4H Poultry Clinic in Boise Idaho – June 2013
What do Johnny Cash, Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Orville Redenbacher all have in common? 4H – they were all members of 4H in their youth.
Wyatt with Shoelace the Chicken
It was suggested by one of my guests in a recent episode that one of the main reasons that people go into keeping backyard chickens is for the benefit of their children. These folks want their children to grow up with a better understanding of where their food comes from and to develop responsibility and compassion through the care of a few family hens. Keeping backyard chickens is a terrific way to help your children learn invaluable lessons and skills. But my thought is — why stop there?
Jessica with her rooster Cowboy
Why not take the experience of raising and keeping chickens to the next level and have your children enroll in their local 4H chapter? 4H is an American organization that is over 100 years old. The name, 4H, represents the four personal development areas of focus for the organization: head, heart, hands and health. The mission of this group is to teach children leadership, citizenship, responsibility and life skills through experiential learning. The slogan of the organization is, “Learning by doing.”
Quiz station at the 4H Poultry Clinic in Boise
Though 4H now has many different areas of skills that it teaches (e.g. archery, sewing, ecology, rocketry, science, math, public speaking, etc.) the most core and traditional focus of the organization is teaching children about agriculture and livestock. Through 4H, children ages 6-18 across America learn how to care for and show animals at their county fairs. Chickens are one of the most popular livestock animals for children to show. Moreover, chickens are an animal that children living in urban and suburban surroundings could raise on their own property and still participate in 4H.
Zach with his “crazy” Frizzle
On today’s show, we go to a local 4H poultry clinic where children were being taught skills to prepare them for their upcoming county fairs and chicken shows. These county fairs will start in the next couple of months. I interview several kids who are at this clinic with their pet chickens that they plan on showing at their fairs and ask them to share their candid opinions about 4H and showing chickens. They are best advocates for the benefits of this organization.
Hailey, Jessica and Stephanie at 4H Poultry Clinic
Also on this week’s episode, we discuss a mysterious “fowl murder” in Detroit, Michigan and talk about a recent public radio interview of Erica Strauss concerning her recent article arguing that some people should not get backyard chickens. You will recognize Erica as being the author of the NW Edible Life website and the her article was the subject matter of the Urban Chicken Podcast’s main segment in episode 10.
4H kids being shown how to handle their birds at the fair
Show Resources:
- Detroit local news coverage of chicken, goats and cat murders VIDEO
- Detroit Free Press news coverage/article about animal murders VIDEO
- CNN article on the animal murders in Detriot ARTICLE
- Daily Press story on the heinous Detroit animal murders ARTICLE
- Were killer dogs released onto school property by humans Huffington Post ARTICLE
- Dogs killed the animals at Detriot academy VIDEO
- Catherine Ferguson Academy subject of documentary VIDEO
- National Egg Day – Hooray! ARTICLE
- 4H history LINK
- Find local 4H chapters near you LINK
- Complimentary article about what keeping chickens teaches children ARTICLE
- 4-H Stories from the Heart
A book about being in 4H
Sally’s Sidenotes:
- Erica Strauss of NW Edible Life’s recent interview on NH Public Radio about her article instructing you to not get backyard chickens. LISTEN HERE
- Erica’s original post ARTICLE
- UCP Episode about Erica’s article LINK
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