Fluffy Bantam and Barnyard Mix Win USDA Cutest Bird Photo Contest
(PRWEB) April 15, 2014 -- A fluffy Bantam and a mixed flock of chickens guarded by a wary rooster are the winners in the USDA Cutest Bird Photo Contest for the month of March. Rachel Johnson of East Bethel, MN and Tammy Searles of Rindge, NH took the prizes in each of two categories in the Biosecurity For Birds competition.
Johnson’s photo of Tequila Sunrise, a 2-year-old Wheaten Frizzled Cochin Bantam, won in the category of Cutest Bird. “Tequila is my masterpiece,” says Johnson. “She was hatched and raised here.”
Johnson supplements the family income by selling the free range poultry she raises in her suburban backyard. Her 50 bantam hens and two roosters have a 10’ by 12’ coop with an attached run. “My birds are all nest hatches,” she says. “I let the hens do the work. I think the chicks are a lot healthier that way.”
Searles’ photo was of her “‘glorious barnyard mix’ of 30 free range chickens,” she says. “I incubated and raised them myself and they always gathered round whenever I came out of the house.” The flock includes Golden Range Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds and Araucas. The photo was taken in Clinton, ME where Searles formerly lived.
She has since moved to Rindge where her neighbors are closer, but she still maintains a smaller flock of 12 coop chickens.
Both Johnson and Searles say they are avid practitioners of biosecurity for their birds, committed to taking the steps necessary to keep them healthy.
The Cutest Bird Photo Contest ran December through March. The winners are considered for inclusion on the 2015 Biosecurity For Birds Calendar. Be sure to check the website and Facebook regularly for an announcement about the beginning of our next contest.
The Biosecurity For Birds program, begun in 2004, is designed to educate backyard poultry owners and bird enthusiasts about highly contagious poultry diseases and other threats to birds. The program helps inform bird lovers how to prevent disease and tells them what to do if they suspect their birds are infected.
Media representatives may contact Joelle Hayden at joelle.r.hayden(at)aphis(dot)usda(dot)gov (301) 851-4040 or Pam Goldstein at pgoldstein(at)diversitymc(dot)com 973-377-0300, Ext. 14
Pam Goldstein, Diversity Marketing & Communications, http://www.focusonfishhealth.org, +1 (973) 377-0300 Ext: 14, [email protected]
Share this article