Hampson loves working with, showing quail

     There are at least three reasons showing quail at county and state fair poultry shows is a big part of Dalton Hampson’s life.

     For one thing, he’s had a lot of success doing so. At the Iowa State Fair last year, Hampson showed the Champion in the Ornamental Fowl division, with a coturnix quail; and took the top three spots in the Ornamental Fowl – AOV Hen division.

     At the Great Jones County Fair, Hampson won Reserve Champion Best of Show for his quail, along with championships in four classes.

     The second reason is that he wants others to appreciate game birds such as quail the way he does.

     “I’d like to expand on the poultry division, and try to help encourage other kids to bring in more exotic, different types of birds,” the Monticello High School junior said. “I think we should focus on enjoying a hobby and raising them, because we don’t have a lot of people that raise game birds and release them into the wild anymore.”

     The third reason, which is the reason he got started in with quail in the first place, is more basic.

     “They looked cool,” Hampson said. “I did some research on them and thought they looked very interesting. I think game birds are very exotic-looking, and they draw people into the fairs a lot more.”

     Hampson, 17, hasn’t always shown his birds in the Great Jones County Fair. He attended school in the Linn-Mar district as a youngster.

     He developed an interest in poultry because of his grandfather, Clede Johnson.

     “My grandpa was always big into chickens. He raised ducks, chickens and turkeys,” Hampson said. “I always used to help him with that. A passion grew from that, and I developed a bond with my grandpa.

     “My grandpa was always proud of me for showing poultry, so I always liked that.”

     When Johnson passed away in 2012, the Hampson family inherited most of Johnson’s poultry, and Hampson’s interest grew.

     “I went to county fairs all the time when I was little, and I always wanted to show, but you had to be in 4-H or FFA in order to show, so eventually I did decide to join,” Hampson said.

     He joined the Wapsi Willowers 4-H Club, and showed for three years at the Linn County Fair, winning several blue ribbons. There were different divisions there, such as an ugly bird competition, for which Hampson once won a $20 voucher toward feed; and an egg contest, in which he once took second place.

     “I showed my quail, and everyone there was a big fan of the quail,” Hampson said. “They loved them. So I went full on into the quail, and didn’t focus as much on chickens.”

     He had hopes of showing different animals as well, but it didn’t work out.

     “I wanted to show rabbits, too, at the Linn County Fair, but every year the rabbit show would go on at the same time as the poultry show,” Hampson explained. “I didn’t want to miss anything. So I just focused on poultry most of the time.”

     When a close friend opted out of the Wapsi Willowers because of other time commitments, Hampson left as well. He took a couple of years off from showing poultry, but eventually decided to join the Prairie Hill 4-H Club in Jones County.

     Last summer was his first for showing at the Great Jones County Fair.

     “It’s a whole different fair,” he said. “A lot bigger.”

     Hampson, like any exhibitor, goes through a process to prepare his birds for the fairs.

     “You just have to keep the cages clean and neat, and you have to make sure they have oil on their legs so they don’t dry out and get all cracked,” he said. “(For) feather quality, you’ve got to make sure they have enough oyster shells in their feed. You make sure you’re feeding them the right thing and giving them the proper care throughout the season, and then they should turn out fine.”

     At the fair, he said, “Just make sure you bring a lot of bedding, a lot of cold water during the fair, because the fair last year was hot.”

     He gets his birds from animal swap meets in Maquoketa and Waverly. He works with bobwhite quail as well, but particularly enjoys the coturnix quail, which are also known as Japanese quail.

     “The coturnix quail are phenomenally friendly. When I feed them, they jump into my palm, and you can hand-feed them,” Hampson said. “They‘re very gentle, and they also have a very calm demeanor. They don’t flip out when you grab them, they just kind of lie there. As long as you work with them, they stay fairly calm.”

     Hampson hopes not only to show again, but also to help educate other exhibitors and the public on game birds. Last year, his quail had to be shown in the Ornamental Birds category – where he competed against adults as well as other students – because the quail were not classified as domesticated.

     “I’d like to bring more awareness this year to them,” he said. “I’d like to write a letter to the Iowa Poultry Association, about what can be shown under which classes, and see if we can get a fowl class at the state fair for 4-H’ers.

     “I want to make sure I leave something behind with 4-H, something that people can enjoy,” Hampson said.