REDVERS - Rob McCulloch and his wife Donna Bayliss own a farm north of Carnduff that is home to a wide variety of animals.
Some are common enough – sheep, goats and chickens, for instance. But there are others that are a little more exotic – mini-donkeys, llamas, rabbits and even peacocks.
So, it’s not a total surprise that he would be quite involved with organizing something like a poultry show and auction, working very closely with Tammy Buisse, who is the president of the Redvers Small Animal and Bird Organization and has good connections with the Redvers Recreation Centre, where the show and auction took place April 26.
The morning began with a show that featured chickens, turkeys, geese, waterfowl and other such animals. They were judged by Heather Hayes, who came in B.C. to award points for tail feathers, bone structure and overall health.
Close to 100 entrants were judged, with winners going home with ribbons and coffee cups adorned with the logo of the event co-ordinator, Saskatchewan Poultry Association (SPA).
The show was followed by an auction.
The larger four-footed animals were put on display for bidding led by auctioneer Dennis Seymour, who encouraged the assembled crowd to bid higher to take animals home. One bid went almost as high as $2,000 for a grey parrot. Other bids went as high as $800 as buyers were looking for pets, animals for breeding and even meat for their tables.
Most of the crowd was there to bid, but many just came to look at the animals. For them, it was like going to a petting zoo, without the petting. The bidding raised approximately $44,000 which was a record amount. That went a long way to fund the Redvers Small Animal and Bird Organization. And $3,000 was donated to STARS to help maintain their helicopter ambulance service.
One of the goals of both events was to educate children and create further awareness of farm animals and birds that they typically don’t think about. Children were even encouraged to show their poultry and to glean advice from the judge with regards to what constitutes a healthy bird.
