Livestock sale caps week of competition for Wood County 4-H and FFA youth
From left, Cooley and Callie Dixon prepare their chickens for the livestock auction during the 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Brylee Poling, with Rebels 4-H, grooms Bean at the 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Abrianna Fleak, who is with the Belleville chapter of 4-H brushes some hay off of Cupcake while waiting to show at the livestock auction at the 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase Saturday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Addalyn Fleak presents Bean during the livestock auction at the 4-H and FFA Showcase Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
The barn at the 4-H Campground was overflowing Saturday afternoon as the Livestock Sale took place. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
From left, Cooley and Callie Dixon prepare their chickens for the livestock auction during the 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Brylee Poling, with Rebels 4-H, grooms Bean at the 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Abrianna Fleak, who is with the Belleville chapter of 4-H brushes some hay off of Cupcake while waiting to show at the livestock auction at the 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase Saturday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Addalyn Fleak presents Bean during the livestock auction at the 4-H and FFA Showcase Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
The barn at the 4-H Campground was overflowing Saturday afternoon as the Livestock Sale took place. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
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MINERAL WELLS -- Months of feeding, training and caring for animals culminated Saturday as young exhibitors gathered for the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase and Livestock Sale.
The sale, held at the Wood County 4-H Camp on Butcher Bend Road, concluded a week during which participants showed seven livestock species, said Lindsey Boso, Wood County 4-H program assistant.
"Today, we're wrapping up the end of our week of showcase, and we're wrapping it up with our livestock sale," Boso said.
Projects included market steers, feeder calves, breeding cattle, market hogs, lambs, goats, poultry, rabbits and horses. Some exhibitors also brought cattle cow-calf pairs, while the poultry competition included turkeys, chickens and open poultry entries.
The time required to complete a project depends on the animal, Boso said. Market steers represent some of the longest commitments and can take up to two years if an exhibitor first enters the animal as a feeder calf before returning the following year with it as a market steer.
Young people generally obtain hogs, goats and lambs in late winter or early spring, making those projects about six months long. Rabbits and chickens are typically raised for only a few months before the showcase.
The work extends beyond animals. Participants also complete "still projects" on topics ranging from science and food preparation to arts and crafts. Those projects can begin in early fall when the new 4-H year starts, Boso said.
For 13-year-old Abrianna Fleak, who is entering eighth grade, the showcase included two cattle projects named Cupcake and Woody. Fleak said her favorite part of the experience was preparing the animals for competition.
Callie Dixon, 13, an incoming eighth grader from the Belleville chapter, earned reserve honors for her chickens and grand champion honors for her turkey, Katrina.
Dixon said raising her chickens required about 20 bags of feed. Their food consumption increased as the showcase approached and the birds grew closer to their target weights.
"They went off about one bag every two weeks," Dixon said. "But the closer we got to showcase, the more they ate."
Dixon's chickens were about 2 months old by the time of the competition. One weighed 9.59 pounds and another weighed 8.5 pounds, she said.
In addition to her poultry projects, Dixon completed nine still-project books. She said she decided to raise a turkey because she wanted to expand beyond a single animal project.
She selected Katrina from among four turkeys her family had at home because of his personality.
"He was overall my favorite, just because of the amount of enthusiasm he had," Dixon said. "He just puffs around, walks all day. He just shows off."
Dixon said she hopes to add another livestock project next year, possibly raising a goat or lamb.