Age Divisions: Junior (8-11) Intermediate (12-14) Senior (15-18) Exhibitors will participate in age-based Skillathons. This study guide includes all topics an exhibitor might be tested on. Youth will only be tested on a portion of these items. Station 1 Record Book Exhibitors must have front, animal information, expenses, feed record, and treatment record Station 2 Skillathon Kit Knowledge Junior Comb Variety Identification Intermediate Feed tag Senior Cuts of Meat Station 3 Quality Assurance All age groups (all species) - Drenching Station 4 Interview Junior 1. What is a baby turkey called? a. Poult 2. What is a baby duck called? a. Duckling 3. What is a baby goose called? a. Gosling 4. How many eyelids does a chicken have? Why? a. Three: upper, lower and the nictating membrane which moves from the front to the rear of the eye and is clear. Eyelids keep foreign substances from entering the eye. 5. What is plumage and where on the bird does a judge look? a. Feathers on a bird. Judge looks at the back, breast, body, legs and tail to see if the bird is up to the breed s standard. 6. What is a way to check the quality of an egg without cracking it open? a. Candling Using a light to see the inside. 7. How is the size of eggs measured? a. By weight per the dozen
8. What is an adult male turkey called? a. Tom 9. What is an adult male goose called? a. Gander 10. What is an adult female goose called? a. Goose 11. Explain two ways to get ready to receive your chickens: a. i. Clean and disinfect brooder, feeders and waterers. ii. Purchase the correct feed for the type of birds you are getting iii. Have the right bedding for your birds iv. Set brooder up with bedding and turn on heat lamp to preheat the brooder v. Be sure to have a container to transport your birds large enough to fit all of your birds but not too big (you do not want them to be able to slide around). Intermediate 1. What does the term dual purpose mean when discussing breeds of chickens? a. Can be used for both meat and egg production. 2. What is the purpose of turning eggs in an incubator? a. To keep the embryo from sticking to the membranes and becoming malformed. 3. How long (in days) is the incubation period for chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese? a. Chickens: 21, Turkeys: 28, Ducks: 28, Geese 32 4. Large breeds of chickens are grouped according to the area of the world where the birds originated. What are the six groups? a. American, Asiitic, English, Mediterranean, Continental and all other standard breeds (AOSB). 5. Name two ways to identify the sex of a duck. i. Vent sexing, sex feather tail feather ii. Quack loud or quiet. 6. How are broilers selected when choosing more than one bird for a pen show? a. Cleanliness, no sores, free of disease, uniformity and breast size. 7. What does the term incubation period mean? a. Period of time from when eggs are set until they hatch. 8. What does it mean if your bird is molting or in a molt? a. The bird is losing feathers and their reproduction stops. This renews the bird for another reproductive cycle and does not harm the bird. 9. What age does production begin in a hen? a. At sexual maturity, about 12 to 18 weeks of age. 10. Name 3 common turkey breeds.
Senior a. 1. Bronze, 2. Royal, Palm, 3. Bourbon Red, 4. Black, 5. Narragansett, 6. Slate, White Holland (Large white) 1. What factors affect egg production? a. Temperature, Humidity, Length of artificial light (14 hours of constant light is recommended), and other nutritional factors. 2. Name one internal parasite common in poultry a. Coccidia, Blackhead, large roundworms, small roundworms 3. Name one external parasite common in poultry a. Lice, Mites 4. What does the term finish refer to when raising a turkey for market? a. The amount of fat under the skin 5. What is the most common cause of a breast blister on a broiler? a. Laying or squatting on a hard floor or packed bedding. 6. Why do we measure flexibility of the pubic bones? a. To see if they will open enough for an egg to pass 7. Describe the damage that results from having lice on chickens. a. Damage to feathers, stress because of blood loss and irritation that can then lead to vulnerability to disease and death from cold, excessive pecking, infection, and a decrease in laying production. 8. Where is the Preen gland located and what is its use? a. It is located on the back by the tail. It produces oil that the bird spreads on its feathers to clean and waterproof them. 9. What is a blood spot and what causes it? a. A spot of blood in the egg, occurs from a broken blood vessel across the stigma line on the yolk follicle when the yolk is released into the reproductive tract. 10. Why are brown shelled eggs typically larger than white shelled eggs? a. Brown shelled eggs are produced from a dual purpose bird (eggs and meat). These birds are larger in size (6-7lbs) as to a bird that is primarily meant for egg production (ie. Leghorn breed) that is smaller in size (3-4lbs). Station 5 Skills Knowledge Junior Basic Animal Care 1. Ground oyster shell provided what mineral for hens? a. Calcium 2. It has been said that eggs are an almost perfect food, however, they are missing 1 vitamin. What is it? a. Vitamin C 3. Name two predators from which you must protect your backyard poultry flock.
a. Dogs, Raccoons, Fox, skunks, coyotes, owls, hawks 4. What is a pin feather? a. A feather that has not fully developed yet, a new feather emerging from the skin. 5. How many nest boxes should be provided for a flock of laying hens? a. Usually 1 for each 5 hens 6. Name 2 materials that are commonly used in the bottom of brooder boxes: a. Soft pine shavings, untreated cat litter, sand, rice hulls, or ground corn cobs. 7. What does it mean if your bird is full fed? a. Your birds have food available all of the time. 8. What are three forms of feed? a. Pellet, mash and crumble 9. When do chicks need water? a. Immediately upon being placed into the brooder box 10. What is the average life span of a male chicken? a. 3 to 5 years. Intermediate Showmanship Best Practices 1. What is the book which lists all recognized poultry breeds and their characteristics? a. American Standard of Perfection 2. Name the breed of chicken that produces over 90% of all commercial eggs. a. White leghorn 3. What breed of chickens lay blue-green eggs? a. Araucana and Ameraucana 4. What is another name for the breast bone? a. Sternum or keel 5. What is a capon? a. A castrated male chicken 6. What does APA stand for? a. American Poultry Association 7. What does ABA stand for? a. American Bantam Association 8. How many primary and secondary feathers do most chickens have? a. 10 primary and 14-18 secondary 9. How many feather tracts does a chicken have? Name 6. a. 10 tracts 1. Head, 2. Neck, 3. Wings, 4. Shoulder, 5. Breast, 6. Back, 7. Legs, 8. Rump, 9. Thigh, 10. Abdomen 10. What are covert feathers? a. Small feathers on the wings to fill in space.
Senior Situational Word problem OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 1. If you find external parasites, how should you treat them? a. Use Sevin powder or liquid or other dusting powder to dust or spray the birds and nest boxes. 2. What is the normal body temperature of a chicken? a. 105-107 degrees Fahrenheit 3. What is cannibalism and how can it be prevented or reduced on your flock? a. Birds picking other birds feathers, combs, toes or vent. Can be prevented by making sure your flock is well feed, has enough space, is not too hot and in a well ventilated area. 4. How is Salmonells Pullorum spread or transmitted? a. Through the egg, either by organisms from the hen s ovary or from manure in the nest box that contaminates the shell. 5. What is biosecurity and why is it important for your flock of birds? a. Biosecurity means preventing infections or disease-causing organisms and other pests like insects or rodents from coming in contact with your birds. It also means keeping human traffic to a minimum, not allowing your birds to have contact with any sick birds and not visiting infected flocks. 6. Explain dubbing and in what two chicken breeds this must be done to in order to show them. a. The removal of the wattles, combs and ear lobes of certain breed of chickens, Old English and Modern. 7. You notice in your breeding flock, that some of your female birds are missing feathers on their lower backs and on the backs of their heads. What is a possible cause of this? a. When breeding the male stands on the back of the female and holds the feathers on the back of the head with his beak, causing feather loss. 8. How are young chicks feather sexed? a. At 3-4 days old, female s primary feathers are longer and males are the same length as their other wing feathers. 9. What causes a double yolk egg? a. The release (ovulation) of two yolks from the same ovary simultaneously. It is abnormal and does not occur very often in a hen s reproductive cycle. 10. What is a gizzard and what is its function? a. It is also known as the ventriculus. It is part of the chicken s digestive system. It is located just behind the true stomach and is where food is ground up to aid in digestion and absorption.