For the second time in his show career, Delawayes Hayes sophomore Lincoln Beachy took home the top prize in the market turkey competition at the Delaware County Junior Fair.

Beachy’s bird, which weighed just over 39 pounds, won the heavyweight division before being named the Champion Meat Turkey. He also showed the overall champion in 2018.

“It feels great,” Beachy told The Gazette. “I couldn’t believe I won again. Most people never win once, so I felt like I was extremely lucky.”

While he didn’t go into the show with any expectations of winning again, Beachy said he was relatively confident because he believes he always raises good birds and takes good care of them. In particular, this year’s bird stood out due to its wide breast meat and thighs, as well as sound feet that Beachy said are often indicative of how well a bird is raised.

Beachy, a member of Nature’s Friends 4-H club, said most people begin their 4-H careers not really knowing what to expect, but he has stacked knowledge each year that has helped him reclaim the top honor in the market turkey contest. That knowledge includes gaining a better understanding of the different types of feed the birds get and when a particular feed needs to be given to them, as well as adding new bedding for the bird.

He added that gaining a better knowledge of how the fairs operate, and seeing that it’s nothing to be intimidated by, also has proven beneficial. “Just knowing that (the show) wasn’t going to be extremely difficult really helps,” Beachy said.

As for what it takes to raise a champion turkey, Beachy said it’s important to maintain a consistent feed pattern with the bird having food at all times, as well as clean water. He added that maintaining thick bedding in the bird’s cage is one of the most important elements of raising a quality bird, and allowing the bird to walk around outside its cage makes for a stronger bird.

Toward the end of the process, as the fair draws near, Beachy said there’s a special food called “finisher” that adds a little more meat to the bird in a short time span and helps to give the bird a better definition.

He also noted his close friend, Ben Feller, and Ben’s brother, Eli, also helped greatly with changing the bird’s bedding and feeding him. “It makes it a lot easier with another person,” he said.

Beachy said he intends to return to the show next year with another bird, although he will again do so without placing any sort of pressure on himself.

“You have to just do your best because if you go in thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to win this year,’ you’re not going to win,” he said. “You’re just going to be disappointed. You just have to be happy with what you get. And really, it’s just fun going to the fair, even if you don’t win anything. Even if you get the bottom of the barrel, it’s fun.”

While Beachy claimed the prize, he wasn’t the only one in the family to have a successful show. His sister, Eva Beachy, showed the Champion Lightweight Turkey.

Eva Beachy, who is now a freshman at the University of Cincinnati and also a member of Nature’s Friends, showed fancy chickens and began showing turkeys after seeing her brother win in 2018. In what was her final year of showing, she had her best finish and was glad to end on a high note.

She said it was nice to see the fair add divisions to the turkey show to allow more people to win while competing within a class of similarly sized birds.

Asked what she’s enjoyed the most about showing turkeys, Eva Beachy said the birds have been a joy to have around the house.

“They’re really good, happy personalities and just good friends,” she said. “The first couple of years, the turkeys would go on walks with us. They’re just super cool and really fun to have.”

Eva Beachy said there was really never a rivalry between her and her brother, although she admitted she was a little disappointed to lose out on the overall champion to him. However, she noted the two have always approached showing as a team effort, whether it was with her chicken projects or his turkey projects. Lincoln Beachy said he was happy to see both of them have success.

“It just shows how much work we put into this together. To get two very good birds, I think that’s really special to see that,” Lincoln Beachy said.

Wendell Beachy, the father of Eva and Lincoln, said it’s been great to see his kids get rewarded for their hard work throughout the year.

“It’s a large commitment for them to do this, not to mention they’re both leaders in their club. … They’ve transitioned from the little kids in the group to being leaders in the club, and that’s been really rewarding,” he said.

Wendell Beachy went on to say none of their success would be possible without the Huffman family. “They’ve really done tremendous things for our club and for the fair in general,” he said.

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.