6 months ago when my daughter said " I want to take 4 animal projects to the fair this year" why didn't somebody slap me silly?!? Rebecca was seriously stressed out about getting everyone down there and Chris and I did not handle her nerves well at all. We got through it, just not very smoothly. It took us 3 hours last night to get our animals checked in and settled. That doesn't even count the hours our friend spent getting the dairy cows in. I used to think the dairy, beef, goat and rabbit barns were pretty close together, but last night they seemed to be miles apart!
Tucker weighed in at 736#. Probably a little small for this competition- there are some really big steaks here this year. Rebecca handled him through the whole process and got him tied up in his spot. The vet told Rebecca how glad he was to see her in leather boots. he said it was so much better than the tennis shoes and sandals other 4Hers were wearing. I asked him if he had time to clean them before the show since she would be working in them right up until show time! She decided not to show her junior calf- he just wasn't ready to behave the way she wants. In addition, he was banded to make him a steer and our fair requires castration. Another rule we learned a little late.
Our wether weighed in at 55#. Again, small for all the Boer competition, but Rebecca is not at all about winning. She just wants to make sure her animals are comfortable and wants to have fun herself. Poor Nicholas got the job of keeping an eye on the goats while we helped Rebecca check in the steer and rabbits. The pen was not nearly tall enough so he spent almost an hour pushing them off the gates. Another member did not show up so we moved them to a pen with taller gates, but Chris is still worried it won't keep them in.
The rabbits were very easy to settle. We were two short on bowls so I have to remember to take those today. Our Silver Fox weighed more than we expected. The male had to be bumped up from junior to intermediate since he weighs a solid 10 pounds!
Today is the dairy show. Chris dropped Rebecca off at 630am to do rounds on her own animals before she starts on the dairy she is showing. Luckily the weather is cooler and a little overcast. We are packing coolers and doing chores here before we head down just before showtime. I should have pictures tonight!
3 months ago
I'm positive, just POSITIVE that Mother and Daddy are sitting back laughing their butts off at this post. Three girls in 4-H at the same time with Lord knows how many animals? I think my last year I had an entire herd just for me! Only difference was, we took animals every day instead of all at once. Wonder which is worse? Wish we could be there....definitely next year!
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