Friday, 26 August 2011
4-H Fair - Sheep and Goats
Who knew how many different kinds of sheep and goats there are? White woolly sheep and brown ones,
angoras with curly fleece, smaller smoke gray Icelandic sheep. Some with halters and others in the ring
being shown with only their owners guiding hands to keep them in line. Goats with perky ears, others with
floppy ears. Horns. No horns. Milking goats. A pen full of kids practically bouncing off the walls. Showtime!
The kids are fed from a nursing bucket. Separating them from the doe this way creates a stronger bond
with their handlers. This little kid is so eager to feed that its little tail is flickering around like a propellor.
A Boer goat, handsome in red and white with long drooping ears and impressive horns.
I didn't make note of the entry card above the pen, which would list the breed of sheep as well as
the exhibitor's name. Black faced . . . . . maybe a Leicester? Closely clipped, that's for sure.
This one isn't shaggy by any means but it does have a little more in the way of a fleece.
There are several 4-H sheep and goat clubs in Hunterdon County, so the exhibitors know one another.
That makes it easy a calming situation, to have a quiet chat as they wait to be called into the show ring.
The young handlers, all in the required white shirts, line up with their animals and wait in the show ring.
If you enjoyed this visit to the fair you can find the other entries here for cows and horses, here for agricultural entries and bees, and here for chickens and rabbits.