Yesterday, Clint loaded 8 of our chickens into cages, packed them into the van and headed off to the Section 11 FFA fair. Oh, he also took me. It was an adventure for both of us since this was our first poultry show. I have participated in and watched a lot of livestock shows but I have never watched a poultry show. I had no idea what to expect and neither did he. Luckily there were a couple other kids from his chapter showing poultry as well. They helped to acclimate Clint to how things worked.
We unloaded the cages and Clint gave some water to his birds.
Things quickly got underway and Clint quickly got the hang of things. Each class was called and the kids brought their birds up to the show cages. The judge handled each bird and asked each kid a few questions about the bird. The judge then gave each animal a rating of A, B or C. This determines how much premium money is given for that animal. The judge also placed the top 3 birds.
Clint’s first class was a American breed hen that didn’t place at all but earned an A rating. His next class was American breed rooster. He entered a Rhode Island red rooster that garnered first place!
Next he showed two cochin roosters in the Asiatic Rooster class. He ended up with a first and a third place! The first place rooster (the smaller of the two) was one of Jasmine’s.
Next he showed a buff Orpington hen in the English breeds class. She did well with a third place. Next up was our old black Australorp rooster, Kellogg. He also placed first in his class!
Then he showed two little bantams, a rooster and a hen. The hen placed third. The rooster missed placing because his tail curves off to the side. The judge said he was a really nice rooster but there were so many nice ones in his class that the tiniest thing bumped roosters out of the running.
The thing about livestock shows is that after all the classes are judged the best of all the first place animals are chosen. So Clint had three roosters to show in the Best of Show class. The judge didn’t spend a whole lot of time with the birds. She spent a bit of time refreshing her memory with each one and then announced the Grand Champion. It was a hen that was shown by our neighbor. She explained why she chose the hen and then moved on to naming the Reserve Grand Champion. She almost offhandedly announced that Clint’s little cochin rooster was the Reserve! Clint was so shocked and happy. He received a plaque that was on that day much better than a box full of personalized gifts!
Here is Clint with the winning rooster that he dubbed, Gunner.
