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New 4-H Turkey Project: Animal Science and Community Service

January 15, 2019

Join Us for this Exciting New Project!

This year, New Jersey 4-H is introducing a Turkey project, offering the chance to engage families in poultry science and community service by raising turkeys for families in need for Thanksgiving.

The 4-H Turkey Raising And Youth (TRAY) project is for families who wish to participate in a community service project while also learning how to raise turkeys that will be donated to food banks with the support of Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

With 4-H TRAY, youth will:

  • Gain valuable life skills by caring and providing for their birds
  • Set goals and plan activities and strategies to achieve those outcomes
  • Give back to their communities through service
  • Learn skills in record keeping and financial management, through the keeping of a turkey raising record book

Here is the timeline for this program:

March 30, 2019: Participants attend the NJ 4-H Junior Breeders Symposium for a program orientation and turkey-raising seminar.

April 2019: Mandatory bio security webinar (details available after registration for the program).

May 2019: Mandatory educational webinar for all participants on what to expect when your turkeys hatch.

June 2019: Families receive poults.

Summer 2019: Opportunity to show birds at County Fairs.

September 2019: Mandatory webinar on the next part of the program process.

October 2019: Processing or issuing of official pardons.

November 2019: Deliver turkeys to food banks.

Interested members should contact their most local county Extension office listed below to get more information:

Atlantic County 4-H – Kendrin Dyitt

Mays Landing, NJ

(609) 625-0056

dyitt@njaes.rutgers.edu

Essex County 4-H – Marissa Staffen

Newark, NJ

(973) 353-1337

mblodnik@njaes.rutgers.edu

Warren County 4-H – Alayne Toretta

Belvidere, NJ

(908) 475-6502

torretta@njaes.rutgers.edu

Filed Under: Animal Project Areas, Club Programming Idea, Poultry

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A Project of New Jersey 4-H Youth Development

New Jersey 4-H provides educational outreach programming for youth in grades K-13 (one year out of high school) through 4-H clubs, special interest programs, school enrichment, afterschool programs, and overnight camping.

Regardless of the subject matter – whether it be science, healthy living or citizenship, 4-H uses a learn-by-doing approach to help youth learn responsibility, community awareness and character development.

New Jersey 4-H Youth Development is a department of the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

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