Chicken Wars At The Fort Bend County Fair!
Posted: Wednesday, December 15, 2010
by Bob Alexander
http://www.bluemarlinbob.com
My granddaughter in Texas, age 11, raised chickens this year to be judged at the Fort Bend County Fair, arguably the largest county fair in Texas. Until my trip to the little town of Needville, Texas in September, I never realized just how competitive and stressful these livestock shows have become for the participants; especially the parents.
During the fair, the only laid back and calm folks I witnessed were the kids who showed the animals. The parents were a mess, at least the ones I sat next to in the gallery. The bleachers were filled with Mothers, fathers, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.
All were rooting for their son or daughter, niece or nephew. Silently, I guessed they were all thinking about the money they had spent on those fat chickens in the arena. Each was hoping to recoup some of the money spent on their kid's cluckers at the auction to be held after the show, if they were lucky enough to be invited by the judges.
While there is competition in practically every farm animal imaginable, my attention this year was drawn to the hundreds of chickens I saw at the judging in the center of the dirt ring of the small arena.
To put it into perspective, the youth fair is all about teaching the kids responsibility. They learn this by raising chicks fresh out of the egg, feeding and watering them a couple of times a day in hopes that they might have a champion. Every participant has their own special recipe of feed to make the chicken grow fatter, faster. Anything goes except steroids. They are not allowed.
In addition, the kids have to keep the chicken house clean and free of parasites or anything else that might kill their birds. They also have to keep records of the cost of feed and all expenses incurred in raising chickens to be shown at the fair. Their parents show them how to do this and then turn that chore over to the kids.
For this event the work began in the summer with 25 to 50 chicks. August in Texas is hot! The little house that my son-in-law built to house the chickens required two small air condition units on each side of the eight foot structure to keep the poultry alive.
In order to enter the show each contestant had to have three broilers and one roaster to be judged by an expert chicken judge, usually a university trained chicken expert.
By the time this event is finished; chickens have been judged, either as a broiler, a roaster or both. Winners are selected and about 25 other participants are awarded entry into the poultry auction to be held a few days after the selection process has been completed. It was white knuckle time for the parents, especially those whose children had a chance at making the auction.
The kids had the easy job of feeding and raising the chicks into mature chickens. The parents had to do the worrying, because a chicken that was good enough to be entered into the sale after the show, could bring in thousands of dollars. The ones that didn't make the auction were granted a great big thank you from the chicken committee.
My granddaughter's chicken just barely made the sale and sold for $800. The buyers were long time friends of 4-H and FFA clubs in Texas. It's probably more of a charitable write-off than anything else.
Competition among families for bragging rights in the coming year can be vicious. My kin folk are already talking about building a bigger and better chicken house than their cousins have. This one may even have carpet on the floor.
Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, gardening, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at:
http://www.homeandgardenbob.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)You've described this so graphically, I can just imagine the whole event! I wonder, do the children get attached to their chickens?I don't think so Jennifer. When you have close to 50 in one small chicken house, the only thing you get attached to is chicken _____.
Hahaha.....I read this piece with a light heart and well, such event hasn't been introduced into the school here I think because my kids never did raise a chicken or two for school purpose/contest and now they are grown. But some folks do have a game called "cock-fighting" commonly played/gambled among the village people and it's illegal. Police won't be happy to come across this game and they will interfere so guess it's gonna stop............
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