First-time Fowlers

For one week, young people from all over Carbon County converge onto the country fairgrounds to show cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry. It was this last one which was on display Monday afternoon.

Poultry is a broad term, though most may think of chickens when first hearing the word and it was mostly chickens which were in the showmanship portion of the Poultry Show. While, in other portions, the animals itself is judged it is a little different in showmanship as it’s the presenters who are being judged. Two first-timers to the event were Katie Fiedor of Saratoga and Morgan Damm of Savery.

“It was a lot to jump into, especially since I’ve only done sheep,” said Fiedor. “So it was quite a downsize. Definitely different from what I’m used to. The showmanship is a lot more intense than what I thought it was. The judge had me switch birds and show different birds.”

During the showmanship round, the judge would take a bird and give it to another presenter and ask the rest to move their birds down to the person on their right. They would stand with the bird, ensure it didn’t make a break for it and then switch birds again until their original bird returned to them.

This is just one way the judge tested the presenters.

“I’m not an expert, but from what I could tell it was to test us to see how well we actually showed not our bird,” said Fiedor, who presented her Calico Princess and took third place. “We can train with our birds all we want and our birds will be great, but when you switch around the birds it’s really difficult.”

Other ways in which contestants are judged is in how they present their poultry. During the beginners showmanship round, the contestants were reminded by the judge to keep one hand behind their back and one on the breast of their chicken.

“I think the most important thing to know is how to do your show stances, because if you don’t do that you’re probably going to get last place,” said Damm, who presented and won first place for showmanship of his Rhode Island Red, Nice.

The purpose of this stance, according to both Damm and Fiedor, is so the judge can get the best look possible of the bird. It also shows how well trained the bird is and how well the presenter can control it. Some poultry, on occasion, do try to make a break for it.

“If it starts flapping, then you need to put your hands over it,” said Damm.

Contestants are also judged by how they take their bird out of the cage.

“Close the cage. That’s actually a really big thing I did not know about and I wish I knew about it,” said Fiedor. “There’s a certain way you have to take your bird out of the cage. You do it head first so the feathers aren’t roughed up.”

Along with judging how well they handle their bird, and those of other contestants, the showmanship round also tests their knowledge of the animal. They are asked about the breed of the bird and to point out and name different parts of the bird. Of course, it also does help if the poultry is well-kept.

“Make sure your bird is healthy and clean, has soft feathers and make sure it’s as good as it’s going to get for that breed,” said Fiedor.

Fiedor will be a senior at Saratoga Middle/High School this year, which means she has a limited amount of time left to show livestock and poultry at the Carbon County Fair. Damm, however, is just starting out.

“I think I’ll do it again next year,” said Damm. “They’ve done well for this round and I think if I get to do it next round, like next year, I’d do it.”

For the Damm family, it’s been a unique experience helping Morgan raise his showmanship and his market poultry entries.

“It’s been a fun family experience,” said Dalinda Damm. “My husband and I have had experiences before but not ourselves doing it, so it’s been fun to do it with him and our youngest. He (Morgan) said earlier, ‘It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it.’”