Egg-laying cracks smiles at fair

According to Ben Nagele, there’s no doubt the chicken came before the egg.

Hovering near his hens in the egg-laying contest at the Orange County Fair, Ben, 8, explained some of the tricks of the trade.

“For laying, it helps if you feed them a lot and give them dry cat food,” Ben said, casting a glance at the scoreboard, which showed that as of Friday afternoon, Sunny Hills Future Farmers of America was in the lead with 67 eggs. “They don’t lay as well now because they’re not feeding them the right product.”

Ben and his sister Robin, 18, are competing in their second egg-laying contest at the fair. Their two chickens — Trip, a Rhode Island red, and a black Sex-Link named Gladys — are valuable members of the five-chicken pen entered for competition by the Yorba Linda Cloverleaf 4-H club, which was in second place Friday with 52 eggs.

Robin Nagele, who has been involved with 4-H for 10 years and hopes to one day be a veterinarian, tried to set the story straight about how to get a hen to lay as many eggs as possible.

“There’s not much you can do to change a chicken’s laying capacity,” she said, citing the rule that prohibits hen owners from entering their cages. “But Sunny Hills is leading because their chickens are really old.”

She’s probably right. Kelsey Madden, a Small Animal Lead in the livestock area, said hens are at their egg-laying premium sometime between 1 and 3 years of age, with older hens producing a few more eggs annually, on average, than younger hens.

According to Orange County Fair livestock authorities, the egg-laying contest has been a popular part of the fair for at least the past 30 years, though there was no contest two or three years ago, when Newcastle poultry disease broke out and no poultry were allowed at the fair.

“Even though it’s just chickens, it’s a contest, and people get pretty pumped,” Madden said. “A couple years ago, we had people sneaking eggs in the trays, but mostly it was just people trying to play a joke,” she said, adding some of the eggs people sneaked in were green and speckled.

But Ben and Robin care more about their hens’ well-being than whether they win. After all, said Ben, “a happy chicken lays a happy egg. That’s all that matters.”

To see staff photo galleries of the Orange County Fair, click here.

TO DO

SLIGHTLY STOOPID

For those who love rock, blues, hip-hop or reggae, Slightly Stoopid promises a fun, mixed-genre night of music on the final Friday of the fair.

Opening is G. Love & Special Sauce, Ozomatli and deejay Scott Meiker. The show begins at 7 p.m., and tickets are $29.50. For more information, go to www.ocfair.com.

BULL MARKET

In keeping with the bovine theme of the fair, two bull-riding shows will take place today.

Grab a cowboy hat and join in the fun at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the O.C. Register Arena.

SURF AND SIGN

Whether you hang ten or just watch the waves from the shore, head to Cowabunga Beach to get autographs from the likes of surfers Brad Ettinger, Brett Schwartz and Jason Harris.

Cowabunga Beach is in the Ralphs Family Fair Way. Autograph signing lasts from 2 to 3 p.m.