cockBlack Jersey Giant pairAncona pulletBlue Laced Red Wyandotte henBantam New Hampshire cockerelBantam Golden Spangled Hamburg pullet