by Katie Martin, Smith County Extension Agent:
Back Row L to R: Kacie Malone, Abby Malone, Savannah Phillips, Dakota McGee, William Caceres, Clayton Wilson, and Emma Crawford
Front Row L to R: Greg Dixon, Cain Gray, Ethan Padgett, and Addison Stemmer
Each spring, 4-H members of Smith County have the opportunity to become involved in the 4-H Chick Chain. This activity allows 4-H’ers to receive, one-day-old baby chicks to raise. The 4-H’er is responsible for feeding and caring for the chicks, and at the end of the project they have the opportunity to show and sell their hens.
Thursday, October 3, 2019, was the culmination of over six months of hard work for eleven Smith County 4-H members. 4-H’ers brought three of their best hens, which they received as chicks through our Chick Chain program, to the Smith County Ag Center to be judged and auctioned off.
This year we had Rhode Island Red and Buff Orpington hens. All of our 4-H’ers brought outstanding birds, but there were several pens that deserved special recognition. Our Grand Champion was Addison Stemmer, with Abby Malone earning our Reserve Champion award. We are so proud of all the hard work that each 4-H’er put into raising and taking care of their birds.
A special thank you to our judge, Leigh Fuson, and our auctioneer, Jason Martin. We would also like to thank Smith Farmers Co-op for donating a bag of laying feed to all our buyers. Most importantly, thank you to the parents and community supporters that attend this event, purchase birds, and help to make it a success.
The 4-H Youth Development Program delivers programs through cooperative efforts of the University of Tennessee, Tennessee State University, and public and private sector volunteers. 4-H educational programs are offered to all youth, grades 4-12, on an age-appropriate basis, without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation or disability. For further information concerning the many opportunities that 4-H has to offer the youth in Smith County call 615-735-2900.
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