Poultry plan ready for fair exhibitors

Youth who were raising poultry for the 2015 Hardin County Fair can continue on with their projects, even though no poultry will be allowed at the fair because of the risk of avian flu.

The following plan was adopted by the poultry committee for the 2015 Hardin County Fair exhibitors in the show.

Members will not be permitted to switch projects since enrollment and registration deadlines have passed. Those who have other projects may drop the poultry project and return their 4-H books.

Members of 4-H should continue to raise their turkeys, ducks, market chickens and fancy poultry as planned. Market chickens can be purchased from any hatchery. Members will participate in the livestock interviews on Aug. 4. If a member chooses to not raise birds for 4-H, the project would be complete after attending the livestock interview as a non-livestock project (poultry self-determined).

Members who choose to raise their poultry as planned will develop a poster for each poultry project (market, turkey ducks, fancy poultry) registered at the fair. The display will be exhibited in the poultry tent during the fair. This poster will represent the fair premium. More specific details about the poster dimensions and topics will be announced in July.

Exhibitors will be checked during the two weeks prior to the fair to assure possession and care of the poultry project by a department representative who will follow bio-security guidelines to prevent any spreading of disease. Poultry project members will be able to participate in poultry showmanship during the fair. This will be primarily knowledge based, but may include showing a stuffed educational bird. The fair board will hire a judge as usual for the show. The county poultry showmanship champion will participate in the showman of showmen competition.

Market poultry project members will be eligible to participate in the livestock sale if they raise their market project animals, attend quality assurance and the livestock interview, participate in the poultry showmanship, have a farm visit, bring their NPIP papers to the “weigh in” and exhibit a poster display for each market poultry pen.

Members will participate in the sale by having exhibitors walk into the sale ring, where buyers will not take possession of any poultry projects. Members will retain possession of the birds for home processing or delivery to a processor.

For more information, call the OSU Extension office at 419-674-2297 or email wagner.1142@osu.edu. Exhibitors should contact the Extension office at those contacts to indicate whether they intend to participate in the project as a non-livestock poultry self-determined project, drop the project or continue to raise live birds.

By DAN ROBINSON
Times staff writer