Competition is fierce for animal exhibitors at the DuPage County Fair
Richard Crome clicks with the sheep he shows and sells — they're compatible, he says.
Persistence, steadiness and patience are just a few of the qualities Crome says he shares with his sheep.
“Sheep are gregarious; they are inquisitive,” he said. “They have a lot of interesting characteristics that we as human beings can learn from.”
Exhibitors such as Crome began arriving at the DuPage County Fair with their animals early Tuesday in preparation for opening day Wednesday.
The DuPage County Fair runs Wednesday to Sunday in Wheaton. Close to 1,000 animals will be shown and judged over the festival's five days, including swine, beef and dairy cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits and poultry such as pigeons, turkeys, ducks and chickens.
The majority of animals will be judged in two classes: breeding and market.
The breeding class of animals is looked at for appearance, health and genetic qualities that would be passed on to offspring. Judging differs based on what the animals were bred for, which could include wool, milk or meat.
“Breeding animals have the most perfect traits so they can produce babies to be used for meat,” said Stephen Haas, fair director.
The market class is judged on the quality of the meat that they will produce. Instead of breeding, the market class of animals will eventually be eaten.
“You want them to be on the fat side because that's what gives them the flavor,” Haas said.
Crome, of Charleston, started showing sheep at 13 years old, following in his family members' footsteps.
To produce a quality breeding sheep, he must administer a program of vaccinations and deworming and monitor the quality, quantity and timing of a feeding schedule. It's also a matter of studying genetics and making decisions to produce a good genetic line.
Crome will also judge the junior competition this year, where he will consider sheep's health and ability to produce quality offspring.
“I hope to see animals that have had good care, that are neither obese nor thin, and that look like the breed that they're supposed to represent,” he said.
Jessica and Jamie Liberg, of Wayne, bring a youth 4-H club to the fair, where children are responsible for the care of their chickens.
The sisters said the in-depth judging considers everything from the number of stripes on the animal to its shape to the color of its feet.
“There's a standard of perfection you're trying to attain,” said Patti Liberg, the girls' mom. “You have to have a perfect specimen in that breed.”
But even though the competition is fierce, exhibitors want to contribute to the educational component of the fair as well.
“The public gets to see different breeds of chickens and learn about them,” Jamie said. “We get people to ask us a lot of questions. We get to tell people about our daily life.”