My name is Khloe Mackey, I am 13 years old, and am a member of Kiowa Community 4-H Club.

For this year's auction, I have a market turkey named: “Squirrel”

She is a bronze broad breasted turkey and will produce a sweet, tender, succulent meat you’ll be glad to have in your freezer. Don't wait until November and scramble around trying to find the last Butterball! This gal will not only taste amazing, she'll also look beautiful on your Thanksgiving table.

This will be my third year showing poultry at the Elbert County Fair. In the past I have only shown Exhibition Poultry, such as specialty Bantams, along with Breeding and Production Poultry. This year however, I have taken on a new project with my Market Turkeys.

It was exciting and I’m proud of myself for learning something new and working through all the challenges that came with it! I have learned a lot about the market poultry industry and now realize how much actually goes into raising a quality bird fit for the table. Mostly, I had to learn about the difference in feeding market poultry versus production poultry, and how to best care for them in order to get the highest meat yield possible. With that, I am pleased to report that all my turkeys developed healthy and strong, with no defects. They all achieved nice deep breast development that will produce a quality meat product.

Squirrel is one of three turkeys I raised for this project. Both her and my other bronze hen Moose, are pretty shy, but also very sweet. My favorite turkey of the three I have raised for this project has been my white Broad Breasted tom named, “Paycheck”. He’s curious and outgoing and has quickly become the boss of the backyard! He’s a BIG boy who eats a lot! I am hoping to find a private buyer for my other two turkeys, after fair is over.

If you have an interest in purchasing any of my turkeys and have questions or would like to see them in person before the auction, I would be honored to speak with you and show you firsthand the amount of exceptional care and hard work I have put into them! You can find me during fair in both the Poultry Barn and Turkey Annex. My pens will be proudly decorated in red, white and blue, keeping with this year’s fair theme... “Stars, Stripes and Fair Nights!”

If you would like to further participate and witness the dedication to my project this year I would invite you to attend the Market Poultry Show, Friday, August 1, beginning at 8:00 A.M. I will be showing my turkeys, alongside 59 other exhibitors and would love for you to experience that with me!

If you are not able to purchase one of my turkeys but would still like to support me and my project you can absolutely do so via “add-ons”! Through your support and generosity, any profits raised at auction will go directly into funding my own project next year. I would very much like to raise market turkeys again and would even like to expand my market poultry project, to include a pen of broilers! My goal is to continue raising market poultry during the remaining years I have in 4-H and use the money from the sale of my projects to invest in my education and help fund my future college expenses.

Thank you for taking the time to read my bio and for supporting Elbert County 4-H Youth!

Elbert County Fair - CO