Community Corner

Toms River Teens Show Off Their Farm Animals

Fair's 4-H club members care for chickens and more

Vanessa Jarman, 11, Toms River, spent part of Thursday morning with a chicken named Snowball at her elbow, fielding poultry questions from curious attendees of the Ocean County Fair.

The 11-year-old Toms River resident had answers for just about every query about her pet, from temperament – generally quite good, but with a tendency to peck shiny jewelry – to diet – special poultry food.

“Plus corn flakes and French fries,” she added.

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Having the bird she raised serve as an ambassador to people who may never have seen farm animals up close is a lot of fun, said Vanessa.

“I really like hanging around and talking to people, and showing them how to hold a chicken,” she said.

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Not so long ago, she was on the other side of the table. It was the county fair that got Vanessa and her older sister Ashlyn into 4-H in the first place.

“I came one year and I just fell in love with all the animals,” Ashlyn said.

That’s when they started asking mom Tina for a chicken of their own. “Now we have five of them,” Tina Jarman laughed. And, she said, they’ve become part of a community of like-minded people who love learning and sharing knowledge.

There are hundreds of county 4-H Club members whose animals – and expertise – were on display at the fair at Robert J. Miller Air Park in Berkeley Township.

4-H, a youth education and service organization with a focus on science, agriculture and animal husbandry, claims about 500 Ocean County kids and teens as members, said county program assistant Helen Ferraro.

About half of them were at the fair at some point last week, showing their animals, giving presentations and manning booths and tables to offer information to an ever-curious public. The fair ended yesterday.

Tamara Pellien, the new Ocean County 4-H Agent, said raising animals is a valuable experience for kids, but that the club is about much more than that.

“The key is that it’s a venue to life skills,” she said. “We do it through rabbits, we do it through rockets, we do it through any venue the kid is interested in,” she said.

At the fair, when they’re focused on showcasing their animals and their skills, it’s easy to see how important 4-H is to its members, Pellien said.

“They’re interacting with the public,” she said. “There’s no TV. These kids don’t even have cell phones out.”

For 18-year-old club member Max McGrath, who spent Thursday monitoring an incubator that housed hatchling ducks, the pull of 4-H has lasted a long time. He first joined 13 years ago.

“Back then, we had two dogs,” he said. “Now we have dogs, chickens, ducks. It sucks you in.” And sharing the excitement is a lot of the fun.

“It’s nice to get other people involved.”


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