showing a trio

[Stan Alder]

If a trio is entered,  the can same birds be entered in the open class?. if so do they need a separate entry form? or are they automatically judged in the open class also?

[John W Blehm]

There are spaces on the Entry Form to enter Old Trios and Young Trios, after the boxes/spaces for Cock, Hen, Cockerel & Pullet.  All birds on your Open Show Entry Form will be judged in the show. 
Generally exhibitors only enter trios, because one is needed to make up a Display.  I won't have any Displays, since all my birds were hatched this year and at least one cock and one hen are also needed to make up a Display.  But, since our Alliance is offering awards for trios I plan to enter one bantam and one LF trio.  I don't plan to win with these, but with at least 3 trios required before an award is given they may help to make that minimum goal.

[Stan Alder]

So, if I understand you correctly, I can enter a trio of this years young birds as a trio,  and they will also be judged as individual birds?, but not judged as a display? I got confused with the difference between a trio and a display. I do not want to enter a display of older birds.

[John W Blehm]

Yes...for the most part.  2 pullets & 1 cockerel = a young trio (YT).  2 hens & 1 cock = an old trio (OT).  You may enter trios without having a display, but at least one trio is needed to be entered to make a display.  A Display consists of 7 or more birds of the same breed & variety, made up of at least 1 Cock, 1 Hen, 1 Cockerel, 1 Pullet, plus a Young or Old Trio.
Remember that each trio counts as 3 birds when it comes to “Total Birds Entered”
YTs are judged against other YTs, just as pullets are judged against other pullets, so the 3 birds that make up a trio are not judged as individual birds.  But, an individual bird from a trio can be picked to be BV, BB and so on...as I understand it.

[Stan Alder]

Ahh..got it..thanks!

[Mike Gilbert]

Stan, displays are not judged as displays.    Display winners are calculated using a point system based on the placings of cocks, hens, cockerels, pullets, and trios.  The more entries in any given class (cocks, hens, cockerels, pullets, and trios), the more points are awarded.   I'm attaching a photo of the score sheet, so hopefully you can enlarge it enough to read. 

[Michael Muenks]

Someday, I hope to show a display!!!

[John W Blehm]

Generally the only reason to show a trio is because at least one trio is required to make up a display and I believe ABA members earn exhibitor points for them.  I've never cared about earning/winning exhibitor points and have only shown trios and displays because our Alliance offers awards for them.  Few members show trios and fewer show displays. 
Even though an individual bird from a trio can win RV or BV the birds in a trio aren't judged as individual birds against the single birds that are entered of a variety and that can be disappointing.  So, if you want to know how each of your individual birds stack up or rate from 1st to 5th place against all the over individual birds of the same variety and sex you wouldn't want to enter them as part of a trio.  I enter my best birds as single entries and make up trios from the leftovers.

[Mike Gilbert]

The way trios are judged, the male bird counts for half of the total "points."   The females are supposed to match each other as closely as possible.  So when I show a trio, I usually use my best male with two sisters that look very much alike.   I don't really care much about how the individually entered birds are placed, as each judge seems to place them differently the majority of the time anyway.   Just look at the results from double judged shows to see what I mean.   But no doubt others may see it differently, and that's OK too.