Take hundreds of bleating lambs and throw in a few decibels from grooming machines and other sources and you had the first day of the Howard County Junior Livestock Show.

The annual show, which attracted future farmers and ranchers from Big Spring, Coahoma, Forsan and Ackerly, began Wednesday afternoon and runs through Saturday at the county fairbarns located next to the Rodeo Bowl.

Lambs and goats took center stage Wednesday and Friday will feature steers and hogs. Tonight, however, will be highlighted by rabbits, which one does not automatically think of when considering farm animals.

But Tommy Yeater, county extension agent, said there's a good reason rabbits are standard livestock show animals.

“Rabbits are pretty much a starter project for many of the kids,” Yeater said. “That's the perfect kind of animal for a kid who lives in town and doesn't have the space to care for a larger animal. You can put a rabbit in a cage in the back yard, but you can't necessarily put a steer or a pig in your back yard.”

But if rabbits are the easiest — and smallest — show animal to care for, steers are unquestionably the toughest — and easily the largest.

“Steers are the most expensive and time-consuming,” Yeater said. “Some weeks, my kids will spend four hours a day, three days a week, caring for one ... And when you consider it takes about $11 a day to feed one, you can see how expensive it gets.”

Despite the expenses incurred or the time spent, the lessons learned caring for and preparing a show animal are worth it, Yeater stressed.

“They're getting lessons in responsibility and how to care for animals,” he said. “It's very rewarding to see kids who have worked so hard be successful.”

The annual livestock show continues with rabbit judging, beginning at 6 p.m. today. It continues Friday with steer judging at 9 a.m. and barrow judging at 1 p.m.

“The show has really come together and is in good shape,” Yeater said. “I really want to invite everyone to come out and view the proceedings.”

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it