ALEXANDRIA, Ind. —
Lexie Bousman is participating in her first Madison County 4-H Fair and started off by showing her pet rooster in a competition on Monday.
She knew going into it that his chances weren’t good, but she still thought “Quail Bird” deserved a shot. The 1 1/2-year-old Americana rooster was up against four others that were fluffier and better groomed.
“He wasn’t a very good-looking bird,” the 14-year-old Frankton girl said. “I pretty much just took him out of the dirt and showed him.
“He got last place. Oh well,” she said, chuckling. “I thought it would be fun.”
Although Quail Bird, and Bousman’s first attempt at showmanship, didn’t fare well with the judges, the rooster was still a hit in other ways.
“The girl chickens liked him better than the other roosters,” she said, beaming. “He’s a ladies man. It’s the happiest he’s ever been. He’s usually pecking at me, but he hasn’t been doing that.”
Bousman has raised Quail Bird since he was a few weeks old. She even rocks him to sleep in a rocking chair sometimes.
The teenager’s other option was to bring another rooster she owns, “Blackie.” But she doesn’t consider that one her pet, and he was never an option for the competition.
“He’s rude. You can’t touch him without freaking him out,” she said. “And I didn’t bring him because I don’t feel like having the judge get attacked!”
Bousman has a good sense of humor about her less-than-stellar first attempt. And she sees it as a learning experience. Many other participants start in 4-H at a much younger age, so she knows she still has a lot to learn.
On Tuesday morning she was washing down one of the two cows she was going to show that afternoon. And she was hoping she would do better in that competition.
“I can’t say that I’m a natural,” she said, chuckling. “I may not be good at it. But I like it, so I’ll come back.”
Find Melanie D. Hayes on Facebook and @MelanieDHayes on Twitter or call 648-4250.
4-H Fair
Related Photos
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Lexie Bousman shows off her pet rooster, “Quail Bird,” at the Madison County 4-H Fair on Tuesday. Melanie D. Hayes
Discussion
Frankton teen takes first attempt at 4-H competition in stride
Bousman showed her pet rooster for fun
- 4-H Fair
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Horses big part of 4-Hers life
Nine-year-old Micah Hardy, like many 4-Hers, has never known a life without horses. Her mother joked that her daughter was even on a horse before she was born as she rode while she was pregnant with the girl.
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Souped up and ready to go
It isn’t much of a spectator sport but the competitors readying their garden tractors for the decades-old pull sure do enjoy it. “It’s not that exciting to sit and watch,” joked Wayne Richards, the coordinator for this year’s Garden Tractor Pull at the Madison County 4-H Fair. “But it is a lot of fun to be a part of.
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More to 4-H than livestock
Don’t go into Exhibit Hall just to escape the sweltering heat at the Madison County 4-H Fair. 4-Hers like Tressia Phipps and Jackie Lieurance want you to go there to appreciate the hundreds of projects on display inside that air-conditioned building.
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Teen loves her pigs — and lets them go
In her fifth year of 4-H, Cheyenne Morgan is part of the Grand Champions Club. This year she won two reserve-champion ribbons, a third, two fifths and a sixth place and showed six hogs.
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Midway rides thrill fairgoers
Despite the heat and the storms, the midway at the Madison County 4-H Fair has a lot to offer for Alexandria and the rest of Madison County. Between classic fair food and new and returning rides, the fair has delivered another carnival for the entire area.
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At 4-H Fair, responsibility an age-old component
For Isaac Mohr and his brother, Cade, of Pendleton, raising and showing their animals for 4-H is about responsibility.
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Raising, showing animals is hard work
Showing animals in the Madison County 4-H Fair competitions is more than just strutting animals around an arena. There is a lot of hard work that goes into raising the animals, and then caring for and prepping them for the fair competitions.
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Frankton teen takes first attempt at 4-H competition in stride
Lexie Bousman is participating in her first Madison County 4-H Fair, and though her pet rooster, "Quail Bird," didn’t fare well with the judges, the bird was still a hit in other ways.
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Struggling to find the cool at the fair
As temperatures once again soared into the mid-90s on Monday, finding effective ways to keep animals and their humans cool became job one at the Madison County 4-H Fair.
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Rising early to get rabbits ready
By the time you read this Tuesday, Emilee Hollingsworth will have been up for hours, prepping and primping, cleaning and clipping the nails of her 18 rabbits, readying them for judging at the Madison County 4-H Fair.
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