Hatching Success

Members of the 2008 Rutherford County 4-H Chick Chain project group recently gathered at the Old Fort Park Agriculture Center for the annual 4-H Poultry Show and Sale. Twenty-one 4-H’ers from across the county gathered for what will be the final 4-H event held at the Old Fort Park location as construction will soon begin on a tennis complex that will replace the livestock center.
The Chick Chain project is one of the 4-H program’s most popular offerings. Participants received 25 baby chicks in March and were responsible for their care until the poultry show held the Saturday before school resumed. Each 4-H’er selected their five best birds and entered them into the show. After the awards were given out to the winners, all the birds were auctioned off one pen of five at a time. The proceeds from the auction paid the original purchase price of the birds. All profits that were left-over went directly back to the 4-H’ers that participated in the show.
Members were also responsible for turning in a record book of their expenses and receipts along with at least a one-page essay describing the Chick Chain experience. Extension Agents then judged these records while the 4-H’ers competed in a Skill-a-Thon which tested their understanding of proper care of their chickens. Scores from the record book, Skill-a-Thon, and essay of each 4-H’er were averaged together. Olivia Gum from Kittrell was awarded the Grand Champion Exhibitor trophy for having the highest average. For more information about the Chick Chain project, contact Michael Shirley at the Rutherford County Extension Office; 898-7710.

Grand Champion Exhibitor: Olivia Gum
Reserve Grand Champion: Shelby Hill
Champion Birds: Jacob Henry
Reserve Champion Birds: Rachel Elrod
Record Book Winner: Olivia Gum
Essay Winner: Brandon Taylor
Skill-a-Thon Winner: Mary Beth Wrather

Chick Chain Show and Sale

The annual 4-H Poultry Show and Sale will take place this Saturday August 9 at 10:00 am. This year, we will be selling Rhode Island Reds like the one pictured to the right. Call the Extension office at 615-898-7710 for more information.

County Success at the Regional Goat Show

Seven Rutherford County 4-H'ers competed in the Central Region 4-H Market Goat Show held at the Bedford County Fair on Saturday, July 26.

All together they brought home 10 blue ribbons (out of 35 classes)! They also accumulated four seconds, three thirds, four fourths, and two fifth place awards. Sara Beth Young was also chosen as the Reserve Champion in the Junior High Showmanship Class.

Pictured at the right are (from l to r) Catherine, Tristan, Emily, Hunter, Abigail, Sara Beth, and Tanner. They are exhibiting some of their show goats that won the "Best County Group of Five" award.

Congratulations to our goat club exhibitors!

4-H Livestock Show Season

Even though 4-H is more that "Cows, Plows, and Sows," livestock show have always been a major part of the 4-H history. Caring for and showing livestock teachs 4-H'ers many useful qualities like responsibility, dedication, and determination just to name a few.

Follow this link to see pictures from this year's Rutherford County 4-H livestock show as well as a few pictures from the 2008 TN 4-H Beef Expo. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1AbOHDZw2ZMnHQ&emid=sharshar&linkid=link4

2008 TN Technology Camp Videos

Here are the rest of the videos submitted for the 2008 TN Technology Camp Video Awards:

The Cookie



Tech Camp vs Target SMART



The Snack Shack

2008 TN 4-H Technology Camp Video Awards

This year, more than 30 4-H'ers from across the state of Tennessee attended Technology Camp at Camp Ridley in Columbia, TN. While at tech camp, 4-H'ers learned about digital photography, GPS, rocketry, and digital video editing. Below are the short films that technology camp participants submitted for the Video Awards contest. All of these videos were shot with either a digital camera or a Flip or RCA Small Wonder digital camcorder and edited using MovieMaker.

Best Editing:The Worst Day at 4-H Camp



Best Screenplay: How to Clean Your Room



Best Picture: Camp Rules

One Million New Scientists One Million New Ideas

From 4-H Network News: