Have Yourself a Merry Little Chickmas!

Egg-citing News for the Holidays!

Hello 4-H Poultry Project Families,

It’s beginning to look a lot like Chick-mas! There’s a flurry of fun, feathers, and festive happenings this month, so mark your calendars and stay in the loop. Some of these events even count toward your required attendance, so don’t let them fly by!

Congratulations to Our Arizona 4-H Poultry Judging Team!

We are incredibly proud of our team of four Arizona 4-H members who competed at the National 4-H Poultry Judging and Egg Conference on November 19–20. Their dedication and countless hours of practice truly paid off as Arizona placed 8th in the nation, Their hard work and outstanding performance represented Arizona beautifully on the national stage.

For those interested in competing in future years, please visit the Pima County 4-H website for information, and how to get involved.

Websites

Missed a meeting or clinic? You can find summaries, notes, and past monthly emails in the blog section of the Poultry Project Website! While you’re there, check out the paperwork section for the Premium Book, which lists all the project rules and requirements.

You’ll also find plenty of helpful tools—like showmanship tips, project info for Commercial and Breed birds, and details about upcoming shows, events, and deadlines. All events listed on the Events & Deadlines page are approved and can count toward your required attendance. When new shows or events become available, they will be added there as well—so be sure to check back often!

The new Arizona Youth Poultry Connection directory was launched recently to connect regional judges with shows, clinics, and workshops—but we need your help to get it off the ground. Please help spread the word! If you know any past 4-H or FFA members who’d like to stay involved, invite them to sign up and be part of supporting youth poultry programs across Arizona.

Reminders

Be sure to keep the following deadlines in mind: December 15th is both the ZSuites enrollment deadline and the week of the turkey hatch date. Ownership paperwork will open January 1st, and will close January 31st. It is required for fair participation, so please don’t miss it. The week of January 26th is when ducklings are expected to hatch. The YQCA deadline is January 31st, don’t forget to send in a copy of your certificate to the Poultry email! February 15th the fair registration will open—remember, this is different from the ownership paperwork, so don’t get the two confused. Finally, the earliest hatch date for Cornish Rock meat pen orders is February 23rd. These are not ordered through the county and will need to be purchased individually.

Pima County Poultry T-Shirt Orders

The Pima County Poultry Project T-shirts are here! A big thank-you to Zebulun Ray’s T-Shirt Company for making these great shirts and donating a portion of the proceeds back to our Poultry Project. Your purchase helps us provide prizes and raise funds for new cages at the Pima County Fair. Feel free to pass the order link along to friends and family as well so they can support the project in a fun, fashionable way.

You can order your shirts by filling out the form linked here and on our website. Shirts are $20 each and available in youth sizes small, medium, large, and XL, and unisex sizes small, medium, large, and XL. For sizes larger than XL, it will be an additional $2 for each additional X (for example, 2XL = $22, 3XL = $24).

Payment can be made either in cash at pickup or through Venmo. If you are using Venmo, please be sure to mark it as “Friends/Family” so no fees are incurred. The order deadline is December 15th, and pickup details will be arranged once the shirts are completed.

December– February Preview

Small Stock Meetings

There will be no Small Stock Meeting in December, so our next meeting will be on January 12th at 6:30 p.m. at the Extension Office off Campbell Ave. These monthly meetings bring together members from the Cavy, Pigeon, Poultry, Dog, Rabbit, Pygmy Goat, and Dairy Goat projects to share updates, discuss upcoming events and deadlines, and answer questions. Meetings are usually held on the second Monday of each month, though dates may shift occasionally—so it’s always a good idea to double-check before attending. It’s a great way to stay informed and connected with the rest of the Small Stock community!

Poultry Clinics

Our November Poultry Clinic was a great success—thank you to everyone who attended! We had a wonderful turnout and learned so much about poultry nutrition from our guest speaker representing Nutrena!

Looking ahead, our next Poultry Clinic will be held on March 21st at the University of Arizona Campus Agricultural Center. This clinic will focus on getting ready for fair—including preparing yourself and your bird, learning how to be helpful during the fair, and reviewing important fair dates and details. No pre-registration is required—just come ready to learn! Be sure to sign in clearly when you arrive to receive attendance credit and to be entered into the raffle drawing at the end of the year.

If you plan to bring a showmanship bird, please do—but remember that all birds must remain outside with water until it’s time for handling and practice. Seating is limited and will be reserved for 4-H and FFA members first; parents may use any extra seats if space allows.

As always, handouts and summaries from past clinics are available on the Poultry Project Website under the Blog section. If you missed a clinic or misplaced your copy, you can easily find all the information there and stay caught up.

Shows

Shows of all kinds provide excellent opportunities for learning and building your showmanship skills. Congratulations to everyone who participated at the Fur and Feather Show on November 1st—your hard work and dedication really showed! Special congratulations to all the winners.

The Safford Poultry Show, scheduled for January 10th, is a smaller, one-day event with a relaxed setting—perfect for newer exhibitors or families looking for a low-pressure way to practice and participate. Keep an eye on their website or Facebook page for registration updates.

The Cotton Classic in Goodyear, also on January 10th, features small stock showmanship opportunities for youth exhibitors. This event promises to be fun and educational for everyone involved, and registration information is available on their Facebook page or the Poultry Website.

The Arizona Stock Show and Roundup is the weekend of Valentine’s Day. It's a great opportunity to learn, practice, and connect with other 4-H members. Updates and registration information will be posted on the website as soon as information is out.

The Showmanship Shootout, hosted by the Waddell Hoofprints 4-H Club on February 21st, is the perfect chance to sharpen your showmanship skills before county fair season. Open to a wide range of species—including beef, dairy cattle, market lamb, meat goat, swine, dairy goat, pygmy goat, rabbit, poultry, and cavy—this event focuses entirely on showmanship. Whether you’re looking to gain experience in the ring or fine-tune your presentation, it’s a great opportunity to practice, learn from others, and build confidence in a fun, supportive environment.

Looking for a fun and educational way to further develop your poultry project skills? Poultry Field Day, set for February 28th, 2026, is packed with opportunities to learn, practice, and connect with other exhibitors. You’ll rotate through interactive stations covering showmanship, poultry care, grooming, health, and more—all led by experienced volunteers and poultry pros. Registration is $5 and opens February 1st.

But it’s not all business—there will be games, a raffle, and plenty of chances to win prizes while having fun with fellow exhibitors! We’re also looking for volunteers to help with setup, teardown, and running the stations. This is a great community service opportunity for those who need hours for 4-H, school, or other programs.

All of these events qualify as pre-fair shows and count toward your required attendance for the year. To receive credit, submit a picture from the event, which also serves as your raffle entry. Volunteers are always welcome to help with setup, teardown, and other show tasks.

You can find all of these shows, along with registration links and key dates, on the Events and Deadlines page of the Poultry Project website.

Donations & Support

We’re always grateful for support that helps strengthen the poultry project! There are many ways to get involved: donate items for the Poultry Field Day raffle, contribute prizes and giveaways for kids at clinics, shows, and the fair, or provide monetary donations to help cover essential costs like quail and turkey cages, prizes, and buckles.

Equally important, volunteers are the heart of our events. Your time and support make clinics, shows, and fairs possible, and every bit of help makes a real difference for our youth exhibitors. If you’re interested in getting involved, please reach out—we’re always happy to help you find a way to support upcoming events.

Keisha Cassidy Amanda Osborne