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On May 10, the soccer field at Bladen County Parks and Recreation on HWY 701 in Elizabethtown was converted to a show field for the evening. A show for chickens! We had 89 youth ranging in age from 5 to 18 involved in 4-H and FFA from counties across the region come out to show their hens and broilers that they have been raising and caring for over the last few months. This was about twice as many as last year!
In order to participate, the youth had to register in January through their school FFA advisor or their 4-H or Livestock Agent through NC Cooperative Extension. They had to choose whether they wanted to raise laying hens or broilers. At least two required trainings were provided in each county to teach the youth about proper care, biosecurity, showmanship techniques, record keeping, and more. Three areas of competition were judged including showmanship which is the handling of the bird and being able to verbally share their knowledge about the anatomy and breed to a judge; breed which the judge compares the overall look of the bird including fullness, color, health, etc.; and project record books which is a written record of knowledge gained and evidence of learning through the project.
This is the second year that we have offered the Regional Chicken Project in our area. Initially, over 100 kids signed up representing Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Hoke, Pender, Robeson, Sampson, and Wayne Counties. Recognition and Ribbons were given to all Cloverbuds ages 5 to 8 for their participation in Showmanship and Recordbooks. Cloverbuds from Bladen County 4-H were Beckham Coates, Gavin Elks, and Caleb Parnell.
Ribbons were presented to the following youth for their achievements in Junior Showmanship division: Whitney McLean (Bladen 4-H) 1st place, Tera Anne Burnham (Wayne 4-H) 2nd place, Tristan Rhodes (Wayne 4-H) 3rd place, Amelia Harris (Bladen 4-H) 4th place, and Sami Drake (Cumberland FFA) 5th place. The Senior Showmanship winners were as follows: Rebekah Taylor (Brunswick 4-H) 1st place, Lena Devlin (Brunswick 4-H) 2nd place, Jett Shuey (Cumberland FFA) 3rd place, Justin Locklear (Robeson FFA) 4th place, and John Faatz (Cumberland FFA) 5th place. In the breed classes, the awards for best hens went to Mary Dunn (Wayne 4-H) 1st place, Amelia Harris (Bladen 4-H) 2nd place, and Hannah Cooley (Wayne FFA) 3rd place. The awards for best broilers were presented to Lianna Edwards (Hoke 4-H) 1st place, Naomi Edwards (Hoke 4-H) 2nd place, and Terralynn Edwards (Hoke 4-H) 3rd place. Cash prizes accompanied ribbons for each placing.
The youth were also recognized later for their achievements in completing required project record books documenting their individual chicken project. Winners received ribbons and cash prizes in the amounts of $15 for 1st place, $10 for 2nd place, and $5 for 3rd place. The project book winners in the 4-H 9 to 10 year old category were 1st place Nicole Johnson (Hoke 4-H), 2nd place Tara Anne Burnham (Wayne 4-H), and 3rd place Luke Barber (Bladen 4-H). The 4-H 11 to 12 year old winners were 1st place Jacie Kinlaw (Bladen 4-H), 2nd place Whitney McLean (Bladen 4-H), and 3rd place Amelia Harris (Bladen 4-H). The 4-H 13 to 15 year old winners were 1st place Daniel Dunn (Wayne 4-H), 2nd place Kaitlin Jones (Brunswick 4-H), and 3rd place Lena Devlin (Brunswick 4-H). The 4-H 16 to 19 year old winners were Rebekah Taylor (Brunswick 4-H) 1st place, Lianna Edwards (Hoke 4-H) 2nd place and Mary Dunn (Wayne 4-H) 3rd place. In addition the FFA students completed project books, as well and competed in two age categories: middle school winners were 1st place Sami Drake (Cumberland FFA) 1st grade and Cooper Strickland (Cumberland FFA) 2nd place. The high school FFA project book winners were 1st place Hannah Lewis (Wayne FFA), 2nd place Mackenzie Minshew (Wayne FFA), and tied for 3rd place were Katelyn Dotson (Wayne FFA) and Chasity McClay (Robeson FFA).
Parents reported that their children learned new ideas about communication skills and responsibility as a result of their participation in the Regional Chicken Project. For more information about youth livestock programming in your county, please contact your local NC Cooperative Extension Office in Bladen County at 910-862-4591.
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