Fluffy Bantam Wins USDA Cutest Bird Photo Contest
(PRWEB) April 15, 2014 -- A fluffy blonde chicken posed serenely for the photo that won the USDA sponsored March Cutest Bird Photo Contest for amateur photographer Rachel Johnson. Johnson, who lives in East Bethel, MN, won in the category of “Cutest Bird.”
Miss Tequila Sunrise is a 2-year-old Wheaten Frizzled Cochin Bantam, a breed with very sweet personalities, says Johnson. “Tequila is my masterpiece,” she added. “She was hatched and raised here.” The photo is featured on the Biosecurity For Birds campaign website http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov and on campaign ‘spokesbird’ Healthy Harry’s Facebook page.
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.”
Her birds are very enthusiastic about hatching their chicks, Johnson says. In fact, Tequila’s sister Magnolia, a black Frizzled Cochin, once won 2nd prize in ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos when it was discovered that she had managed to roll some light bulbs -- from a package kept in the shed -- into her nest and was trying to hatch them! “We submitted video of her protecting those light bulbs and won,” she says.
Johnson and her husband, Nathan, practice strict biosecurity, she says. Because she sells her birds, they are National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) tested and her yard is regularly inspected by state department of Agriculture representatives. “When we acquire new birds we always quarantine them for 30 days before adding them to our flock and we encourage others to do the same,” she says.
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 might be ill.
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Media representatives may contact Joelle Hayden at joelle (dot) r (dot) 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]
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