On April 14, 2016, 18 Paulding County 4-H’ers competed at the Northwest District 4-H Area Poultry Judging competition in Henry County. The Poultry Judging Team has been learning about the interior and exterior quality of eggs, how to properly candle eggs, how to determine the quality of ready to cook carcasses, identify chicken parts, and how to judge the egg production of live birds. The Junior Team, composed of 5th-8th graders placed 7th out of 22 teams. Senior Teams composed of 9th-12th graders took home 1st place and 4th place honors out of 20 teams. Senior Team A’s 1st place win earned them the opportunity to compete at the state competition at the University of Georgia on April 22nd. Senior Team A is comprised of Jamie Babecka, Michaela Boschker, Erin Gilroy, and Aaren Schertler. Junior 4-H’er Emily Brooke-Powell was the highest scoring overall individual in the Junior contest of 83 participants. Senior 4-H’er Jamie Babecka was the 3rd highest overall individual while Michaela Boschker was 5th highest overall, and Erin Gilroy was 7th highest overall out of 70 participants.
The 4-H Poultry Judging Team was coached by 4-H County Extension Agent, Brittani Kelley, 4-H Program Assistant Kathleen Gilroy, and 4-H AmeriCorps Community Service Specialist Chantal Senra. For more information about Poultry Judging or Paulding County 4-H activities, please contact the UGA Paulding County Extension Office at 770-443-7616 or visit our office at 530 W. Memorial Drive Dallas, GA 30132.

Pictured: Jamie Babecka, Tyler Clark, Colleen Gilroy, Rhiannon Perrien, Sammi Reynolds, Zoie Perrien, Madeline Holland, Grace Senra, Gabby Harmon, Ashley Heerlein, Emily Brooke-Powell, Madeline Hall, Aaren Schertler, Olivia Senra, Kimberly Hadaway, Allen Jones, Michaela Boschker