Northeastern Poultry Congress

This is the big yearly chicken show in Springfield Mass. I love this show. There is a good sales floor, though prices have climbed. Its a good chance to get breeds that you may not have access to. Springfield is a great town and not very far. There is a convention hotel if you want to stay over...and for the best bird sales, check their Facebook page and possibly arrive Friday night to contact breeders who are loading in. The office has a breeder book which you can purchase so you can contact people who are showing. You can also buy some birds off of the showing floor on Sunday if you hang around and talk to people. I suggest getting chickens that are vaccinated for Mareks. You take your chances otherwise. Some of the breeders are now vaccinating, so its worth it to ask. If not, you have to expect that you may get a bird with Mareks....they are all exposed to it but how it affects them varies depending on the strains you have in your coop and the various strains that come to the show. Isolating new birds for a while and giving them denaguard once home is preferable.
I hope to be there, but my mom is in hospice here and a lot of me being able to do anything depends on her condition. I really want to go!! In the past, I've stayed over in the hotel and gone to the casino at night. There are many hotels and a main hotel for the show. That hotel usually has a special price.
I'm looking for Modern Bantams to get some new breeding stock.
Moderns are my favorite project pet chicken. I also wouldn't mind a barnevelder and houdan...but its unlikely that anything there would be affordable enough for me...It may make sense to get hatching eggs.
Try to go to this show....its well worth it, if you love chickens. There are vendors and a good food stand. The feed folks come and you can purchase bags there, or win them at the raffle. Downtown is a casino where I have spent many an evening playing the quarter machines. They also have a good food court there and free drinks if you are playing something. The chicken people tend to hang out at the official hotel bar. I will look for that information, but all of this is on the official facebook page. In previous years there has been a sellers page, but I was unable to find it in recent years FB. Let me know if you have any questions or if you want to try to meet up there.