2 live birds per entry?

[Thomas D]

What is everyone seeing regarding condition of birds at Hunt Tests? Although AKC requires 2 live birds per entry, I keep hearing that many clubs do not order the required number and use frozen birds from prior tests. A thawed bird on Saturday morning is in real bad shape Sunday afternoon.

[WRL]

AKC requires that two live birds be AVAILABLE to judges for each stake but leaves it up to the judges whether to use them both.

WRL

[Thomas D]

Thanks for that information, but that's not my question.

[Kevinismybrother]

Neither of the clubs I belong to use frozen birds and have only seen it done once in the past few years here in CO. One of my clubs even "encourages" judges to use 2 flyers for Master level!!!

I guess as costs on different phases of tests go up, clubs are looking for any savings they can - cheap birds are not a good area to cut back IMHO.

[Mark]

Put a small piece of tape on the leg of all the previously frozen birds for indentication. These are the first to be discarded when you have built up a good supply of fresh flyers to use.

Mark

[WRL]

Rotating birds and discarding the bad ones so that you have decent birds on Sunday is a Hun Test Committee issue. Some clubs are better at then others.

I believe in a thread a year or so ago, a judge posted on here complaining about the HT committe taking all the shot flyers from Saturday and saving them for the upcoming FT trial.

So the answer to you question is, it depends.

Most of the events I attended last year (8), the birds were decent on Sunday.

WRL

[Gordy Weigel]

Their are many factors involved when in comes to the end condition of HT shot ducks. I do not think, from what I have seen, that there is any difference in the condition of birds at a Sunday HT now than there was 15 years ago. Some clubs have never done a good job of drying and caring for Saturday birds, some clubs always do a great job.

[Julie R.]

What Gordy said! It also depends on the weather; when the weekend is hot even a club that takes extra steps to take good care of the birds is scrambling by Sunday. You also have to learn after you've put on a few HTs how many birds per entry you'll need. I remember being on the HT committee some years ago with a bunch of other relative novices (back when bird costs were much less than they are today) and ordering the suggested 2 birds per entry. We had what seemed like hundreds of birds left over at the end of the test. Bird costs have risen so much recently I think most clubs are doing a better job of drying off and properly storing their dead birds so they're not rotting/falling apart by the last day.

[Thomas D]

I agree with all you have said. Expense continues to be the key issue. I would gladly forgo the tailgate for better birds. I think that handlers should get "reasonable" birds under the conditions present in that Hunt Test. To start out the first series with the memory or go bird thawed pieces of mush is unreasonable in my opinion. Furthermore, to expect JH dogs to pick up that same thawed duck is inexcuseable.
These are just some of the rumors I have heard and was wondering how widespread it was.

[Kyle Bertram]

If you order two birds per entry you should have plenty of good birds for Sun. . We always dry our birds on Sat. Evening in our bird trailer hung with two large fans on them and vented. We always have dry birds....but we can't control the heat.....we are considering a air conditioner for the trailer too.