Cows or Chickens

FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2011


As a gal born and reared in New Orleans and who spent most of my young adult life in Houston, I am fascinated by county fairs and the kids who raise animals for show and sale. This is totally alien to me, but I have learned that it is a great source of learning for the kids as well as income for the winners. The fruits of months of rigorous animal husbandry pay off, hopefully, as the kids show their animals at county fairs, livestock shows, etc. You may be all too familiar with this subculture, but it is relatively new to me.

Months in advance of the fair/show, kids decide what animal to raise, feed, groom and enter. They can choose chickens, turkeys, goats, lambs, rabbits, pigs, heifers, steers, etc. No, there is not a competition for dogs, cats, parakeets, gold fish or any of the pets most of us have had. This is a commercial effort, where the chosen animals are groomed to be sold, butchered and consumed. And you thought football was tough.

I remain fascinated by the selection process, and shall briefly share two examples: chickens and cows. (A disclaimer here, I have never and will never participate in these events in any way other than as a spectator, and I claim no expertise. All that I share with you is the hearsay from friends who have blouses stained by chicken poop and boots stained by cow paddies. I listen to them intently from a respectable distance. I will say that the last fair I attended in a small rural county with a population of less than 20,000 generated total sales for youth in excess of $500,000! So, I started paying attention.)

Chickens, a.k.a., fryers, are purchased when newly hatched. If your kid wants to raise a chicken, you buy a bunch of chicklets. Perhaps 50, perhaps a 100. Some will die, some will live but won’t pass muster, and a few grow to potential winners. It does not matter who the hen or rooster is that spawned the chickens. What matters entirely is the luck of the draw in the batch that survives. This batch will be fed, watered, held, and kept warm and cozy for months leading up to the grand event. Coops are built, daily trips are made, heat is provided in cold weather, and the daily culling of less than desirable chicks is accomplished. At the show, the kids must hold the birds upside down to be judged, so the chickens poop upward. Amazing. It is up to the kids to make winners out of the batch of chickens they get, and those that don’t make it are simply disposed of.

Steers are different, and that is no bull. Steers bring the most money at auction, and though some kids literally pick a steer from their pasture, most look at a lot of steers before choosing the "one". Markings, muscle, breed, and disposition -- in other words -- lineage matters greatly. Have a pen or pasture, exercise the steer, feed the steer, get it used to being led around on a rope, wash it, groom it, and 9 months later enter your steer in the contest. What kids do to help the steer win is critical, but the lineage is also important. Markings are important, breed is important, and showmanship of the kid and steer is important. The bottom line, though, is the kid picks the steer then commits to making that steer successful.

So, we open our public school doors and let every one in. (Private and charter schools are more like showing steers, hence all the bull about having better teachers.) We are charged with making every child a winner, no culling, and no lineage questions. We show chicks. All of them. And they all must be winners.

In our current reality, we get more chicks less likely to survive and fewer who are born "show quality", more and more rigorous judging standards, more and more hostile judges, and less and less of the chicken feed we have previously been given.

The poop remains, of course.

POSTED BY EILEEN GOOD AT 2:08 PM

LABELS: PUBLIC SCHOOLS

2 COMMENTS:



Anonymous said...

Eileen, you write exceptionally well. I like your use of metaphor. As well, not many know the correct usage of "raise" and "rear." Have you been to the livestock show in Houston lately?

MARCH 12, 2011 10:12 AM



Eileen Good said...

I blush. Thanks for the kind words! The Houston Show is so big I fear being trampled in the crowd by a herd of young folks in blue corduroy jackets. The BBQ is appealing, but the music is not of a genre compatible with my palate. So, no, I have not been recently.