LEWISTOWN, Pa. — For tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians, the first week of January means a trip to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg. For youth and adult poultry exhibitors, it means a shot at Champion of Show at what is considered one of the largest and most prestigious shows in Pennsylvania. However, there is a long road leading up to Farm Show for these exhibitors and their birds.
Exhibition poultry are not your regular, run-of-the-mill backyard birds. These chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and guinea fowl are bred from top stock and well-pampered throughout their lifetime. Rarely are they the ones that end up on someone’s plate.
The exhibition hobby began in the U.S. in the mid-1800s, and the first poultry show was in 1854 at P.T. Barnum’s American Museum. Since then, two national organizations work constantly to provide a standard for judging purebred poultry.
In 1874, the American Poultry Association was established to publish their Standard of Perfection and began licensing judges to select the best of the best in the poultry world. In 1914, the American Bantam Association was founded, focusing specifically on poultry’s miniature counterparts.
Exhibitors today strive to reach their own interpretations of the Standard of Perfection. Whether they raise dual-purpose meat and egg producers like Plymouth Rocks or Rhode Island Reds, or ornamental breeds like the Silkie or the tiny Serama; each breed presents its own set of unique characteristics and challenges.
For one Juniata County teen, Marissa Woodward, her specialty is long-tailed ornamental breeds — Phoenix and Yokohamas.
Woodward’s start in poultry came from her grandfather, a fellow poultry enthusiast and several mentors along the way. Through 4-H, her love for poultry grew. Her Silver Phoenix male, Prata, and her White Yokohama male, Dwight are two of her favorites. Prata is also the bird she uses for showmanship; the test of a contestant’s poultry knowledge and handling skills.
Preparing for the show involves a real-life bird bath, a dusting for external parasites, a blood test for prominent poultry diseases, and months of studying, training, and socialization. The day of a show, birds receive a toenail trim pedicure, a spritz of show sheen for enhancing feather luster and plenty of primping to align their feathers just so. A lot of work for a one chicken turns into an all-morning affair with Woodward’s 11 entries.
Woodward’s long-tailed breeds possess a “non-molting” gene which helps them to grow tails six feet in length.
“It’s a mixture of light, temperature and protein in their food. Too much or not enough of these key factors will cause poor feather condition and molt,” she said.
Long hours in the chicken coop allow Woodward to develop a special relationship with Prata and each of her other birds. Prata even fell asleep in her lap while waiting for their turn in this year’s showmanship competition.
In addition to daily care and keeping making her birds look good, Woodward studied her breed’s history and where they were developed, facts and figures about poultry and the internal and external parts of the bird. She entered the Farm Show coming off several big wins at Juniata County fairs. She won Supreme Poultry Showman and Supreme Showman overall at both the Youth and County fairs.
“She works very hard with all her 4-H projects and as a 4-H camp counselor,” said Teresa Ellinger, Juniata County 4-H educator. “She focuses on her personal goals but is also more than willing to help others succeed and learn along the way.”
All her hard work paid off — Prata received first place in his class and Woodward was named the top showmanship contestant at the 2019 Pennsylvania Farm Show.
“It’s my true passion. There is nothing better than knowing all your hard work paid off,” said Woodward, when asked why she’ll continue to keep and breed exhibition poultry. “I also get to educate other people at shows, which is something I love.”
— Emily Lhamon, poultry educator
Penn State Extension