Poultry judge Bob Rugaber makes his way through the multiple varieties of chickens on display Saturday at the Big Butler Fair. The standards for judging are based upon the American Poultry Association's Standards of Perfection book, which outlines the ideal qualities each type of chicken should have.

FRANKLIN TWP — "See the feathers on this one's feet? That means it's an Asiatic-type bird," said Arthur Knauf, director of the poultry barn at the Big Butler Fair, on Saturday as he pulled a freshly hatched chick out of an incubator.

Knauf, 75, is fascinated by chickens. He has been raising and showing them since he was a child, just as his father did before him.

In fact, he was even showing some of his birds Saturday morning at the fair.

Poultry judge Bob Rugaber, a former Butler County Extension agent, began making his rounds at 9 a.m., starting with the turkeys. Knauf trailed behind with a list of entries.

"That one's got a nice, full fan," Rugaber said, eyeing a big strutting tom.

He quickly made a decision, marked the winners and moved on to the guineas, which were making quite a commotion.

"All right, all right, I hear you," Rugaber said to a particularly noisy one.

Knauf took the opportunity to point out a little-known fact about guineas.

"When you go to the store, and you see pheasant (for sale) under the glass, a lot of times this is what you get," he said, pointing to the bluish birds. "They taste like game, but they're easier to raise than pheasants."

Soon, though, Rugaber started judging the chickens, so Knauf left his side since his birds were among entries.

"They (the judges) really get down into the fine points," he said.

Knauf said chicken shows are similar to dog shows. Judges inspect the entire bird for breed flawlessness, looking at such things as color, eyes, skin and feathers.

The standards upon which chickens are judged are based upon the American Poultry Association's Standards of Perfection book, which outlines the ideal qualities that each type of chicken should have.

But that's only half the story. Before a bird can be shown, it must first pass health qualifications.

Knauf's wife, Lois, a retired school teacher, said all birds are given blood tests and vaccinated for laryngotracheitis, or LT, a respiratory disease, as well as salmonella pullorum, typhoid and the avian influenza."That was the big thing this year," Lois Knauf said of the bird flu.She also noted if a bird does get sick at the fair, the owner is notified and generally, the bird is put down.Lois Knauf said such cases are rare, though."Every bird has to pass health regulations before it's allowed in," she said.Disease didn't seem to be on the visitors' minds, as children held fuzzy chicks or tentatively touched a rooster's glossy tail feathers.The variety of birds in the barn was, to say the least, astounding. Some sported head feathers reminiscent of a bouffant hairdo, while others had necks that were completely bare.Arthur Knauf pointed to a picture of a curly-feathered bird called a Frizzle."This one looks like it went through a washing machine," he said.And some even lay colored eggs."Did you ever read that Dr. Seuss book?" Knauf said, holding up a green egg.He explained Araucana chickens lay different colored eggs."The problem is," he said, "is people make them out to be an Easter egg chicken. But it's all in their genetics."He said the birds can lay green, blue, pink and brown eggs — but the color each bird lays will never change, much like humans can't change their eye color.Variety definitely is the spice of life when it comes to chickens, but Knauf already knows this."I've heard members of the fair board say, 'If you've seen 100 chickens you've seen them all,'" Knauf said. "But that's not true. They come in all sizes and colors."The fair continues through Saturday at the fairgrounds on Route 422 west of Butler.