Chickens can be pampered pets and providers of blue, green, brown and white eggs. Their origins are from around the world. Enterprising youngsters taught us this at Saturday morning’s poultry competition during the 157th annual Platte County Fair.
Plus, how long has it been since you heard in person a live rooster crowing and rattling the ground with his bravado?
Congrats to the fair board, volunteers, MU Extension 4-H staff, young livestock exhibitors and horse show riders for making the longest running fair west of the Mississippi River happen again. This was a most enjoyable, old-fashioned, rural county fair.
Tessa Peterson, 10, of Kansas City North, and her rooster Pumpkin won a blue ribbon in a showmanship class during chicken judging Saturday at the Platte County Fair.
Shade from the giant burr oak trees, a steady breeze, and fresh outdoor air made the fairgrounds in Tracy quite pleasant. As exhibitors drove to the fairgrounds with trailers loaded with hogs, horses and chickens they passed the county’s farm fields where corn and soybeans stand tall thanks to July rains. If I could have munched on a krautburger, admired crafts in Floral Hall and perused Keith Myers’ historical photo collection the morning would have been perfect.
COVID-19 precautions, of course, shut down most of the usual motorized competitions, the carnival, the dance hall and other attractions.
However, the 4-H exhibits were in place and interesting in the air-conditioned Mack Myers building. Kudos to Eli Grusenmeyer's blue ribbon wood-and-wire squirrel trap. "Very well constructed" and "useful project," the judge wrote.
Fair goers gave each other social distance. Those near anyone for any length of time wore masks. Cowgirls and cowboys trotted their horses around the Shackelford Arena. The judge evaluated the frames, finish, loins, and hams on the hoof at the swine show. Parents and onlookers lounged under their pop-up canopies as they watched the judging. People were relaxed and happy, and being at the fair felt wonderfully normal.
But for exhibitors, there was some tension when their animals were in competition under the judge’s eyes.
Take chickens for instance. The young exhibitors don’t just grab a few birds from the coop. A show chicken gets special treatment compared to a market fryer. They must be comfortable being handled by a person, and that takes hands-on practice. Four months ahead of show time, exhibitors pluck any damaged feathers so there is time for new ones to grow in. The chicken gets a bath a week ahead of the show. A pet shampoo washing is followed by water with vinegar to remove suds, then a final rinse. Toenails and beaks are neatly trimmed. The chicken then has a week to eat hardy to get oil and shine in their feathers, and they enjoy an unusually clean coop.
The competition preparation began in February for Tessa Peterson, 10, of Kansas City North. She began feeding 93 baby chicks, keeping track of costs such as feed as any good businesswoman would. It takes about $15 apiece for her to raise a chick to a chicken that she sells to people who prefer watching or dining on free-range fowl. “They can eat a lot,” Tessa said, but there are profits. “We have one breed that goes for thirty-five bucks.”
Pumpkin, her Easter Egg rooster, was her pick for the showmanship class. Pumpkin has some rooster competition for hen attention back on the home acreage. “But he’s the prettiest,” Tessa said. She proved to the judge that she knew his body parts by name, and that she could properly handle him in and out of a cage. They won a blue ribbon in the class, and sorry folks, Pumpkin is not for sale.
Tessa also brought a Leghorn and a Barred Rock rooster to the fair. But her hens were the main prize winners. They were up against breeds such as Rhode Island Red, Chinese Silkie and Buff Orpington. Tessa’s Wellsummer hen took first place in the class for hens over one year. Her Spitzhauben took third and her Australorp fourth in the pullet class.
Poultry show judge Tammy Simmons has to know the best characteristics for many breeds. She points out there are more than 700 varieties of chickens. Their owners vie for championships at national and international competitions. Platte County’s poultry show drew 90 entries this year.
Our bacon and eggs for breakfast arrive on our plates courtesy of a long farming heritage, one the Platte County area shares. The Fair’s swine show on Saturday for youth exhibitors featured eight boars, 23 market hogs, and 39 breeding gilts. The breeds hold names such as Yorkshire, Poland China, Chester White, Hampshire, and Duroc. The youth cattle show featuring beef breeds was held Sunday morning.
No competition on Saturday had more action than the rooster crowing contest. The youngsters held hens outside the cages and hollered “er-a-er-a-errr” to encourage their roosters. Mid-day in the heat of summer, with a lot of people watching, is perhaps not prime crowing time. Some roosters were hesitant.
But Larry the Barred Rock rooster let loose eight long, loud, authoritative crows to become undisputed crowing champion of the 157th Platte County Fair. Larry’s crowing earned Johnathan Lynch, 6, of Camden Point a tall and shiny trophy with a rooster on top.
Fairs have a centuries old tradition of being a fun break from the world’s everyday chores and situations. This year’s Platte County Fair deserves a grand champion purple ribbon for providing a happy day.