The final results are in for our 2010 Best of Breed photo contest. Congratulations to our winner and our two runner-ups! We thank all of you who participated in this contest, and we look forward to having more poultry-related contests in the 2011. Do you have ideas, thoughts, or suggestions for upcoming contests? Leave us a comment here. We would like to hear from you.
Photo Contest Winner
Congratulations to Tracy Anderson our first place winner in the contest with her photo of Tubsy, a beautiful Golden Laced Wyandotte from Murray McMurray Hatchery.
Tracy began raising chickens from Murray McMurray back in the 1970s. She recalls that as a young girl, her parents would receive a phone call from the post office: “your box is peeping.” Tracy now lives on a small farm and raises horses, donkeys, chickens, and a Scottish Highlander. Tracy received a $100 coupon for winning first place, and she plans to use the coupon to add to her flock.
Second Place
Cristi Tombari is our second place winner in the Best Breed Photo category with her photo of a white Silkie hen named Piper.
Third Place
Wendy Weinacker received third place for her picture of a Partridge Rock hen standing in the snow.
Great pictures. Sure makes you happy. I will be receiving my Buff Orphingtons in May,,,, waiting patiently for them,,,,,,,
Our post office does the same thing. “Your box is peeping.” They actually seem to look forward to it. LOL
I am a bit of a photo buff my self, and I can tell you right now if 20 pro judges were to judge just the three pictures, the Partridge Rock would win first hands down. Second would be the White Silkie, and the Golden Wyandotte that some blind person picked for first would come last. Don’t get me wrong, I have four gold ‘dottes. They haven’t missed a day since I got them last April 2010 of leaving me four eggs every day all through the winter. No extra light. They very seldom eat the laying pellets, maybe 10 pounds in the last year. I feed them scratch, barley, sunflower seed equal mixed. There is the laying record for eggs for a year. All four of my ‘dotties broke the record. Go figure
im with Brian. i know its about the chicken but come on this is a contest for pets sake. any one can take backyard snaps. you would think the judges would judge, the only thing i can think of is that its a kids contest and the judges are kids eight to fourteen am i right
Actually, the contest winners and finalists were determined by user polls. Everyone was invited to participate in the polls, and the photos with the highest ratings became the winners.
Congrats to all those that entered and a big clap for the winners… Looking forward to seeing what 2011 has for MC MURRAY Hatchery contests..
What super pictures! Maybe you could do a turkey photo contest next year! Many thanks!
Wonderful pictures from all the contestants and their owners!
I have a little golden laced bantam cochin ( Lacy ) also a silkie hen (Prissy)
and they are winners to me ….LOL
I love ALL my chickens and wanted to send congrats to all the winners!!!
Just hatched out 4 silkies and one bantam cochin …..soooo cute!!!
I’m excited my first babies!!! maybe I will enter them in the next contest!!!!!
THANK YOU McMURRAY FOR A WONDERFUL WEBSITE!!!
What beautiful girls, and I’m proud to say I have these 3 breeds in my flock! 2010 has been the year of the “Chicken” on our farm. We’ve enjoyed our banty-cross chickens for several years, but now have over 20 different varieties!! Thank you McMurray for inspiring us to jump in with both feet! You can never have too many gorgeous chickens! What a great contest, wish I could remember to keep a camera handy to photograph my girls. It is such a pleasure to just watch them do their chicken-things. They are truly remarkable creatures.
This year’s pictures were all unique and well done. The way that you had it set up to send email notifictions to view and judge the photos was perfect, as I would have never remembered to do so by myself, and I was glad to see all of the photos and participate in the judging. Next year, maybe you can have a separate category for ducks and/or ducklings too. Gosh knows I have plenty of pictures to submit for that!
I was so excited to find out who the winners were! CONGRATS to all of you, they are fantastic photos! I really love each of them, but the wintery-snow one by Wendy was wonderful.
–Cherie
Great pictures,congratulations to the winners. This is a great hobby. Every person I have ever met that own backyard chickens are good people.
Beautiful chicken. I am thinking of getting some of the Golden Laced Wyandottes, and this one sure helps that decision. Such wonderful colors. Brilliant!
Loved the photo contest, enjoyed looking at all the photos. Inspires me even more to have my own small flock someday.
Aren’t chickens just wonderful :-) I have had large and small special flocks with my very favorite girls. But let me warn you; once you have had your own chickens, it is hard to break the habit.
I have chickens again after moving several times and dealing with a life threatening illness.
For the last year, I moved out of an office environment and was blessed with the opportunity to manage a farm where all our chickens, beef, goats and hogs are pasture fed and supplemented with organic feed.
This year we raised 4000 broilers on pasture, 260 heritage turkeys on pasture and now I am raising 250 new laying girls on pasture. During this time, I got the bug again and started my own flock of chickens, turkeys and geese. Just much more fun watching and learning about your own birds.
Great photo and I know there will be more to come :-)
I love the pictures that won. Raising chickens is the most rewarding thing that I have done as a hobby. Every chicken has its own personality, and I love each and everyone of them. I check on them again every night before I go to bed. They call me the (chicken whisper) around here. PS. To Bryan: you just don’t get it; these pictures taken are just not about what the background looks like, it is about the beauty and personality of the chicken. To me the background looked natural, not staged. Margaret
Well done all!! Great photos, beautiful birds, fantastic contest!! Hope you will do more in the future!! Thanks for the fun!!
A truly amazing photo would be one of Piper the Silkie standing in the snow!
Geeeeezzzz Bryan!
Lighten up!
Ha Ha
LOL
This isn’t the Miss America Pageant!
It’s about chickens….
….and real people with chickens!
You know….
Like real life on the farm!
Background makes for character…
They don’t live in a studio …..
You are too funny!
Good job contestants and McMurray staff!
Maybe Bryan can show us how it is done next year!
Ohhhhhhhhh….
I forgot!
It is a waste of time!
I loved it myself…
But then I love chickens and real people in a real world!
Good comment Verna!
Along with many others!
Merry Christmas Bryan!
Thanks McMurray for the contest!
Please do it again!
For goodness sake Bryan, that’s why I LIKED the winner, the barnyard things a bit out of focus in the background, the bird herself, clean and crisp, the wonderful contrast of the wire and the sleek, glorious feathers of the hen, and her confidence like she stepped through the hole in the wire by sheer force of personality. Show shots of any animal are sterile and static. This shot suggests a story, engages the viewer and has layers that invite one to investigate it again and again. The other photos are engaging too and I thought that they were all worthy choices. Well done folks!
Beth
I love it!!!! Congrats to all winners, they all are, but all of the top three I voted for in that order!!!!! Boy I miss not being able to have my “girls” but good luck and keep up the good work! All!
Congratulations to the winners and to all that entered. They were all winners in my eyes! This is way too much fun!! I’m looking forward to next year’s contest!!
All the breeds photos were amazing, I only wish they all could have been number 1, everyone did a great job at presenting beautiful birds.
I am glad that you include all photos…..and that you do not require professional grade photos or rigid photo requirements. This makes this contest fun for children as well as amateur photo taking people. The general public gets to vote on their favorites ……. so the winners each justly deserve their awards. Thank you. Please keep the contest going.
These are truly a great representative of a majority of us back yard breeders that enjoy our chickens by just watching them in their natural habitats. Go to breed magazines if you want “show pictures”. Me I will take natural any day. You folks are providing a wonderful outlet for many of us non-professionals. I think you help personalize our feathered “friends”. Maybe I will send in a candid photo for next year.
Bryan Robinson ~ These chicks look very happy & well cared for! They’re in natural backgrounds, not staged. Let them & the rest of us chick lovers enjoy their beauty! Great job done photo winners, looking forward to next year!
LOVE the contest! Yes, do it again each year, please, and maybe have more levels of prizes. I regret that one of the posters felt the quality of the photography was not prize worthy, but when you’re a chicken-lover, as most of us are, it is about how the photo touched us.
And by the way, some of the comments were hilarious or so genuine, it would add another level of enjoyment to have a category for those, too. Maybe a prize for funniest, most appropriate, and/or tear-jerker, etc. I love you guys.
The partridge rock and golden laced wyandotte are so beautiful! We have two lace Wyandotes and I didn’t even know they could be golden, as well!
We have seven chickens that we adore, faithfully guarded by our Labrador-Australian shepherds watch over daily. Sure, we love their delicious brown eggs, but mostly their delightful antics! My two sons hold and care for them tenderly. We all voted and love your contest. Thanks!!
Love the picture. I plan on buying some of those pretty hens this summer.
Great pictures! Maybe next we can have a turkey, duck, goose etc. contest.
Great photos! I’m inspired to take photos of my chickens for next year.
Most beautiful chicks around. I love them all!
Oh my gosh, a second time of winners being lousy composition, and junk in the background, and the least creative. The submitters and the “judges” all have their taste only in their mouth. Cutesy maybe, but mainly a waste of time.
The contest winner and finalists were those entries which received the highest ratings in the finalist and semi-finalist polls.
Lighten up Bryan. It’s about the chicken!
Sounds like a sore loser whining!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The G.L.Wynadotte so gracefully posed, perfectly framed by the chicken wire,,,then hiding the feet in the delicate grass is a brilliant use of nature to enhance the classy image of our favorite fowl. Some of the best time I have spent in this uncertain time is to enjoy all the sharing we saw in these contest photos, and the omelette gifts from these girls are not bad either!!
You cannot see the forest for the trees.
I think the photos were great. These aren’t pictures of professional show chickens. It is people just like myself who raise and love our chickens. Who cares what is in the background? At my place there is tons of stuff sitting around. I’m always having to construct a new pen, repair a feeder, or work on a building for my birds. I use all the junk I can recycle. Stuff in the background just proves these are real ordinary people.
Really – spread the love! LOVE the chicken photos! Do it every year Mc Murray!!!
Wonderful photos of spectacular chickens – please continue this competition it’s fun!!
Love the photo’s. The Golden Laced Wynadotte is outstanding. Loved them all!
Great Photographs of beautiful creatures! Please do again next year!
Bee-yoo-tee-ful pictures! I really liked the Hen in the Snow pic!
Hooray! My picks won! I loved these contests, do them again next year!