4-H-er thread!

[prizepete]

Oh what breed of dairy goats do you raise? I have lamanchas

I have oberhaslis... i have a mediocre doe but then i have an exelent quality doeling from the doe. She was grand champion jr. Doe at our fair. Shes going to state fair in july as a dry yearling. Very exited to see what they think of her! Right now shes in an amward stage... but shes at that age so hopefully she goes back to being uphil! There is someone in my club who has some lamanchas! Their ears are fun to play with lol!

Sorry shadow rabbit... dont know why it wont let me multi post... i dread when i age out! I am in such a great supportive group. Its like a second family!

 

[henny1129]

Been forever since I posted, who else is in their last year?

I've still got a while.

Oh what breed of dairy goats do you raise? I have lamanchas

I love LaManchas! I showed someone else's last year, she was a complete sweetheart.

Just stopping in and saying hi. I'm a little late though! I just finished my last 4-H year this summer, but I was a member for 8 years. I showed small animal (hamster and rat), rabbit, and poultry. I also did shooting sports. Already missing my 4-H days! 

I am not looking forward to when I can't do 4-H anymore.

 

[miss heny]

In our herd we have one 2x state champion who is also a 4x breed state champ, 3x district breed champ and 2x district champion and every time we showed at Dixie she won overall breed. Her daughter done well too and our OR doe is blooming out into a nice senior. We have some others but they been a toss up since it depends on the judge here on if they like them

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Sorry shadow rabbit... dont know why it wont let me multi post... i dread when i age out! I am in such a great supportive group. Its like a second family!

I am not looking forward to when I can't do 4-H anymore.

Yeah aging out is sad, but a lot of the good friends you make in 4-H will be your friends for life, which is a great thing. It really is an amazing group. I even hope to become a 4-H leader one day. Plus what you learn in 4-H never really leaves you.. I had to show dairy heifer for my college class (I never worked with large animals when I was in 4-H), and having some show experience from 4-H was definitely a big help, even though it was an animal I've never showed before. Once you age out you really start to appreciate the skills and things you have learned!

 

[waddles99]

While 4H is a fun little thing to do when you are a little kid, we all do grow out of it and it is nice to expand beyond the walls of 4H and explore other realms. 4H teaches members very little in the big scheme of things. Believe me, you can learn more in one day of sanctioned showing than you can learn in all your time in 4H. This experience probably varies based on your group, you can only learn so much with 4H. 4H is a fun little thing to do in your younger years but when you get into the real deal it just doesn't compare.

I am in my last year in 4H and enjoyed it, but I cannot wait to start getting into "real" livestock husbandry.

 

[miss heny]

Amen waddles99

I been insanely active in MS 4H both livestock and within the Ambassador program, but I can't wait to do "more" in a sense outside of 4H. Also I would love to dye my hair a crazy color someday

 

[shadow rabbit10]

While 4H is a fun little thing to do when you are a little kid, we all do grow out of it and it is nice to expand beyond the walls of 4H and explore other realms. 4H teaches members very little in the big scheme of things. Believe me, you can learn more in one day of sanctioned showing than you can learn in all your time in 4H. This experience probably varies based on your group, you can only learn so much with 4H. 4H is a fun little thing to do in your younger years but when you get into the real deal it just doesn't compare.

I am in my last year in 4H and enjoyed it, but I cannot wait to start getting into "real" livestock husbandry.

I really agree with this. I believe what you learn in 4-H is all based on what you do while you are there. I lived in the suburbs so I couldn't have a ton of animals and get really into breeding, so I focused on building leadership, community service, outreach skills in 4-H. My main post 4-H goal is to learn more about breeding and such. Even the kids that were into breeding in 4-H got most of their knowledge from sanctioned shows and conventions and such. But to me that's the great thing about 4-H. It gives you a starting point and a taste for what you want to learn about, then it forces you to be independent and go expand your knowledge on your own. And that is a skill you will appreciate. All in all, 4-H is a great place to start in the world of livestock husbandry.

 

[waddles99]

I really agree with this. I believe what you learn in 4-H is all based on what you do while you are there. I lived in the suburbs so I couldn't have a ton of animals and get really into breeding, so I focused on building leadership, community service, outreach skills in 4-H. My main post 4-H goal is to learn more about breeding and such. Even the kids that were into breeding in 4-H got most of their knowledge from sanctioned shows and conventions and such. But to me that's the great thing about 4-H. It gives you a starting point and a taste for what you want to learn about, then it forces you to be independent and go expand your knowledge on your own. And that is a skill you will appreciate. All in all, 4-H is a great place to start in the world of livestock husbandry.

I see you are in NJ. So am I. I understand about the suburbs part. NJ is largely suburbs except for a select few counties. This translates largely into how many animals of what kinds you see at these fairs. Most, including my county, are some rabbits and chickens, a few goats, and very little larger livestock. I can only think of 2-3 NJ counties that really have a real nice variety of all kinds of animals.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

I see you are in NJ. So am I. I understand about the suburbs part. NJ is largely suburbs except for a select few counties. This translates largely into how many animals of what kinds you see at these fairs. Most, including my county, are some rabbits and chickens, a few goats, and very little larger livestock. I can only think of 2-3 NJ counties that really have a real nice variety of all kinds of animals.

Exactly. My county was all rabbits, poultry, herpetology, goat (most of the goats are borrowed from one family), and horse (again most people don't own their own horses and the horse clubs are getting smaller every year). We used to have cattle but that club got disbanded. We have other non animal stuff too. But yeah there's not much large animal going on here. My county fair isn't too impressive (I always say it's probably one of the worst in the state).

 

[waddles99]

Exactly. My county was all rabbits, poultry, herpetology, goat (most of the goats are borrowed from one family), and horse (again most people don't own their own horses and the horse clubs are getting smaller every year). We used to have cattle but that club got disbanded. We have other non animal stuff too. But yeah there's not much large animal going on here. My county fair isn't too impressive (I always say it's probably one of the worst in the state). 

What county are you? I might have been. I try to visit a bunch of Nj 4H fairs every year. I am sorry to hear your fair is getting smaller each year. It is certainly a travesty especially in more populated areas that keeping livestock is become more and more obsolete. The very foundation of 4H is the interest of youth in animals. 4H can't thrive in areas where keeping livestock isn't practical due to land constraints.