Wednesday, Jul. 22, 2009

Rooster's win at Monroe County Fair leaves Valmeyer family crowing

When one of his roosters began crowing every morning at 3 a.m. and didn't let up until about six hours later, Hank Marquardt, of Valmeyer, figured he had a good shot at reclaiming the title at the Monroe County Fair's annual Rooster-Crowing Contest.

On Wednesday morning, the unnamed silver-laced Wyandotte didn't disappoint. He bested the record field of 24 roosters by crowing 38 times, earning Marquardt a blue ribbon and $35 premium.

Marquardt's rooster was a yearling hatched a year ago last April. He likes to enter them young. "That's my secret," he said.

The rooster got the Marquardts' attention this spring when their house windows were open. They could hear him loud and clear. "He would just crow and crow. Each one's got their own voice. You can tell who's who," he said. "Usually, he quits about 9 a.m., but today, he held his own."

The annual Rooster-Crowing Contest has grown in popularity every year, with a sizable crowd cheering on a vast variety of breeds while they are timed for 30 minutes beginning at 9:30 a.m. Owners or the designated handlers sit behind cages encouraging the birds to belt it out. On picnic tables facing the cages, volunteer judges count the crows, marking index cards for each cockadoodle-do.

After the half-hour lapses, cards are turned in, crows are counted, and results are announced.

This is the fourth time Marquardt has taken the crown in 15 years. He's the fair's poultry superintendent. His two daughters, Amanda and Lauren, also entered, with Amanda placing fourth with a Red Old English gamecock and Lauren 11th.

"I'm just tickled to death -- it seems to get bigger every year. I like chickens to begin with, and people just get a kick out of it. It's something you don't see everyday," Marquardt said about the event, which has become very competitive.

"I don't want to win every year. I remember one year I had zero. It was hard to swallow -- nothing to crow about," he said, grinning.

On an unseasonably cool summer morning, Marquardt thought the roosters would be more vocal. The record number of crows is 111, reached three years ago by past champ Danielle Pretto, of Columbia, whose three-peat ended this year.

"She shattered the record, that's four times a minute," Marquardt said. "The previous record was 61."

For more on this story, read the News-Democrat on Thursday, or return Thursday to bnd.com