As a 10 year 4-H member, I experienced winning and losing, success and failure. I had help at times. I was on my own at other times. To exclude a breed of animal from showing or to exclude a breed because they might not win at a state or local level seems to defeat the entire purpose of 4-H. Fair warning! as I am jumping on a soap box for this post. You may or may not agree with my thoughts and opinions on this subject. I still like you, even if we do not agree. Diversity can put a bit of spice in our lives.
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Should Breeds be excluded for a 4-H Project in any Species?
Should a child be told to not bring a particular breed to a 4-H fair because it might not win? Does not winning take away from the opportunity to learn responsibility, how to of poultry care, peer interaction, information about different breeds of poultry and all that comes with the experience of showing. Should a 4-H leader tell a child a certain breed is not allowed at the fair simply because that breed does not have a Standard of Perfection (SOP) written for it by the American Poultry Association (APA)? Read further to learn what the afore mentioned are.
What is the Purpose of 4-H?
The 4-H motto: “To Make the Best Better”
The 4-H Club Pledge: “I pledge…My Head to greater thinking, My Heart to greater loyalty, My Hands to larger service and My Health to better living for my club, my community, my country, and my world.”
The purpose of 4-H might be answered differently by you than by me. For me, it was a place to connect, learn, grow and compete. It was the closest thing I had to a vacation most years of my childhood and it evokes all kinds of good feelings when I think about amazing memories and experiences. There were hard times and disappointments too, but I do not wish those memories away. I learned even when I did not hold a first place ribbon or trophy as a result of a class.
I applaud the differences between local county 4-H shows to serve the needs and wants of a community.
~ Maria Graber
Local vs. State
Different show bills at a local level fits because what is available for children in that county, may vary. This, in my opinion, has a place to allow for diversity and keep one body from complete control.
I see a benefit to local 4-H country fairs differing in their own ways. Take Horse and Pony clubs back when I showed in 4-H. Our county, at that time, did not have a leader that promoted contest horses. Pleasure horse and pony classes were what most of the kids completed in and what the clinics were about. Why? Perhaps that is what the leaders knew. I contemplated switching to different county that had a better contesting program. Our county did start adding a contesting clinic after I brought my higher strung, but trained barrel racing horse to the fair. I did not switch fairs, I stayed. I loved it when our county added driving classes and endurance riding to the show bill. In the meantime, I felt like I did not fit in on my contesting horses and my contesting interest. However, I still showed up and competed even in classes I knew I would not win in. Did I learn? Did I grow? YES!
I could only advance in the classes I showed in. If, I placed in a pleasure class and actually attended the state show with my contest trained horse or my grade pony, would I have placed at state? NO!
Switching from horses to poultry now. What if a child takes a breed of chicken to a local 4-H show? Said child doesn’t win because the breed did not have a standard of perfection written for it and the judge, without a written list of rules for which to decide if it is a good bird or not, simply does not place it all. Is that different than showing a horse in a pleasure class knowing it will not win against a horse that has been trained in pleasure only? Should not a child along with their parents make that decision?
Perhaps a child wins at a local fair, but stands no chance with that same set of birds at a state fair? Isn’t that a part of the competitive process? Can we allow a child to lose and still walk away educated?
The APA and SOP
The APA or the American Poultry Association, founded in 1873, defines around 57 different Large Fowl chicken breeds with their SoP or Standard of Perfection for each breed. The Standard of Perfection helps not only judges fairly as decide on the bird with the best representation of a breed at poultry shows, but also, defines for breeders what they are striving for. Raising Silver Gray Dorkings, I read and re-read the APA SoP for this breed. I appreciate what I learn from reading a SoP.
Chicken Breeds
There are around 500 breeds of poultry in the world with an unknown number of those chicken breeds in the United States. The APA has written a SoP for around 57 of these large fowl breeds.
So why no standard of perfection for these other breeds?
In the case of the Swedish Flower Hens, they are a bit to diverse in color to create a standard of perfection. Black and blue base or the double dilute blue combined with the mahogany, blond or sno leopard, with the varying shades. There are black and white or blue and white with no mahogany or sno-leopard color anywhere to be seen. Then there are the ones with flesh colored legs, yellow, mottled yellow and mottled flesh colored legs. The sizes of the combs vary as do the size of the birds themselves. These beautiful birds have one thing in common, White tips on the ends of their feathers that seem to grow in bounty with each molt.
Do you see how difficult it would be for SOP to be written? But does a breed standard exist? Yes, there are guidelines from Sweden for this pretty breed.
Questions to Consider
How does one go about deciding which bird is best when judging classes against breeds that have a SOP written for them? Is there a basic standard for a nice chicken? Maybe not?
Perhaps it is time for state and local level 4-H shows to offer classes for just such breeds. That is exactly what happens at a National Open Poultry show. Side Note: ‘Open’ is not limited by age of the exhibitor like 4-H (for ages 9 to 19).
What options exist at National and State open Poultry Shows?
Shows put on by the American Poultry Association offer classes for poultry breeds without a written SOP. These classes are limited to the breed itself. For example, if Swedish Flower Hens are entered in a show, they will compete against each other Swedish Flower Hens only.
Do the state 4-H rules prohibit certain breeds from showing?
I did not know the answer to this question. I did not look at all 50 states for this post. I will leave that to you to find your home state 4-H poultry rules. Some local county 4-H rules do indeed state only poultry breeds with a written SOP are allowed to show at the County 4-H Fair, but only some of the county rules I checked out, not all of them and it varied by state as well.
Is every child going to win first place?
No and that is a good thing, in my opinion, as it provides an excellent time to teach a child to deal positively with disappointment. We all need to be able to do that as an adult.
Is there in fact room for a class or two for breeds without SOP’s?
I have looked at several different county’s 4-H poultry rules in different states. None of them are written the same. Some go as far as to say that only chicken breeds with a written standard of perfection by the APA or the ABA are allowed at that country’s 4-H show. What? That would be like saying only registered horses are allowed to be shown at a 4-H show. Does this exist for other species at some fairs? Leave a comment below if you know of a such a rule other than in chickens. Is it reasonable for 4-H show bills to include classes for breeds that are with out a SOP as they do at National shows?
Why would a 4-Her desire to show chicken breeds without a SOP and take such a breed to the fair for a project?
A child or parent may truly appreciate a poultry breed that has no SOP written for it. A child will reap the many benefits (learning responsibility, peer interaction, education of specific species, community interaction) of the 4-H experience with or with out a winning ribbon.
A breed with out an SOP may be newer to the United States, but still a breed worth owning. There may still be a guideline for choosing the best of a breed.
Is it wrong for a non-Standardized Breed to win an exhibition class at a county 4-H fair?
Should a chicken win at a local 4-H fair and go onto State 4-H competition? It may not win or truly be able to contest against those breeds with a Standard of Perfection written. May I suggest that classes be added to the show roster to provide classes for the breeds with out a SOP like the National shows do?
Another quick fact: No existing SOP by the APA does not mean there is not a breeding guideline in existence for those who desire to raise and improve the quality of a given poultry breed. Case and point: Both Swedish Flower Hens and Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiners have guidelines for the breed that came from their countries of origin (Sweden and Germany respectively). These have not been adapted by the APA, but are no reason to not work to improve a given breed.
To parents whose children are in 4-H of any Species:
Please do your research and know what goals you and your child have for 4-H.
- Call your local extension office.
- Speak with the 4-H leader.
- Ask questions about what classes are offered at your local and state level.
- If you really want to dig deeper, attend a local 4-H show before your child actually participates.
- Go watch a state show.
May I share 4-H at its core is a learning experience, in my opinion. That includes learning how to deal with disappointment. I wonder, if too often, in today’s society we desire a perfect life, a perfect show and perfect results in all we undertake. Let’s face it. That is NOT reality. Some of the most successful folks around have ‘failed’ time and time again before finally ‘winning’ with success.
