Small Animal

Cavies (Guinea Pigs), Poultry, Rabbits

Dane County 4-H offers a variety of Small Animal education activities and events. Check out the 4-H Calendar to find dates and times of events.

All youth planning to show Small Animals (Cavies, Poultry, Rabbits) at the Dane County Fair (DCF) must meet these species specific educational requirements:

Complete Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) certification between 9/1/2022-6/15/2023 and upload certificate to the DCF online portal by June 15.
- YQCA is a national multi-species quality assurance program for youth ages 8-21 with a focus on three core pillars: food safety, animal well-being, and character development. There is a $12 fee for the online training.
Attend at least one approved education event – list is available on the Dane County Fair Small Animal Department Education webpage.
Complete all training and submit education card and YQCA certificate into the online portal by June 15.
- If showing in more than one species, youth must complete and submit the requirements for each species.
- To upload the education card, please save the document as a JPG, TIFF, or PDF. Youth can take a picture of the education card to upload.
- The Dane County Fair education card upload portal link will be available in April.

Approved Species Events/Meetings
For potential qualifying meetings not listed on the Dane County Fair Small Animal Department Education webpage, please contact a member of the Small Education Committee for pre-approval of meeting credit. After pre-approval, youth must provide documentation (agenda, brochure, etc), complete the species specific education card, and collect the signature of the event/meeting clinician or coordinator before submitting information.

Youth for the Quality Care of Animals –YQCA
YQCA is designed as an annual education and certification program focused on food safety, animal well-being and character awareness for youth ages 8 to 21. The program has been designed by extension specialists and national livestock program managers to ensure it is accurate, current and relevant to the needs of the animal industry and shows and is appropriate for youth. Youth have the option to do the face-to-face training at any one of the YQCA Trainings across the state or to do the on-line training.

YQCA Fees: The fee is $12 per person for the online training and $3 per person for a face-to-face training. Youth can test out of a YQCA level for $36 or $48 depending on age bracket – open to ages 12, 15, or 19 years old as of 1/1/23. More information is on YQCA.org.

YQCA Website

Small Animal Education Committee

The 4-H Small Animal Education Committee provides county-wide leadership for educational workshops and support within the project. Contact committee members with questions regarding educational meetings and support in the project.

Small Animal Education Committee member contact information:

Cavy/Rabbit:

Ron Rogers                                608-886-2046     djron68rr@gmail.com
Kendall Rodgers                      608-609-7399     topshot378@gmail.com
Jennifer Monarski 608-515-3452     jmonarski@firstam.com

Poultry/Meat Market:

Mitchell Schleicher 608-577-6566 mitchellschleicher@gmail.com
Laura Johnson 608-444-5671 houseofmouse05@gmail.com
Chad Xander 608-333-5192 chad@wireworkseng.com
Greg & Betty Wolff 608-712-7335 wolffbelfar@litewire.net
MaryEllen Karls 608-219-1694 dmmkarls@tds.net

Dane County Small Animal Market Sale Scholarship
Current Dane County 4-H or FFA members who have participated in the Small Animal Sale during 12th or 13th grade are eliglible. Scholarships will be awarded based on the profits of the Small Animal Sale. Application deadline is June 15 of the current year.

Dane County-Small-Animal-Sale-Scholarship-Application

Dane County 4-H Office and Information
4Hinfo@countyofdane.com 608-224-3702

Committee Report Form