Families Bring Pets, Animals to Show at Waukesha County Fair

Zinia the goat is a conversational sort, with a sweet brown face and a deep baaaass voice. Stroll past her pen and she and her mates will definitely give you the time of day. She’s a Nubian goat, from Greens’ Friendship Acres, and, said Heleene Green, the talkativety is characteristic of the breed.

Greens’ Acres is in the town of Vernon, where the family moved in 1988 “from the city” – not Milwaukee but Greenfield. They’ve also brought Nigerian dwarfs, very cute little goats.

Animal judging at the Fair consists of two parts, Green explained, showmanship is really about the handler’s skills and knowledge; confirmation is all about the animal. She said the secret of the goats’ names, too: all kids born in a particular year begin with the same letter.

“That way I can keep their ages straight,” she said.

Sheep Judge Rick Isaacson was most complimentary and encouraging of the beginners lambs, both the sheep themselves and the young people showing them. With 35 years raising his own sheep, he clearly knew what he was looking for. When he walked near the animals, he expected the handlers to know “what both the sheep and I were doing.” When he touched the animals, he wanted quick responses and a clean feel under his fingers.  

A black sheep took the blue ribbon. Katie Bugenhagen’s Schwartz – “It’s a German name, like ours!” – was rather a family project. She said she’d had lots of help from her sister and her cousins, all more experienced than the 12-year-old from the Big Bend area.

Qhile she was walking Schwartz and prodding the animal into various stances, she stroked him affectionately.

Fifteen-year-old Madison wanted neither her last name nor her picture used. Three-year-old Yoh showed no such reticence. He’s a bantam rooster who fits neatly under her arm.

Like all her 12 at the fair, and others at home in Juneau, Yoh is a pet. His pretty feathers would be very attractive to anyone wanting to try the new hairdressing fad or braiding in feathers or fur. Madison said all the poultry folks kept a sharp eye out for anyone trying to pull out a few. And indeed all the cages carry signs warning viewers to keep fingers out.

“Did you know there’s a kind of rooster that dies if too many feathers are pulled out of its tail?” Madison asked. She pointed to a cage containing a larger bird with a long, flowing tail. “It’s called a Phoenix. The tail keeps on growing. In China they may get to be six feet long.”

Madison has set herself a challenging career path. She wants to be an avian veterinarian and a voice actor.

“I’d like to do cartoons, and Japanese anime. In fact, Yoh is named for an anime character,” she confided.