4-H Golden Egg Contest 2024 Winners

It’s that time of year again! 4-H members work hard all year to raise laying hens of different breeds at home for either their 4-H Chick Chain program or 4-H Poultry project. These members take great care in selecting their very best eggs from their hens. Once those eggs are selected, they are cleaned, scrubbed and stored in the refrigerator. By doing so, they can gather up enough so that they can sort through and pick their most uniform dozen that are of the highest quality.

4-H members must examine not only the outside of their eggs, but also the interior quality. They candle their eggs to make sure that they are Grade AA or Grade A. This year some slight changes were made to the contest to make the evaluation more accurate.

The egg shape index (SI) was used to determine the uniformity in size and shape of the dozen. The SI is the measurement of the egg from end to end with a pair of calipers and then the largest part of the middle of the egg is measured. These numbers are put into a calculation that categorizes the egg as normal shaped, pointed or round. Half of a point was deducted for each egg that was not normal shaped.

Also, the uniformity of the shell color was calculated with a portable colorimeter. Eggs that were uniform placed higher than those that were not uniform in color. Lastly, eggs were examined for interior quality using the Egg Tester Ultimate which measures Haugh units (a measurement of an egg’s protein quality, based on the height of its egg white and the egg’s weight), yolk color and shell thickness.

The Prizes

First place received a half ton of feed donated by Nutrena. In addition, the 4-H Youth Development Coordinator in the winning county received 250 pounds of feed from the company that they could use for their 4-H program. Additionally, the member received a signed copy of “The Chicken Whisperer’s Guide to Keeping Chickens,” an egg basket and a set of ribbons.

Second place received 500 pounds of feed from Nutrena.

First, second and third place all received a tour of the Auburn University campus which included the Miller Poultry Center, the Poultry Science Department, Ag Hill and the football stadium, ending with a walk on the field!

And the Winner Is …

First place was a dozen large, white-shelled eggs from 9-year-old Bo Hodges of the Lauderdale County 4-H Program. His entire flock was 40 to 50 birds. His coop is 25-by-10 feet and he has five nest boxes. In addition, he has eight different breeds in his flock, but his favorite breed is the White Leghorn because he “thinks they are really pretty.” He found out about the contest from his county’s 4-H Facebook page when the announcement was posted online. Their family wanted chickens for eggs.

Other 4-H projects that Hodges participates in is archery, BBQ, Chef 4-H and show rabbits. Hodges’ interests are in math and science, so poultry science might be in his future. He also enjoys cooking. When he is not in the classroom, he loves to take advantage of all that 10 acres can provide including playing with the farm animals, fishing and jumping on the trampoline.

Of all the prizes, Hodges loved going on the football field best. While his family has attended many games, they have never been on the field before. The tour was conducted by a graduate student of the turfgrass management program (the grass was real!) and Hodges learned a lot. Because Hodges also enjoys cooking, he was very interested in the two test kitchens in the poultry science department. For Hodges’ next 4-H project, he and his dad are considering a cattle project.

Hodges’ parents were excited to learn that their son won the top honors for this contest. The announcement came through the state 4-H Facebook page. Mr. and Mrs. Hodges were surprised during the tour to discover how interconnected all the different departments were on campus.

The Runner Up Goes to …

Jacie Dunn, age 16 of Madison County’s 4-H Program was the second-place winner with her size medium, brown-shelled eggs. She scored better than Hodges on cleanliness and shape uniformity, but the color consistency was lacking. Historically, it is difficult to have a uniform dozen of brown-shelled eggs. Dunn’s egg yolks were also lighter in color than Hodges’ which made a difference.

Dunn maintains several coops with various sizes including one that is built into a horse stall. In total, she has 14 nest boxes for all of her chickens. Her favorite breed is the Silver Laced Wyandotte because, she says, “they are the prettiest of all her chickens.”

Last year, Dunn entered the contest and even though she didn’t win, she studied the scoresheet she received back. When she saw the announcement again for the contest through her county’s 4-H Facebook page, she was ready to try again. Her other 4-H projects include 4-H Pig Squeal, goats, bee club and 4-H Grows where she grew tomatoes, summer squash, birdhouse gourds and sweet potatoes.

Dunn enjoys math and science, but on her own she reads, fishes, does archery and enjoys horseback riding around her 23 acres. Her favorite part of the tour was her chance to stand on the football field. At age 16, Dunn does not yet know what career she wants to pursue so she appreciated learning about the number of careers that are related to the poultry industry.

Dunn is interested in learning more about raising show chickens and competing in the American Poultry Association or American Bantam Association shows.

When asked about the experience of the 4-H Golden Egg Contest, Dunn’s father stated he was pleased to learn about the many resources available in the department and the breadth of the Poultry Science program at Auburn University. They found out about the contest from their 4-H Youth Development Coordinator and discovered the results of the contest when they were away on a cruise. That made their trip even more special as a family!

The 4-H Golden Egg Contest helps 4-H members improve their decision making, puts them firmly in charge of their egg handling and selection and helps them improve from one year to the next.