County Fair Ideas?

[ziL]

I'm going to be this year's junior poultry superintendent at the county fair, and I'm trying to come up with some ideas for an educational demonstration or display. I'm not sure what information to include, or what to do the demonstration about. I think I could do a poster with common breeds for different purposes, and maybe something about laying or incubation. Any ideas? Thanks for any help in advance!

 

[12chickenlover3]

You could incubate eggs and plan the hatch date on that exact day. But if that wont work you could...................... I'm out of ideas.......

 

[ziL]

Yeah, it's kind of tough to come up with things to do, and I don't even have much space to work with. I have frizzles and polish that I could do something with that I'm showing anyway.

 

[duckinnut]

If you were my child doing the same I would suggest you make different posters pertaining to different things about chickens. From embryo to laying age to retirement. The egg laying cycle of a chickens. The difference in egg colors, yolk colors and sizes of eggs and where they come from. One also explaining how the rooster really plays no role in laying other than fertilization. And pretty much any other info on chickens because a good portion of the population has not a clue. Explain why cage free/ free ranging chickens are happy and healthier that caged ones. That factory layers are taking out of rotation at about 18 months of age. Maybe a poster on how to get starting backyard chickens or perhaps a pamphlet on how to. The ideas are endless,but like I said a good portion of people don't have a clue about most farm yard animals.A visual presentation is better than just explaining it to people because they are more apt to ask question when they see pictures. I sell a lot of eggs and people ask me a lot of questions about them and a common phrase I hear is "Really I didn't know that". Both my girls were poultry stewards in the 4H poultry barn during our local fair each a couple years. 4H is big at our fair and has a beef barn,dairy barn, poultry barn and a rabbit barn as well as a show ring. Trying to get my son to do it to although don't think he is old enough this year.

 

[ziL]

Thanks for the poster ideas. I think my "demonstration" will be based on my public presentation on incubating from last year. We will see if the vet approves my 2 month old chicks (which is apparently against state regulations)

 

[duckinnut]

Thanks for the poster ideas. I think my "demonstration" will be based on my public presentation on incubating from last year. We will see if the vet approves my 2 month old chicks (which is apparently against state regulations)

Same here in Mass, pullets/cockerels must be at least 16 weeks of age before they can be shown. They also must be state inspected and banded within the previous year.

 

[scrambled freud]

Is it possible to narrow your presentation to Backyard Chicken Farming?

Show a small starter coop and chicken tractor, complete with 2-3 birds inside, let the kids push/pull the tractor around, point out the benefits of backyard chicken farming, teach about composting the manure. Tell people that they don't have to have 50 birds but that small scale chicken keeping--even 2-3 birds--is beneficial and not too expensive to get started. Show off coops built of reclaimed or throwaway items. Explain how to deal with manure, which I bet is a sticking point with people. Tell folks where in your county it is permitted to raise backyard chickens and how to address getting the laws changed where it isn't---there could be many people interested and they could support each other to work on the cause, just because you raised their awareness. This strengthens and builds your community! Plug the books and this website, as well as your county extension office, if they are friendly to your cause.

If I had seen something like this at a county fair, I would have started this endeavor two or three years ago instead of waiting until this year. I would have found it encouraging and, since my husband would have been with me, it would have taken less time to get him on board with the whole idea.

Best of luck out there, Chicken Ambassador!

 

[Kaitie09]

Agree with the above poster. At our local fair last year, they were focusing on backyard chickens. They had different vendors come in with different sized coops. They also had battery cages set up in the middle, with (pet) leghorns in them. It was to show where your eggs come from. They were missing about 2-3 more chickens to make it real, but it still caused a lot of people to stop and talk about it. You could definitely do a smaller version of this. Maybe try to find a local person that makes chicken coops, and let them come in and showcase their work. However, I don't know your rules, so posters may be the way to go if you can't do the other thing.

 

[ziL]

We had a tiny amount of space, and the grass around was occupied. I had a chicken out most of the time, and wore an "Ask Me" shirt. We had a video, incubator, and posters, too. It probably doesn't help that I was the only person working in the coop.
The judge brought 14 chicks that were a month old (apparently allowed because they were from a certified flock) for me to rehome. We didn't even have many birds this year. I brought ten chickens, another 4Her brought two chickens and three ducks, and there were two pigeons from 4H. For the open show, there were two more chickens and six ducks. Counting the chicks, that's 39 birds, or 25 shown, in a building that can hold at least 100.
I think the education part went well, but I was so disappointed in the number of birds. I told people they should show next year...