The organisers of this weekend's Oamaru Poultry, Pigeon & Canary Show are making plans to hold on to the competing birds whose owners may not collect them after the show ends today due to flooding which has struck Otago and Canterbury.
Show secretary Trevor Hill said plans were in place to keep the animals at the Drill Hall on Itchen St until they could be reunited with their owners.
"We'll most likely move the birds that are left into one side of the hall. It's just out of the question for the local people to look after them. There's just too many of them.
There were 787 entries this year and he suspected about a third to half of those belonged to people outside of Oamaru.
He said the extra feed and water required for the animals would not be a problem.
Mr Hill said under normal circumstances the hall would be empty by midday the next day, but the weather event was no normal circumstances.
He said one competitor had pulled out on Thursday because of the weather warning put out.
