Soon be fair time

[bjrogg]

When I was a kid we had lots of animals on the farm. About nine years ago we sold all our livestock. It feels good watching the grandkids with their  4-H animals. Charlie is going to be showing for his first time this year by himself. I think he'd sleep with his goat if his momma would let him.
Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

PS the close ups are of my youngest son's goat "Billy" it will be his last year showing animals.
Bjrogg

[Pat B]

Raising and taking care of animals is great experience for kids.     

[DC]

I don't know anything about 4H. I've heard that the animals the kids raise are all sold for whatever purpose. Can someone clear that up for me? How does the whole thing work?

[osage outlaw]

We are out of the goat business BJ.  I got tired of dealing with those dumb things.  All we have left are my daughters rabbits.  They have won grand champion meat pen 3 out of the last 4 years.  Last year she won every rabbit class except senior buck.  We didn't have one to enter. 


DC, most of the livestock animals are bought at the 4-H auction by local business owners.  They can send the animal to the slaughter house or give it back to the kids who raised it.  Rabbits and other small animals do not go to the market.  The buyer usually lets the kids keep the animals.  It's a way for kids to earn some money.  The business owners use it for advertising.  There are also a lot of other projects for the kids to take like wood working, photography, geology, beekeeping, dog obedience, etc.  My son made a selfbow and won the woodworking grand champion.

[PaulN/KS]

I was a 4H Archery leader here in our county for about 6 years. 4H is one of the few groups that still has an active shooting sports program and it includes archery, muzzle loaders, small bore and air gun.
My daughter never did any livestock but she did do a bunch of the other stuff like wood working, geology and forestry. She even still remembers some of the things she learned. 

[bjrogg]

4-H is a very good organization to get involved in. Of course a lot depends on your group leader, but most of these people are very good.
   Clint, my son and daughter always took lambs and they were really good for them. Last year my son switched to hogs. The lambs just got very expensive and it was easier to find  hogs. At our fair you are allowed to sell one large animal and one small. Sheep, hogs, feeders and fats are all considered large animals. Goats, rabbits, chicken and turkey small. My wife and son missed the lambs so we got goats so we could still sell them. No use getting really expensive lambs we couldn't sell. They like the lambs better, I kinda like the goats but we haven't had much trouble with them yet.
    DC our kids raise the animals and show them. They lead them around the ring. There are contests for showmanship and the animals themselves. They keep a record book of their expense they turn in at fair time. Local businesses buy the animals usually at a higher than market price and many offer them back to the kids at market price. It's pretty though on these kids selling their animals, especially the first time. They get a lot of time into them and get pretty attached. I'm pretty sure Charlie will be bawling in the sale ring. Maybe grandpa will have to buy them. It is good they learn how to raise them and where their food comes from.
Bjrogg

[osage outlaw]

BJ, my daughter got very attached to her first goat.  She had tears running down her face when she was walking it around in the auction.  My sister bought her goat and gave it back to her.  My daughter was so happy.  It didn't take her long to lose interest in the goat.  We were stuck feeding it for a few more years.  I hauled it to the market one day and didn't tell her.  It took her about a month to realize it was gone.  She was fine with it by then.

[bjrogg]

Clint I remember the first year my daughter took lambs. My she worked very hard with them and my son helped her a lot. He was probably about 6 or 7 then. My daughter did great, got grand champion pen. The only thing she didn't do good at was sending out buyers letters. No one knew she was my daughter. My son asked what the people who bought the sheep did with them. I said whatever they want to. He asked if they eat them and I said if they want to, or they could keep them if they wanted to also. My brother ended up buying them because the people we should have sent buyers letters to weren't bidding on them. He ended up getting them. My son turned to with a huge smile on his face and said ."I'm  glad uncle Scott got them, he won't eat them he doesn't like lamb" lol we still get a good chuckle out of that.
Bjrogg

[Stoker]

Cool stuff.. My grandson is in 4H he loves it
Thanks Leroy

[PNewton]

My sons spent years in 4H. Showing goats, rabbits, projects and crops. One showed horses for 10 years. Spent a lot of time preparing for the fair and one busy week. Gotta love fair food. Met a lot of great people along the way. Now the grandkids are getting involved with animals. Gonna be fun to watch.

[Zuma]

Just great. 4H is wonderful. A lot of my friends growing up were farm boys.
I learned a lot from them. When I first moved to Virginia I did the photos
at the fair for the local Photo Shop. The kids were great and the buyers
generous.
Zuma

[paoliguy]

My daughter is active in 4H. For three years she has shown her cat Bob. Bob was a half-starved, wet ugly mess when we found him in a ditch the first year she was in 4H. She wanted to show Bob, I figured she'd get laughed out of the ring. But come to find out old Bob had "perfect bone structure" for some breed of cat. Next thing you know she won top honors in both county and state three years in a row. He's retired now but we sure had some great times and memories!

[bjrogg]

Thanks for sharing your 4-H and fair memories everyone. We've been showing for 10 years now I believe. My sons last year but grandkids are just starting. Lots of memories past and many more in the future.
Bjrogg

[BowEd]

4-H is great when your young.It's been in my family for generations also.Teaches responsibility and the old saying you get what you put into it.The rewards of experiences are priceless for the future.Fair time is always fun with the craftsmen and artistry displayed.The food is great too.State or county fairs.