FARMINGTON — Like a doting mother hen, 13-year-old Teighlor Ellis of New Sharon, comforted her old English silver duckwing rooster minutes before Saturday morning’s youth Poultry Show at the Farmington Fair.

The chilly morning’s thick fog had burned away opening to blue sky by then.

Hundreds of show and barnyard chickens, roosters, ducks and geese inside cages in the poultry barn noisily clucked, crowed, quacked and cackled like schoolchildren in a teacher-less classroom as the temperature outside soared toward 80 degrees by 10:45 a.m.

Behind the barn and away from the din, several children stood waiting to show their birds to acting 4-H judges Sarah Castle of Whitefield and Brooke Adams of Industry.

They’d just learned there’d be no judge or competition, so the contest became a demonstration of youth poultry showmanship as taught by child competitors. Everyone would get blue ribbons and cash prizes.

As Castle and Adams, president of the Franklin County 4-H Poultry Club, eloquently took turns teaching youngsters about their birds and showmanship tactics, Ellis held her bird to her face. She gave him doting pecks on his feathery “cheek” and beak and a soothing pep talk.

Not that the bird needed it.

After the showmanship part, Ellis placed him into a cage atop a pile of fresh wood shavings on a table for more judging. However, the rooster noticed a hen in the adjoining cage and began to strut, forcefully kicking shavings all over Ellis.

“Hey!” she yelled at the bird, brushing shavings off herself as the crowd laughed at the bird’s turn to show off its skills.

About three hours earlier when Ellis and her mom arrived for the competition, Ellis taught children about poultry.

“I’m teaching them how to do showmanship,” she said while telling Russell France, 12, his sister Taylor, 13, both of Vienna, and 12-year-old Cassidy Mosher of Temple how to display bird wings to a judge.

“You have to answer questions about your bird, and show the judge what parts of it you know, like its face, feet, tail, and wings,” she said. “This is showmanship, so we have to show our knowledge of the bird.”

Ellis, who has been competing in poultry shows since the age of 8, brought 18 chickens and six ducks to the fair for Monday’s overall poultry show. Several took first place, she said.

“I do fairly well,” she said in between coaching. “I get a lot of first-place ribbons. I like the experience and being able to teach people about poultry and traveling with them.”

Saturday was Russell France’s first attempt at poultry showmanship. Borrowing Ellis’s 8-month-old New Hampshire Red chicken, “Ginger,” who took third place for her breed, he lightly brushed its feathers with a piece of wool.

“It makes her feathers shine,” he said, smiling broadly, before learning from Adams that silk works better.

Russell said he wanted to show poultry “to see what it’s like.”

“And you win money anyways no matter if you place, so it’s worth it,” he said, trying to coax some silk from Adams.

Poultry official Mike Turner of Jay said the show gives children like Russell a chance to work with birds and learn about them. That’s why fair officials allowed barnyard poultry into Monday’s overall competition.

“Children love their barnyard birds and they really enjoy showing them off,” he said.

The decision paid off, because 61 different exhibitors entered about 400 birds.

“It’s the most we’ve ever had here,” Turner said. “This is a real good variety of birds and the quality is real good, too, so I’m real happy with that.”

So, too, were the children.

Adams brought two birds to the show: “Rodney,” her Red Phoenix rooster, which won Reserve Champion on Monday, and a white leghorn that took first place for its breed.

Asked why she competes, Adams said, “I just love the chickens and it’s really fun. I get to see different breeds and find out different things about my birds.”

[email protected]