Poultry judging at the county fair

It's been two years since I've been to a county fair and it is called the Osceola County Livestock Show rather than a fair. This past week I tagged along with some friends whose 15 year old son, Andrew, was showing some chickens. This spring they built a chicken coop and 30 or so chicks which have grown and begun laying eggs. It's been a great project for Andrew and now he had a chance to see how his chickens measured up with those of other 4-Hers in the county.

The judging began at 10:30 and finally finished at 3:00. None of us were expecting it to last quite that long but there were many breeds of chickens and age groups that kept the judge busy the whole time. I learned far more about chickens than I had anticipated. Andrew's 4-H entry was a pair of white egg-laying pullets. They looked very much like twins so it seemed he had a great chance. However the judge explained that his chickens had been laying eggs for a bit too long. Their legs and feet contain the pigment which gives the yolk it's yellow color so once they have been laying eggs for a month or so, they begin to look pale. Because of that, Andrew was 3rd. Once all the classes had been judged individually, the state lineup was decided. Andrew ended up 15th overall. The judge knew he was a first timer and told him he had done well and to be sure and come back next year. All week Andrew had been quite nervous but he had a big smile at the end of the day and I think he will be back next year with a stronger entry and more confidence to answer the judge's questions.

Between the times when Andrew was showing his chickens, I wandered around the rest of the fair. The exhibit buildings were filled with some good work. The baked goods looked wonderful and I thought it a shame that a whole blackberry pie was being wasted by sitting there for a week. The produce looked rather wilted from the heat but it had been judged the first day so it didn't really matter. There was some great food booths including a truck that sold only gluten-free fair food where I bought a bag of chocolate mini-donuts. Over in the horse barn I ran into two other families I know from church whose kids had entered horses. There were far more horses than back home but less livestock. In the swine barn I saw a pen of 3 sows with three early grade school aged children close by. The youngest boy (he looked to be 5 or 6) said all three of them were his and he preceded to kneel down and bury his head in the side of his favorite sow. It was obvious that he loved his pigs.