Haywood County Poultry School

We will be hosting a Poultry School in Haywood County on Saturday, May 16th, 2026 at Pisgah High School. This is a one-of-a-kind, hands-on experience in small-scale hatching and processing aimed towards homesteaders and small-scale farmers in Western North Carolina who are looking to learn and capitalize on increasing revenues on their farms.

You do not have to live in Haywood County to participate! Anyone in WNC is welcome to be a part of this Poultry School. On the same day, in downtown Canton, Mama T's Summer Celebration will be happening at Sorrells Park. This is a family-friendly event that is free with many activities and is located next to a splash pad. Also, next to the high school is the Canton Rec Park with all-abilities playground and river for fishing (or even snorkeling). Know that if you are from outside of Haywood County, we have a lot of things nearby that your family can participate in while you attend the Poultry School!

The agenda for the day-long event is below --- lunch is included with your registration fee. All participants will take home a processed chicken after our afternoon processing intensive (also included with the registration fee). Please dress accordingly and know that our entire set-up is able to handle rain or shine --- so the Poultry School will happen regardless of weather.

The registration fee is $50 per participant. Proceeds will benefit agriculture program needs at Pisgah High School.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, N.C. Cooperative Extension will honor requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities. Please direct accommodation requests to: Sally Dixon, [email protected], 828-456-3575. Requests can be served more effectively if notice is provided at least 10 days before the event.

N.C. Cooperative Extension prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, political affiliation, and veteran status.

Info: Learn about small-scale hatching with incubator demonstrations, hands-on egg candling at different stages, breed variations, and more! We have several incubators to demonstrate and discuss pros/cons including: Brinsea 7-egg and 28-egg, GQF foam 40-egg, Harris Farms (Tractor Supply) 22-egg, and the GQF 270-egg commercial incubator and hatcher combo.

Info: Enjoy lunch with our lunch speaker, Jacob Nestor, who will be discussing breeding for hatching. This will help you get a better picture of how to holistically handle your own hatching operation with internal egg sourcing of high-quality birds.

Info: We will be going over the process for our fully hands-on chicken processing intensive. Lee Menius, with NC Choices, will be going over mobile processing units that are available across the state, and the basics of what we need to know going into the processing intensive. All experience levels are welcome! This is framed around being a beginner experience, with instruction on how to best process birds at scale, including necessary steps for selling poultry (vacuum-sealing, labeling, etc.). No matter your experience level, you will get something out of this!

Info: ***All participants will take a processed bird home to finish off in a salt water bath and packaway within 24 hours!*** This is a hands-on workshop processing chickens from live birds to nearly finished product. Pisgah High School FFA has incorporated poultry processing into their agriculture curriculum with help from N.C. Cooperative Extension and will showcase their set-up including equipment and projects that have been done previously with harvested birds. ***Please wear clothing that will be appropriate for poultry processing, including closed-toe shoes.***

Event Venue

Pisgah High School, 1 Black Bear Drive, Canton, United States

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