Article Photos

NEW ULM - The sounds in the livestock barn at the county fairgrounds early Sunday morning were some that poultry farmers hear daily.

Several breeds of geese, quail, chickens, ducks, doves, pigeons, turkeys and peacocks provided the scenery and much of the soundtrack for the poultry farmers, young 4-H members and hobbyists who came to the Brown County Poultry and Pigeon Association's annual bird and animal sell and swap meet, which began at 7 a.m. and ended around 10 a.m. Sunday.

Rows of wire and wooden cages filled the floor of the barn, stacked on top of each other. Club members strolled the aisles looking at the birds. Children looked for pets among the cages, their parents following close behind them.

Buyers lifted birds out of their cages by their talons to have a closer look before deciding whether to buy the bird or move onward to the next seller.

Outside the barn, pickup trucks - some with Iowa or Wisconsin license plates - filled the area just beyond the northern-most gate on the State Street side of the fairgrounds. Buyers sometimes went back to their trucks with a chicken or a duck grasped firmly in hand, put the new bird in a cage and walk back into the barn to find more deals.

A couple from the Janesville area visited the show for their first time Sunday and came out with a rabbit and about five banty roosters, which they planned to raise on their farm.

A woman and her son came to New Ulm from the Fairmont area to find poultry for 4-H projects. The boy won a duckling in a drawing and carried it around the barn in a cardboard box.

"This swap is going to be the best one. March is usually the largest swap. The weather is also helping us, people are in the mood to trade and we've got a really nice variety here. Quite frequently, people travel a fairly long distance to go here," said Doug Grams, president of the Brown County Pigeon and Poultry Club.

Grams estimated attendance between 400 and 500

The March event is one of two swap and sale events the club holds throughout the year. It also sponsors the annual Pigeon and Poultry Show, which is also held at the fairgrounds.

Grams said the peacocks shown Sunday are rare for the show, especially in the variety that were at the meet.

Outside of birds, the show also had a few rabbits, three packs of mice, two groups of rats, a few guinea pigs, a couple chinchillas, goats and two kinds of puppies - Labrador retrievers or rat terrier-pomeranian mixes - for sale.