Official Kids Mag

At just 14, Carly J. knows more about chickens than most people. The ninth- grader has been showing chickens at the Washington County Fair since she was seven years old. This year she has about 10 of them vying for top honors. How many does she think she's shown over the years? "There's no telling," Carly laughed. Official Kids Mag met up with Carly and one of her chickens at this year's Fair, a blue-ribbon recipient named Midnight. Midnight is a "frizzle," Carly's favorite type of chicken. The feathers of a frizzle chicken give it a distinctive, fluffy look. It resembles a glamorous chicken feather duster. "It's rare in a way because its feathers stick up and don't lay flat like a normal chicken," Carly explained. She says frizzles also have a sweet personality. During our interview, Midnight was perfectly content perched in Carly's arms. Carly grew up around chickens. There are more than 200 of them on her family's farm in Hogeye, Arkansas. Showing is a hobby that she was introduced to in 4H. "I mainly do it for money, and for ribbons and for points in 4H," Carly said. Top chickens can fetch hundreds of dollars at auction at the County Fair. How does Carly know which chickens are competition worthy? "You look at their feet to make sure they're clean and look nice. You look at the color and the undercolor to see how it's going to breed," she explained. "In the face, you want to look at their beak to see what color it is, if it has any damage to it. You want to look at the combs to see if they have any damage and you want to look just about everywhere to see if it looks competitive." When asked if she thinks she's pretty good at picking out the winners after all these years, Carly had to admit: "Yeah. I usually win ribbons and stuff. A few years ago I won championship." Getting a chicken ready to show takes effort, Carly said. Monitoring the health and safety of each chicken is an ongoing process on the farm. Before taking them to show, she bathes the chickens and gets their bloodwork done to make sure they are disease-free. Also, since school was already in session at the time of the fair, Carly was keeping up with her high school homework online while she was showing. In spite of the effort, Carly loves showing her feathered friends and plans to stick with it. "I'll keep doing this until I leave 4H, when I turn 18." As for the future, she plans to become a veterinarian and turn her love of chickens, and animals, into a career. Veteran chicken competitor knows what it takes to win FACTS ABOUT FRIZZLES Frizzles are curious looking chickens, with docile, gentle and quiet personalities. Frizzle chickens have crazy feathers that curl outwards instead of lying flat. Frizzles can usually be found taking home ribbons in a show ring, but they aren't just show girls! The Frizzle chicken is happy to join a backyard flock and makes a wonderful choice of pet for your family and a great addition to your coop. AHEAD OF THE FLOCK By Karen Rice • krice@nwadg.com Carly J. with "Midnight," one of nearly a dozen chickens she entered into competition at the Washington County Fair this year. 7

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