Youth showing and 4H. Is this how it works?

[kathyinmo]

I just returned from our local annual "County Youth Fair." I was invited by a local 4H boy that I have come to know. He gave me the grand tour and explained how it worked. I asked why there were so many blue ribbons. "If the judge likes them and sees no faults, they get a blue. If there is something he doesn't like, they get a red." WHAT?

There were cages of Cornish Crosses panting and without water. I asked who the 4H leader was. "The parents." Each child has his own 4H leader, the parent. Meetings? Yes, to discuss what the projects will be. There is supposed to be 6 or 8 hours of education, but it is generally accepted that the parents simply sign off on this, as the child feeds and waters his chickens. Simply, there is NO education. Each kid had his/her name on the cage. If the judge knows any of them, how fair is this?

Mutts galore. Hardly no pure bred birds at all, even though the cage said, "American Class," etc. No breed name on the cage. This young man with me also entered an Easter Egger in the "hybrid class". The judge had no idea what an Easter Egger was, and said it was a beardless Ameraucana. I saw little birds that I thought must be bantams, "No, that is a Barred Rock." Furthermore, this judge told them he was studying to become an APA judge.

Hardly none of the birds were bathed or looked show worthy to me. I was just shocked. Is this how it works?

This young man asked me if I wanted to judge next year. hahahaha The judge is just an anybody that volunteers? No, they wouldn't like me to judge, and I wouldn't anyway.

 

[HatchingFever]

You should judge get kids into the real poultry not just mutt birds that are not bathed.

 

[TheReidHomestead]

No, this is not how it works in our 4-H fair. The kids names are not on the tags. The birds must be purebred. They are judged against their standard and an official qualified poultry judge is brought in who does not know the kids. My DH is our clubs Poultry Project leader. We have one meeting a month where we teach the kids something about poultry, we study the breeds, varieties, classes. The nomenclature, the diseases. We practice fitting and showing and study poultry based knowledge that they need to know for the Judging Contests and things they will need to know when the judge asks them questions during fit and show.

Unfortunately, 4-H is what the adult volunteers and the older 4-H kids put into it. It sounds like this area does not have a very good poultry program. Our county is one of the most active 4-H counties in the nation though, so I imagine we might have a more active 4-H community then some. I have received a lot of PM's from BYC members asking how to get involved. You really have to just jump in, talk to your county extension office, and make the program what you want it to be if there is no current active program. Many counties have only one or two 4-H clubs that may only be dog or sewing related. Our club has multiple projects, as do many of the other clubs in our area. If 4-H isn't what you thought it might be, it takes volunteers to make it all happen. Just my two cents!

 

[Alicia G]

Hmmmm, well I've been in 4-H for 7 years and we always had a proper judge. If the bird was a mutt, it was disqualified from the class. And the Judging is always done according to the Standard Book of Perfection describes the animal to be. But perhaps thats just around here......