Beth Moore
Contributor
Eighteen 4-H members and 26 laying hens from four counties converged at the Madison County Ag Center on Thursday, Sept. 25 for the seventh Annual Quad-County Chick Chain Show. 4-H’ers ages 5-18 from Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee and Taylor Counties began the Chick Chain project back in April. Beginning with at least six-day old chicks, each child raised the chicks to full grown laying hens and brought their best bird (or two birds) to the Chick Chain Show for the judge to determine which bird would be potentially the best laying hen in the show.
How does a person know if the bird will be a good layer? The judge explained that he was looking for the bird with the greatest abdominal capacity and in good overall health. 4-H’ers also competed in a showmanship competition. They were judged on how they handled their bird and their knowledge of raising their birds. A skill-a-thon was also held for the youth to test identification of breeds, parts of chicken, comb types, egg quality and reading a feed tag.
This year’s big winners were:
Cloverbuds (5-7 year-olds)
First: Clara Sapp- Taylor County
Second: Isabella Deland- Madison County
Third: Sam Melvin- Madison County
Showmanship- Clara Sapp- Taylor County
Juniors (8-10 year-olds)
First: Kendall Brooks- Taylor County
Second: Emily Elizabeth Jackson- Lafeyette County
Third: Kendall Brooks- Taylor County
Showmanship: Kendall Brooks- Taylor County
Intermediate/Senior (11-18 year-olds)
First: Avery Smith- Suwannee County
Second: Quinton McGuire- Suwannee County
Third: Jada Hendricks- Lafayette County
Showmanship: Ella Eaves- Lafayette County
Skill-a-thon Champion
Kendall Brooks: Taylor County- Junior
Quinton McGuire: Suwannee County- Intermediate/Senior
Grand Champion Laying Hen
Avery Smith: Suwannee County- Breed of Hen: Splash Australorp
Reserve Champion Laying Hen
Kendall Brooks: Taylor County- Breed of Hen: Barred Rock