The (Chicken) Show Must Go On: 4-H Turns Bird Flu into Learning Opportunity
Getting Luanne ready for the stage is a multi-step process. First, she takes a bath. Next, she’s dried with a towel, followed by a blow dryer. Finally, time to moisturize. Beard oil is applied to her legs, comb and wattle.
Luanne is a modern game show chicken, raised by a Southern California family and entered in poultry competitions around the world. Normally, summer would be the bird’s time to shine on display at the Orange County Fair. But earlier this year, the California State Veterinarian put a ban on poultry shows because of the recent outbreak of bird flu, leaving Luanne cooped up at home.
“I’m disappointed,” said Daytona, one of the bird’s teenage caretakers. “If I haven’t shown in a while, it just makes me progressively more forgetful with information and other aspects of showmanship.”
Daytona and her younger sister, Skye, have raised Luanne since she was a chick – along with dozens of other backyard animals: ducks, doves, quail, dogs, fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, turtles and a cat. Luanne is part of a small brood of other pure-bred hens.