Looking for 4-H birds for my daughter (Indiana / Illinois)

[Chicken doodle]

I am looking for some 4-H birds for my daughter. We live in the Lafayette, IN area. If someone could reccomend some breeders in our part of ther state I would appreciate it. Our fair is earlier than most (June 15).

[annefoley]

Although it is not in your part of the state, it might be worthwhile for you to come to the Gateway Poultry Show (Bloomington, IN) on Sat. April 10, 2010. Arriving early on Saturday will mean a better selection of birds to choose from in the sales area. See the club website at www.gatewaypoultryshow.com for more information. Good Luck!

[Patrick]

Shouldn't your daughter be the one looking for "her" birds? Isn't that the whole idea, teaching her how to do everything needed to raise the birds, including how to procure them?

[MKG]

As a former 4-H poultry dad and county 4-H project leader I would just like to add that your child will get much more from the experience by selecting the breed/variety and raising the project birds from the hatching egg stage or at least the baby chick stage. If your fair is in mid-June you are starting too late unless you are thinking of commercial broilers or roasters. Most standard bred birds need to be a minimum of five months old by fair time, and many breeds should be much older than that. Simply purchasing showable birds, feeding them a few months, and then taking them to the fair won't give your child much of a sense of achievement. May I suggest going with the commercial meat birds this year, and then giving your child more of a challenge in 2011? Good luck!

[annefoley]

Many years ago I was one of those people who felt that there was always a "right" way of doing things. I have since decided that there are many paths that lead to the same place. Testing the waters of poultry ownership by buying a couple of birds for a child isn't necessarily wrong. It is just a beginning. Many of the 4-H poultry kids in our county started out just like that and are now hooked and happily hatching and showing their own. I loan out foam type incubators to families who want to give it a try and more often than not, their child soon gets one of their own, sometimes under the Christmas tree or next to their birthday cake. Please don't beat off the future of the fancy because they do not happen to be going about it in the "best" possible manner. A few kind words of encouragement go a long way to helping families head in the right direction with their child's interest in poultry.

[richbar]

I agree that you may want to make some decision on what types of birds your daughter wants to raise. While it may be late to get chicks, we often forget that you could purchase some started birds or adults for her to start with. None of these approaches is unheard of. Some breeders will work with kids and if they know that they are serious, will really support them along the way with words of advice and encouragement. Some will not and look at
4-Hers as just another avenue to sell to the highest bidder. Once you decide what breeds/varieties you are looking for and if you are looking for bantams or standard varieities, you should see if you have anyone in your area who is rasing those birds. You may want to check with some local poultry clubs or if you are looking for who the top breeders are, you could consult the American Bantam Association for bantams and/or the American Poultry Association for large fowl breeders. Good luck in your quest. I do agree with Patrick that your daughter should be doing some inquiring as well, but not knowing how young she is, I can fully understand that you may not want her surfing the web.

[Patrick]

Many years ago I was one of those people who felt that there was always a "right" way of doing things. I have since decided that there are many paths that lead to the same place. Testing the waters of poultry ownership by buying a couple of birds for a child isn't necessarily wrong. It is just a beginning. Many of the 4-H poultry kids in our county started out just like that and are now hooked and happily hatching and showing their own. I loan out foam type incubators to families who want to give it a try and more often than not, their child soon gets one of their own, sometimes under the Christmas tree or next to their birthday cake. Please don't beat off the future of the fancy because they do not happen to be going about it in the "best" possible manner. A few kind words of encouragement go a long way to helping families head in the right direction with their child's interest in poultry.

I do agree with you. Apparently your glass is half full, while mine half empty, and that's OK too. Just to balance out your argument, the child who has birds purchased for her may just as easily slide toward expecting it for everything else too, as she does going the route which you describe. BTW, I was once the 10 year old kid who called breeders and inquired about stock on my own. My parents wouldn't even have known what to ask. I was as shy and as dumb as they come, so if I could do it, anyone can.

[MKG]

I do agree with you. Apparently your glass is half full, while mine half empty, and that's OK too. Just to balance out your argument, the child who has birds purchased for her may just as easily slide toward expecting it for everything else too, as she does going the route which you describe. BTW, I was once the 10 year old kid who called breeders and inquired about stock on my own. My parents wouldn't even have known what to ask. I was as shy and as dumb as they come, so if I could do it, anyone can.

I had the same experience. My dad wanted nothing to do with poultry, in fact discouraged it. I just don't believe in helping to foster an entitlement mentality. Due diligence, hard work, perseverance, and a sense of accomplishment based on actual facts are lessons that will stay with a kid for the rest of his life. Anything that comes too easy will not be appreciated for long.

[Neil E. Grassbaugh]

Apparently your glass is half full, while mine half empty I am an engineer, I wonder why the glass is that size.
BTW, I was once the 10 year old kid Probably a juvenile terrorist scaring people with snakes.
I was as shy and as dumb as they come What ever happened to you ,son?

Just couldn't resist.

[Patrick]

Actually I was much older when I started terrorizing people with snakes. Others have longed for the good old days as well.