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4-H Projects
Animal Science
The 4-H Animal Science projects provide opportunities for boys and girls to develop responsibility, patience, and understanding by regularly caring for birds or other animals. In addition to feeding and caring for animals, 4-H members in Animal Science projects learn about animal health, nutrition, physiology, and reproduction. They also learn the important breeds of animals, their characteristics, uses, and how to identify them. Finally, members in the 4-H Animal Science area learn to understand marketing and the economic importance of the livestock industry as well as how to keep and use records.
Because so much of the Animal Science experience involves the daily care of project animals, it is desirable that 4-H members own their animals. Members who lack facilities or finances to own an animal may participate with a leased, borrowed, or shared animal, or without an animal. Grade, crossbred, and registered animals are acceptable for 4-H projects. 4-H members should not pay more for their animals than they are worth.
Parents are advised to help their children get full benefit from the 4-H experience. 4-H'ers learn by doing, not by what someone does for them. With guidance, 4-H'ers should have full control of their projects. A livestock project is a business venture that offers excellent experience in record keeping and handling money.
Animal Science projects available in the Oregon 4-H program are:
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Beef The Beef project provides a variety of experiences for 4-H members. The type of the project (market or breeding) will depend on the age, interest, home situation, and financial ability of the 4-H'er.
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Dairy Cattle The Dairy project provides a variety of experiences depending on age, interest, physical facilities, and financial ability of the member. The Dairy project also offers an opportunity for members to raise dairy replacement heifers and vealer calves. Some members might want to raise dairy steers.
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Dogs The 4-H Dog project emphasizes the care and training of the family dog or puppy. Project animals are trained to obey basic obedience commands in order to become a more enjoyable member of the family.
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Goats The Goat project provides a variety of experiences for the 4-H'er depending on the age, interest, physical facilities, and financial ability of the member. Options within this project area are Dairy Goats, and/or Pygmy Goats. Members also may elect to undertake a breeding project and learn to evaluate and incorporate production records into the project.
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Guide Dogs Objectives in the Guide Dog Puppy Raising Project are to develop a self-confident, well-socialized and behaved dog, and through this process, develop a self-confident, well-rounded person. The puppies, which are bred and weaned from the Guide Dog facility in San Rafael, California, are provided to selected 4-H members who meet criteria established as part of the application process and home visit program. Puppies are approximately 8 weeks old when delivered to 4-H members. Members agree to care for and train the puppy according to the methods prescribed by Guide Dog personnel. 4-H members agree to feed and socialize the puppy through experiences encountered in the home and community. Certain costs are incurred a the raiser's expense. w After an extensive training-socialization period, puppies are recalled to San Rafael at approximately 14 months of age. Puppies are the property of Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. w More information and application forms may be obtained from: Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc., PO Box 151200, San Rafael, CA 94915-1200; 1-800-295-4050.
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Guinea Pigs In this project, members own and care for one or more guinea pigs. This is an excellent project for youth who live where they cannot keep larger animals. In this project, 4-H members learn about the feeding, management, and record keeping involved with raising guinea pigs.
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Horses and Ponies The Horse and Pony projects provide an opportunity for girls and boys to develop into good horsemen or horsewomen while enjoying a horse. The project also provides an opportunity for 4-H members to be associated with the growth, development, and training of a young horse or pony into a saddle horse or pony for work or pleasure.
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Pigeons and Doves The Pigeon and Doves project offers 4-H'ers an opportunity to work with both fancy or production breeds.
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Poultry The Poultry project offers 4-H'ers an opportunity to work with a family flock, laying flock, broiler project, fancy or bantam breed, ducks, geese, or turkeys.
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Rabbits In the 4-H Rabbit project members own and care for a doe and her litters. This is an excellent project for younger 4-H'ers and those who live where they cannot keep larger animals. By participating in the Rabbit project, 4-H members can learn more about feeding, management, breeding, record keeping, and marketing livestock in less time and with less money invested than with other projects. Breeding stock and feed generally are available. Suitable hutches are essential.
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Sheep The Sheep project provides a variety of experiences depending on the type (market or breeding) of project chosen. Sheep project types are chosen depending on the age, interest, home situation, and financial ability of the 4-H'er.
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Swine The Swine project provides a variety of experiences depending on the type (market or breeding) or project chosen. Swine project types are chosen depending on the age, interest, home situation, and financial ability of the 4-H'er.
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Veterinary Science The Veterinary Science project offers 4-H members the opportunity to explore the field of animal science. The project is open to those who have completed the first steps of a 4-H Animal Science Advancement Program, or who are in the 7th grade or higher and have had some work with animals, or have completed a life science course in school. w Members do not need to own an animal, but must have one available to study temperature, pulse rate, respiration, and other exercises. The project has three divisions that should be taken in sequence. Each unit may take more than 1 year.
School Enrichment in Animal Science
The Incredible Egg curriculum guides are for distribution to grades 4 and 5 elementary school teachers participating in the group enrollment process. (The development and distribution of the Incredible Egg curriculum was made possible by a grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust.)
Collaboration with FFA documents
