The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[The Moonshiner]

I'm trying to learn chicken genetics and she has been a big help. That girl has got her PhD in chickenology already. lol I like seeing younger people who are into chickens and poultry and have a passion for it. It reminds me of me when I was younger. I gave a pair of turkeys to a high school 4-H student a couple of months ago and the look on her face was priceless as I watched her eyes light up when she heard the tom gobble. It was really sweet. I will give a hundred birds away to see reactions like that.

I have always been a big chicken nerd, but didn't really get into the genetics side of it until I got a little older. I only hope to understand a fraction of what @Amer knows. She is a human encyclopedia and her chickening is top tier.

Ya I've had chickens on and off my whole life. It's sad that things aren't like they used to be. Everything is just different. I used to show when I was a teen. The "little" semi local shows had so many birds. Lots of people attended.
We have like 2 good shows here a year now and there's limited breeds that show up in decent numbers.
I raised Orpingtons before Leghorns and had some good ones. I gave them to a young girl that wanted to breed and show. I figured starting out with something decent would be more encouraging then if she started with hatchery birds. Mine were English but that type was doing better at shows because size matters here.

 

[Amer]

Oh I know. Same at my work. Idk how many times the boss has told me don't make the kids cry.
Apparently telling someone to do their job is a bad thing.

I was favored when I worked at a greenhouse.
I definitely did some crying when I worked at a convenience store though.
Deep fryers are surprisingly complex...
Especially when people don't know how to train you how to use them...
Nobody told me if you tried emptying both sides at once the oil at the bottom would overflow and cover the entire kitchen floor.

 

[Amer]

Ya I've had chickens on and off my whole life. It's sad that things aren't like they used to be. Everything is just different. I used to show when I was a teen. The "little" semi local shows had so many birds. Lots of people attended.
We have like 2 good shows here a year now and there's limited breeds that show up in decent numbers.
I raised Orpingtons before Leghorns and had some good ones. I gave them to a young girl that wanted to breed and show. I figured starting out with something decent would be more encouraging then if she started with hatchery birds. Mine were English but that type was doing better at shows because size matters here.

Of course where I live is far from any shows despite being a very populous part of the state but Wisconsin is blessed with 5 shows a year and a state fair, and 3 of the shows are of good size (two are quite tiny.)

 

[The Moonshiner]

I was favored when I worked at a greenhouse.
I definitely did some crying when I worked at a convenience store though.
Deep fryers are surprisingly complex...
Especially when people don't know how to train you how to use them...
Nobody told me if you tried emptying both sides at once the oil at the bottom would overflow and cover the entire kitchen floor.

I think ive learned just about everything in life the hard way. It makes for good problem solving skills when older.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Of course where I live is far from any shows despite being a very populous part of the state but Wisconsin is blessed with 5 shows a year and a state fair, and 3 of the shows are of good size (two are quite tiny.)

Our only decent ones are at the Missouri and Kansas state fairs. There is a spring APA show at the fairgrounds but it's not worth the drive. Even the two good ones are lucky to have 5 LF leghorns.

 

[Chookwagn]

It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round. I couldn't build a coop if I had to. When I grab the drill, I think my husband panics that I'm going to jack something up. He can build the coops, I just tell him which birds to put where and with whom. lol

Oh I can't let any one else build something for me! They wouldn't do it right!

 

[The Moonshiner]

Oh I can't let any one else build something for me! They wouldn't do it right!

I get that but at this point I'll let them then fix it after they leave. Work really cuts into my doing my own things time.

 

[Amer]

I think ive learned just about everything in life the hard way. It makes for good problem solving skills when older.

My experience has given me the vague anxiety that all machines have some kind of "catch" to them and cannot be trusted...

Our only decent ones are at the Missouri and Kansas state fairs. There is a spring APA show at the fairgrounds but it's not worth the drive. Even the two good ones are lucky to have 5 LF leghorns.

Leghorns were the number one bird at the Ohio Nationals. That said, they're uncommon here due to the climate.
D'Anvers-wise it's typically me against the other serious Wisconsin breeder. He typically beats me but I've got a fair chance. Occasionally there are a couple by another exhibitor, or from someone out-of-state. I usually win against those.

 

[KF0002]

Ya I've had chickens on and off my whole life. It's sad that things aren't like they used to be. Everything is just different. I used to show when I was a teen. The "little" semi local shows had so many birds. Lots of people attended.
We have like 2 good shows here a year now and there's limited breeds that show up in decent numbers.
I raised Orpingtons before Leghorns and had some good ones. I gave them to a young girl that wanted to breed and show. I figured starting out with something decent would be more encouraging then if she started with hatchery birds. Mine were English but that type was doing better at shows because size matters here.

I try to be good to people like that, especially kids. You give a man a chicken and he eats for a day, you teach a man to chicken and he will never have money to eat much else the rest of his life.

I wouldn’t mind showing again if I thought maybe I may have a more positive experience this time around. I don’t have any Leghorns that are show worthy now, but maybe someday. I wanted to love showing, and be surrounded by “my people” but it just didn’t turn out the way I thought it might. I don’t even care much about winning, I just want to soak up the knowledge that some of the elder and wiser showman and breeders have. Grab up any crumb and scrap of knowledge I could. But there just wasn’t many crumbs and it just felt like all competition with zero fellowship. Maybe I just didn’t stick it out long enough, and quit too soon?

 

[Amer]

I try to be good to people like that, especially kids. You give a man a chicken and he eats for a day, you teach a man to chicken and he will never have money to eat much else the rest of his life.

I wouldn’t mind showing again if I thought maybe I may have a more positive experience this time around. I don’t have any Leghorns that are show worthy now, but maybe someday. I wanted to love showing, and be surrounded by “my people” but it just didn’t turn out the way I thought it might. I don’t even care much about winning, I just want to soak up the knowledge that some of the elder and wiser showman and breeders have. Grab up any crumb and scrap of knowledge I could. But there just wasn’t many crumbs and it just felt like all competition with zero fellowship. Maybe I just didn’t stick it out long enough, and quit too soon?

Ahahaha
That did make me laugh
Maybe? Shows don't feel very competitive for me.
I'm sure for some people it is, I mean, I was extremely competitive at the county fair or the state fair where MONEY and CLOUT are on the line.
But at APA shows I just like discussing my and others birds with folks and taking in all the beauty.