Day 2- Poultry and Sheep! Part 1

Day one leaves us a bit wrung out, but day two is the day where the energy reserves are most needed. Early wake up to march up to the barns in the fog, parents stumbling out of campers, golf carts coming back from coffee runs to the Speedway fuel station, and the sounds of disturbed poultry coming from the last barn. The turkeys are in a tiff, as their feathers get wiped clean and they see new toms strutting  around close by. They puff up and display their tails, becoming instant puff balls with deep red and blue heads. Truly, if red, white and blue are the patriotic colors, the 4-H turkey tom is a most patriotic bird. (Ben, you were on to something in many ways). We are there to bathe Middlest's chickens. Giving chickens a bath was not an event I had ever contemplated before The Fair.
Bathing chickens in a bucket of water with ivory soap, gently cleaning their feathers so they aren't damaged was something that fascinated me at first. Now, it just makes my hands cold and my clothes wet. I don't do the actual bathing, but I am the official Mom in the "Here, Mom, hold my chicken." I have long been working on cultivating a team atmosphere in the 4-H club, in hopes of hearing another subject inserted in that sentence. Now, with two wet chickens and a poultry show starting in two hours, the next step is blow drying the chickens. My hairdryer is used for melting frozen pipes and blow drying feathers in addition to special beauty days. Chickens don't really mind having the full spa treatment, and look rather pleased when they are clean and dry and fluffy. The barn is buzzing now, with kids everywhere rubbing baby oil into chicken combs and rubbing Vaseline into duck feet. Girls in double french braids, trimmed with bows and boys with close cropped hair march back and forth from the water pump, cleaning, preening, taking care to make sure their enormous meat chicken has not a speck of poop on their feathers or feet.
Then, the call to the barn for the first class of turkeys.
Kids start walking their turkeys to the show tent. The turkeys puff out and slowly make their way, kids bent over at the waist, guiding them with a hand held out here, or a more effective steering of the turkey with both hands. The kids crouch down next to their birds, waiting for their turn with the judge. Then when the judge comes to them they stand, put the bird's head between their spread legs, bend over and grab the turkey's legs and flip them over and upside down- all 40-50 lbs of turkey. The turkey calmly hangs down, wings spread, blood rushing into their little heads, the body resting on the show-ers thigh. Youngsters arms tremble with the effort of holding the turkey at chest height. The judge feels the breast and the drumsticks and hemms and hawws... compares two upside down birds at a time and eventually chooses the best turkey dinner.
And the poultry show has begun.