As we enjoyed a beautiful Christmas day in the panhandle, we need to start to brace for some colder weather as we welcome the new year. Here are a few ideas on how to protect your animals in the colder weather. During this upcoming cold snap, your “critters” will rely on you to survive it. As you think about how to best protect your outside pets and livestock, remember the three W’s. (more…)
Who can participate in the NW District Chick Chain Project? 4-H Youth ages 5-18 from the Northwest District of Florida can enroll and participate in the NW Florida 4-H Chick Chain project. Those counties include Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington.
What is the Chick Chain project?
Join 4-Hers from our 16-county Northwest Extension district and learn how to raise and care for chickens. At the end of the project, there’s a district show where you’ll show off your birds and everything you’ve learned. This website will support you throughout your project. (more…)
Over 50 4-Hers and over 100 chickens filled the barn and auditorium for the 2023 Northwest District Chick Chain show. The show was culmination of the seven month 4-H Chick Chain project.
At the beginning of the 4-H year, 4-Hers took ownership of day old chicks and began their journey in the 4-H poultry science project. They learned about poultry nutritional and housing needs, how to clean and show their birds, and how to perform health assessments. This program also encourages the development of life skills. Life skills are also known as workforce ready skills – skills that help individuals adapt to and perform in different settings.
Some of those workforce ready skills include:
At the show, all 4-Hers participated in poultry showmanship. First-time show participants and Cloverbuds participated in a skill-a-thon to test the knowledge and skills they learned in the project. 4-Hers who participated in last year’s Chick Chain show participated in Avian Adventures giving a presentation or demonstration on any poultry science related topic.
Best of Breed winners
2023 NWD 4-H Chick Chain Show Results
Best of Breed
Laura Mae – Grand Champion Pullet
Grand Champion Pullet – Laura Mae Waters
Reserve Champion Pullet – Henry Feinberg
Grand Champion Production – Audrey Stephens
Reserve Champion Production – Kolton Mercer
Showmanship
Audrey – Grand Champion Production
Skill-a-Thon
Julia – 1st place junior showmanship
Avian Adventures Demonstration
Avian Adventures Illustrated Talk
Emily – 1st Place Intermediate presentation
To all of our exhibitors, your 4-H Agents and 4-H club leaders would like to say “Great work” and that we enjoyed working with you this year! The 2023-2024 NWD 4-H Chick Chain program will begin in September. For more information, contact your county UF/IFAS Extension office.
A special thank you to Chris Lauen, UF/IFAS Extension Holmes County 4-H Agent, for capturing photos throughout the day. Click to view the entire photo gallery.
If you have seen the news, weather, or even talked to your neighbor, then you know, it’s gonna be cold! It is going to be so cold, people from Florida don’t know what to do. Here are a few ideas how to protect your chick chain chicks. During this upcoming cold snap, your chicks will be between two and half to three and a half months old. They are fully feathered out and should be able to handle the weather that is “normal” for our area. The main thing to keep in mind in the next couple of days is that the upcoming weather will not be normal for our area.
Sussex chickens are a cold-hardy breed. But the coming cold is out of Florida’s norm!
There are several breeds that are hardier to the colder weather. These breeds include: Americauna, Austrolorp, Barnevelder, Brahma, Buckeye, Cochin, Delaware, Dominique, Faverolle, Jersey Giant, Marans, New Hampshire, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Sussex, Welsummer, and Wyandotte. Now, if you have one of these breeds, it doesn’t mean that you are out of the water. Additional care will need to be taken for all your chicks, no matter their breed.
WATER
Speaking of water, that is one of the main things you will need to be concerned with during the weather that is approaching. “They” are calling for over 34 hours of below freezing temperatures. The main concern for your birds will be heat and water. Your water will freeze over and will need to be checked on several times during the day. Add warm, not hot water to the poultry waterer. If you make it too hot, the chicks may burn themselves. Overnight, it is best to empty the waterers if possible to prevent ice. Refill them in the morning and throughout the day with warm water.
WIND
The strong wind is another concern. The weather advisory is calling the gust of wind that we will experience an “artic blast”. The main thing for your birds is to keep them out of the wind. This does not mean that you need to bring them inside. Simply putting up a block for the north wind will be enough. That block can be a sheet of plywood, some tin or even plastic sheeting. Apply something to the north end of the coop to help keep the wind down. Do not wrap the entire coop, just block the north end. If your coop has a natural north wind block, like bushes or if it is placed on the south side of your garage, you should be fine.
WARMTH
The next item to consider is to give them some warmth. This can be accomplished with a red heat bulb in a clamp light. I found mine on sale at Tractor Supply. The red bulb should be clamped about three to four feet above the floor of the coop. This will prevent any accidental burning of the chicks or the coop. Coop heaters are also available and are safer inside the coop. Another option is hay. Hay will provide warmth for your chicks and help with the chill of the ground. If you use hay, be very careful not to place your heat lamp too close because it could start a fire! The last item to assist with warmth is food. The actual act of eating food will provide warmth to your chicks’ bodies. Make sure they have plenty of food. Remember, scratch or cracked corn is essentially candy for them. Just like any candy, we want to limit how much of that they get. I bet if you mixed a little with their grower crumbles, they would not argue about it.
The main thing to remember with this cold snap is that your animals depend on you. Get bundled up and head outside and make sure they have clean, warm water and food. The good news is that we live in Florida and this is only for a couple of days.
Enjoy the change in weather and stay warm yourselves.
Prudence Caskey, 4-H Extension Agent II
Santa Rosa County Extension
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
6263 Dogwood Drive
Milton, FL 32570
(850) 623-3868
Do you love learning about animals and agriculture? Chick Chain might be the perfect project for you! The 4-H Chick Chain is a program where youth learn how to raise pullets (young chicks) to full-grown layers. It is the perfect way to start your own small flock of chickens to keep your family supplied with fresh eggs. This program is also designed to help youth learn about animal ethics, biosecurity, and nutrition. As youth participate in the project, they have the opportunity to practice decision-making, critical thinking, and communication skills. This blog post will give an overview of the program and answer frequently asked questions to help you decide if this project is right for your child. Enrollment for this year’s program will close at the end of September, so only a few weeks left to sign up!
Chick Chain is a 4-H project where youth from the 16 counties in Northwest Florida learn how to raise, care for, and show chickens. At the end of the project, there is an opportunity for youth to show their chicken as well as what they have learned while raising their animals. The short video below gives you a great overview of what your child will learn and do in the Northwest Florida 4-H Chick Chain.
During the months of August and September, youth enroll (or re-enroll) in 4-H and sign up for the Chick Chain project. Youth can participate through a club or as an independent member. During the months of September and October, youth set up their brooders and either hatch or begin raising pullets. There are lots of great resources on our website to help new families set up a brooder and start caring for their chicks, and your local UF/IFAS Extension Office is available to answer any questions you may have. During December, January, and February, youth will have the opportunity to participate in workshops to learn showmanship, complete their record book, and prepare for the show. First-time members will compete in a skill-a-thon during the show. Returning members can choose to complete an entrepreneurship project or give an illustrated talk or demonstration about poultry. There will be workshops to help returning members prepare. The culminating event is March 11th- the District-wide Chick Chain show in Chipley, Florida at the UF/IFAS Washington County Extension Office. Youth will demonstrate their project knowledge and be recognized for their achievements.
New 4-H members will need to enroll in 4Honline; returning members will re-enroll in 4Honline. When you enroll (or re-enroll), you will select “4-H Chick Chain” as your club, and “Poultry Science” as your project. You can select other projects if you desire, but those two items must be selected to enroll in the Chick Chain program. There is a $25.00 fee to enroll in the program- this fee covers expenses related to the workshops and show.
Start with your county UF/IFAS Extension 4-H Agent. He or she has the contacts/information you need to be successful in your project. Never be afraid to ask questions or for help!
Your ability to handle your bird and your poultry knowledge is the focus of showmanship. You’ll interact one-on-one with an experienced poultry judge demonstrating the steps of showmanship, breed knowledge, and general poultry knowledge. Attitude, appearance, speaking ability, care, management skills, and willingness to follow instructions are all on stage. The best way to learn about showmanship is to watch the videos on our website, and attend one of the Poultry Perfection workshops (we have three different locations and dates to accommodate everyone). During the workshop, we will teach you how to wash, groom, and handle your bird. We will also practice talking to the judge and review what to wear on showmanship day. Showmanship classes are divided by 4-H age divisions:
Cloverbud – 5-7 years old
Junior – 8-10 years old
Intermediate – 11-13 years old
Senior – 14-18 years old
This is a hands-on contest for you to show off what you have learned throughout your project and is required for 1st-year participants. There may be questions on identifying breeds of chickens, how to set up a brooder, types of combs and how to choose the correct feed. You’ll learn this information during your project and at the Poultry Perfection Workshop.
Instead of the skill-a-thon, returning project members can choose to participate in the entrepreneurship challenge or give a demonstration or illustrated talk. The entrepreneurship challenge is a business plan based on services or goods related to your poultry project. For example, you might create a business plan for selling eggs to your neighborhood or composted chicken manure to gardeners. We will guide you through taking your idea and turning it into a business plan that you will communicate to a team of judges.
A demonstration is a show and tell presentation where you demonstrate how to do something. This might include how to set up a brooder, how to read a feed tag, or how to candle and egg. An illustrated talk is a presentation with visuals and tells about something. This could include telling about different breeds of chickens, telling how to inspect your chicken coop for disease/biosecurity, or how to judge a chicken.
Everything you need is available on our website! There is a handy timeline, information about setting up your brooder, feeding and caring for your animals, preparing for showmanship, and much more! You can download and print a copy of your record book, or you can fill it out online. The website is where all the most current information is housed, so you will want to bookmark it for easy access!
For more information, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Office. You can find more information about the 4-H poultry project on our poultry project page!
Pullet Grand Champion Audrey S.
4-Hers from across the Northwest Extension District wrapped up their 2021-2022 4-H Chick Chain projects at the district show on March 12th. In October, the 4-Hers began caring for their baby chicks in a brooder then transitioned them to a coop. They learned poultry showmanship skills and how to bathe their birds and make them look their best for their show throughout the project. They also learned biosecurity basics to protect their birds and themselves from disease and illness.
The NWD District Chick Chain Show is the culminating experience for this project. After checking in their birds, 4-Hers participated in a skill-a-thon to test their poultry science knowledge. The showmanship contest gave them a chance to show off how they check their birds health, present their bird to the judge, and explain how they care for and prepare their birds for show.
Congratulations to our 2021-2022 4-H Chick Chain Project 4-Hers. Below are the final results for the show.
Pullet Grand Champion Audrey S. & Reserve Ryder H.
Senior Skill-a-thon 2nd place Owen B. &; 1st place Roger N.
Blue ribbon photography Catherine G. &; Alison C.
Junior Showmanship 1st place Kadence A., 2nd place Jocelyn B., 3rd place Kasen M.
Intermediate Showmanship 1st place Emma W., 2nd place Emily F., 3rd place Adly C.
Senior Showmanship winners 2nd place Owen Bender, 1st place Roger Nemeth
Best of Breed Winners-Australorp-Blair P., Brahma-Audrey S., Delaware-Samuel R., Plymouth Rock-Jocelyn B., Orpington-Ryder H., Rhode Island Red-Riley B., Sussex-Aubrey M., Wyandotte-Owen B.
Production Division-Grand Champion Colton H. & Reserve Emma W.