Name: Jennifer Detter
Family: Dorothy and Ken Detter, two sisters Katherine and Elizabeth
School / 4-H Club: Homespun 4-H Home schooling group
4-H Leader: Dorothy Detter
How long have you been involved in 4-H?
“Eight years, I was five years old when I started 4-H. I’ve been raising chickens since I was two.” According to Jennifer’s Mom, Dorothy, they started their first baby chicks in Jennifer’s bedroom when they were working on building their guest cabins near Eureka Springs, Ark. The cabins are now the beautiful “Domestic Tranquility” cabins, where guests receive fresh eggs from Jennifer’s hens every morning. Dorothy says that Jennifer still broods every chick in the house.
What kind of chickens do you raise?
“I raise Dominiques, Wyandottes, Delawares, Rhode Island Reds, Australorp, Orpingtons, Plymouth Rocks, Hamburgs, Bantam Old English, Bantam Cochins, Aracaunas and a few other breeds.”
What do you show?
“I show Dark Cornish and Dominiques.”
How long have you been showing at the fair?
“I started showing when I was five in 1999.”
What do you enjoy about showing?
“I like to see the other breeds of chickens, and I get ideas about what I want to raise by seeing them at the fair. I also love to be out there visiting with the other people that show poultry. I also enjoy letting kids who have never seen chickens before see them.”
Why is being involved in agriculture important to you?
“We live on a farm, my dad has raised chickens most of his life, so it’s a tradition. My grandfather also raised chickens and he introduced the Black Breasted Old English Bantams to South America. He had a farm in Argentina in the 1940’s.”
What are the biggest challenges facing the American agriculture industry?
“The price of feed, it is getting so expensive to buy feed. I’m letting my chicken’s free range more so that we have to feed less. I’m also selling excess stock instead of keeping them forever.”
By Stephanie Crawley
