Eleven-year-old Washington resident Brynn Miller recently received two awards at a national poultry show for breeding and raising a top-of-the-line Rhode Island Red chicken.

At the Dixie Classic Poultry Show, hosted by the Tennessee Valley Poultry Club at the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds in Knoxville, Brynn received Reserve National Champion in the Rhode Island Red Meet, as well as Large Fowl Champion. In 2012, Addison, 8, Brynn’s sister, won National Rhode Island Red Junior Champion, according to the Miller sisters’ mother, Winnie.

“In layman’s terms, it means she has the second-best Rhode Island Red chicken by a junior breeder in the country and the best large fowl in the country,” Winnie Miller said.

The Millers, who got started with raising chickens through 4-H, became interested in national shows and branched out from there, according to Winnie Miller. For the past three years, after becoming friends with a man who raises chickens and has won best in the country for the past three years, the Millers started taking their chicken-breeding endeavors seriously and have gotten better at it with each year. The Millers were given four Rhode Island Red chickens in 2012, and through incubating their own eggs from the chickens, raised prize-winning candidates, Miller said.

“We’ve bred each year, and through several generations, we’ve kept the best,” Miller said. “We actually do line breeding. We keep the same line and don’t introduce new blood into the genetic mix. We hatch as many as we can in the spring and let them grow to young adults. Then we start selecting the best.”

The Millers use the Standard of Perfection, a guide of what to look for in chickens, based on the breed one is trying to perfect. The guide breaks down eye color, comb, number of toes, color of feathers on wings and tail and other specifics of how a true Rhode Island Red should look, Miller said. They also select the best based on temperament.

In preparing them for a show, the conditioning process includes feeding the chickens properly, washing them, trimming their nails and grooming them. At the actual shows, the chicken is then “polished up” one last time before being judged.

“It’s very exciting,” Miller said. “The show we went to had 4,000 poultry, including ducks, chickens, geese, turkeys and other birds. You’re in an environment where everyone is going toward the same goal. Everyone is trying to raise and be the best. It motivates you to selectively breed and select your chickens in order to be the best and present your best. It gives you something to strive for — a purpose to your chicken raising.”

Miller said participation in the shows, as well as the breeding and raising process, gives her daughters a sense of responsibility in working towards a goal, observation skills and enjoyment.

“They enjoy their birds,” Miller said. “They display their medals, trophies and plaques. They have pride in their birds. They’re pets, and you have a goal you’re working toward with them. All you need is some good birds to start with. Anyone can breed and select as long as you know what to go for. It’s within anyone’s grasp as long as you start with some good stock. It’s very fun.”