Well as far as the actual showing and preparing part goes there's a lot I can tell you. To begin you want to pick the birds that will be closest to the same weight and size. Pluck any broken feathers now so they will have time to grow back in. Then about two to three days before give the bird(s) a bath. DO NOT WASH THE BIRD RIGHT BEFORE THE SHOW! They need time to get the oil back in their feathers. To begin get three buckets of water ready. Fill one with regular old dish soap/shampoo. The next with white vinegar. For the last tub just use regular water. Now take the bird and wash station to station. First soap, then white vinegar ( cuts the soap ), and lastly regular water. I would add the bluing dye after the vinegar rinse. Then once the bird is dry go through the birds feathers and if they have casings around the feathers get it off. Scratching at it/ rubbing it should get it off. Now that your bird is dry you can take and trim up any stray feathers around the comb to give the head a cleaner appearance. If the beak or comb is over grown trim it with a combo of nail clippers and an emery board. Fast forward to the day of the show. Get baby wipes, hand sanitizer, and cotton balls. Put some baby oil on the birds comb, wattles, legs, and ear lobes. If they have and poo on then you can put some hand sanitizer on the baby wipe and rub it off. Hand sanitizer dries quickly so It's good to use in emergency's. Make sure if there are a FEW discolored feathers not in the tail or wing feathers that you go ahead and pluck them.
Examine it in the way it will be checked over at a show. Do all this very gently:
unfold the wings,
look at and touch the feet and beak,
look at the eyes to make sure they are nice and clear,
stand it up on a table for a second or two, kind of like you are showing it off. This type of training ensures your bird will be patient and expect that it will be handled and it won't be timid. This will also help you to learn what is normal for your bird so that if something is wrong, you catch it and treat it right away.
2. Don't forget those beautiful birdie feet!
Spray your bird's feet with a mixture of 3 parts water, 1 part "epsom salt." It's not known why this helps their legs to look and feel good, but it does. Consider mixing it in a very small travel bottle with a "fine" mist sprayer.
3.When you take your chicken to the show, the following things will make your chicken stand out regardless of the breed of chicken or the chickens' breeding:
Your chicken is friendly-it may even hop right into the judge's hands. A friendly chicken shows the judge that the chicken's owner has spent an awful lot of time preparing the bird, not just ignoring it and bringing it to a show on show day. The initial author's son's favorite hen won Grand Champion from the Village fair all the way through to the State fair. Each judge noted that they were impressed with the friendliness of the hen. She just jumped right into their hands.
Your bird is used to being handled - this is impressive, it shows the owner's dedication.
The bird is healthy, had you been handling your chicken every day you would have noticed anything unusual and it would have been cared for immediately.
Your bird's feathers are beautifully clean and colorful.
4. Put your bird in a wire cage with straw bedding.
The chicken's natural instinct is to groom itself, so she will go right to work. A chicken is the best groomer of their own feathers.
Make sure you leave your chicken in the cage alone until they are completely dry, but be sure to give access to food and water. Grooming is a tough job.
5. Keep the bird sheltered.
The whole time your bird is growing and you are preparing to show your bird, make sure it is in a covered area. This will keep your chicken's feathers color beautiful and bright.
6. Another way to Wash the chicken.
When the weather is very warm and there is no breeze, you can give your chicken a dip. Do this once about two weeks before show, then the day or so before you take your bird to show:
Fill a tub with water. Use a metal washtub outside and let it set out to be warmed by the sun. Use one that only holds about 4 gallons (15.1 L) of water. Do not add any soaps or chemicals to the water. The chicken will do all the work.
Hold your chicken's head very gently so it can't throw its head into the water, hold the body from underneath. If you have a large or heavy bird, you may need help with this part. One person holding the bird body, below and above, and one person protecting the bird's head so it doesn't try to drown itself.
Very quickly, dip the bird in the water with a quick up and down swish, no more than two swishes. Pick the bird up out of the water. Very important - Only wet the chicken up to the neck. If the chicken gets water into its respiratory areas, you could very easily end up with a sick or dead chicken.
If the bird seems well saturated, you are done with this part. If the bird kept the wings and feathers very close to its body and only the outer layer is wet, repeat the dip as instructed above.
Do not dip your bird more than two times.
If your chicken is dirty on the head area, you can get a wet rag and gently wipe its head. When the chicken feels that the head has gotten moist, she will also groom her head.