Skillathons are required for fair participation in the following areas: Beef, Sheep, Swine, Poultry, Rabbits, Goats, Horses, Dairy, Dogs, and Llamas/Alpacas
2025 Skillathon Dates: June 17 & 26
5:30 to 8:00 pm
Sign up Early June
General Information
Requirement: All livestock exhibitors must participate in skillathon to be eligible to show at the Madison County Fair.
Dress Code: All participants must come to skillathon dressed in appropriate show clothes for their species.
- ACCOMODATIONS REQUEST: Fill out a Winning 4-H Plan for and send to the Extension Office to request accomodations for your child (extra time, read aloud, etc.)
- If you cannot attend the dates listed above, you will NOT be eligible to show at the Madison County Fair. Contact the Extension Office by June 1 to discuss any extenuating circumstances.
What to bring:
- Livestock Project and Record Book (for 1st year members) AND the PDF Livestock Records for additional years for each species
- Come dressed in clothes that are required for your show (See Fair Book for details)
- Be sure to study using the study guides listed below for your species!
Special Notes:
- Skill-a-thon uses hands-on learning to test member's knowledge of the project. Topics can be found in resource book, Skill-a-thon kits, study guide, and quality assurance topics.
- All families must register their youth for a time slot for each species skill-a-thon required
Special Accomodations:
- If your child needs certain accomodations to help them be successful, such as reading aloud, extra time, private judging, etc., please contact the OSU Extension Office to fill out a Winning 4-H Plan so we can discuss accomodations necessary!
Study Guides
Each species has a study guide which lists the stations and a description for the types of questions asked, where information can be found, etc. Please review the study guide and resources for each species you are exhibiting.
Practice Quizzes are available here: Animal Science Virtual Learning Lab
Quality Assurance Study Help available here: QA Study Guide ALL GPP's
| Species | Study Guide | Additional Resources (also linked in Study Guide) |
| Alpaca | Alpaca Study Guide | |
| Beef (includes Dairy Beef Feeders) | Beef Study Guide | |
| Dairy | Dairy Study Guide | |
| Dog | Dog Study Guide | |
| Goats | Goat Study Guide | |
| Horse (Horseless Horse Projects do NOT participate in Skillathon) | Equine Study Guide | |
| Poultry | Poultry Study Guide |
Biosecurity Tips to Prevent Poultry Disease |
| Rabbit (includes Pet Rabbit) | Rabbit Study Guide |
|
| Sheep | Sheep Study Guide | |
| Swine | Swine Study Guide |