Nineteen 4-H members were part of six teams representing four counties (Hunterdon, Middlesex, Ocean, and Salem) who competed in the New Jersey 4-H Avian Bowl Winter Event held on February 28 in Gloucester County. This event was co-sponsored by Click Flic and held in conjunction with the State 4-H Small Animal Educational Symposium.
The 4-H Avian Bowl is a double elimination contest for teams patterned after other knowledge bowls. Teams consist of 2-4 members per team for both the Junior and Senior Divisions. Avian Bowl is an educational project, in which 4-H contestants must have a comprehensive knowledge of subject matter for several species of poultry, food safety, physiology, nutrition, eggs and other related subjects.
The New Jersey 4-H Avian Bowl Winter Event was the first of three practice events prior to the state qualifier event set for September 25, 2015. Based on final scores, one senior division team consisting of youth, age 14 or older as of January 1, 2015, will be selected to attend the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference scheduled for November 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky to complete in the 4-H Avian Bowl.
Senior Teams (grades 8-13) that participated in the New Jersey 4-H Avian Bowl Winter Event were: Cool Chicks of Salem County coached by Mindy Thomason; Shore Poultry of Ocean County coached by Heidi Newman; Fur ’n Feathers Seniors of Hunterdon County coached by Sheryl Brown; and Wings & Things from Middlesex County. Team members included:
Cool Chicks – Gina Cavallaro, Maria Cavallaro, Laura Cavallaro and Shyanna Thomason
Fur ‘n Feathers Seniors – Meredith Jamicky, Grace Majorossy and Morgan Krupa
Shore Poultry – Kacey England, Rachael Erbe, Becky Fine and Zachary Newman
Wing & Things – John Marte, Mackenzie Matikonis and Athena Pisack
Junior Teams (grades 4-7) that participated in New Jersey 4-H Avian Bowl Winter Event were: Fur ‘n Feathers Junior 1 of Hunterdon County coached by Sandy Dabb and Fur n’ Feathers Junior 2 from Hunterdon County coached by Jackie Majorossy. Team members included:
Fur ‘n Feather Junior 1 – Jack Dabb, Lindsey Davis and Andrew Lederach
Fur n’ Feathers Junior 2 – Zack Majorossy, Jessica Veith and Emma Weniger
“The 4-H Avian Bowl is an educational event in its inaugural year in New Jersey and it offers 4-H’ers an excellent opportunity to work as a team to advance their knowledge in poultry related topics,” says Jeannette Rea Keywood, New Jersey 4-H Youth Development Program – Small Animal Project Advisory Council liaison.
The Ocean County Shore Poultry team captured 1 st place in the Senior Division and Salem County Cool Chicks team took 2nd place. In the Junior Division, the Hunterdon County Fur ‘n Feathers Junior 2 team won 1st place and Hunterdon County Fur ‘n Feathers Junior 1 team captured 2nd place.
For more information about the New Jersey 4-H Youth Development Program, visit the website at http://nj4h.rutgers.edu or like them on Facebook at New Jersey 4-H.
