EASLEY – Three Easley High School seniors participated in a poultry judging contest for Future Farmers of America (FFA) at the Pickens County Career and Technology Center.
The three seniors were Austyne Douglas, Kelci Sizemore, and Chapin McCombs.
“We all judged hens on their handling quality and pigmentation,” Douglas said. “We also judged their egg laying ability.”
The contest winners were determined by which team judged the poultry most accurately.
Judging revolved around the hens, the eggs, and the meat parts.
All three Easley High School participants took their turn judging each of the three categories.
“We each judged the same things,” Sizemore said. “I thought the egg judging portion of the contest was better because the eggs were much easier to judge. We did candling to judge the interior quality of the egg and we also judged the exterior of the egg by looking over its basic appearance.”
According to the Easley team, the final category to be judged was perhaps the least difficult.
“We judged the meat parts to determine whether it was a drumstick or a wing or a thigh, said McCombs. “We also judged the carcasses to determine if it was an A grade carcass.”
The team from Easley also included Ragen Justice from Daniel High School and finished second to Pendleton High School in the poultry judging contest.
Ragen Justice had a perfect score on both egg candling and exterior quality in eggs, the only participant to do so at the contest.
“It was a really good experience for all of us to participate in,” Douglas said. “I am really glad we all got to work together and we can’t wait to work with each other again.”
The team members are seniors currently enrolled in the Introduction to Veterinary Science Course at the Pickens County Career and Technology Center. The team was coached by their instructor Ms. Margaret Shelton, along with Ms. Katie Long, a Clemson University Agriculture Education Student Teacher, who is currently completing her directed teaching with Ms. Margaret Shelton in the Animal and Veterinary Science Program at the Pickens County Career and Technology Center.
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