BERRIEN SPRINGS — There is a lot more to showing a bird at the Berrien County Youth Fair than just showing it.

The most difficult part, according to 12-year-old Brighton Lee, is correctly answering the many questions asked by the poultry judge.

It requires a lot of studying and a good memory.

“It is a lot more work than you would think,” said the Buchanan boy. “Sometimes it is difficult to remember all the parts of the chicken. Sometimes I forget all the things that can go wrong with it.”

Lee’s memory did not fail him Tuesday during the Berrien County Youth Fair’s poultry showmanship competition.

He got the questions right, while skillfully presenting his bird on his way to being named the Grand Champion Poultry Showman.

It is his first showmanship title in six years of showing at the fair.

“Things went well for me,” said Lee, who will be attending seventh grade at Buchanan Community Schools in the fall.

The win grants Lee entry into Friday’s small animal showmanship sweepstakes, which will take place at 10 a.m. in the dog tent.

While poultry is Lee’s only entry in the live exhibits at the fair, he also had entries in entomology, fossils and sea shells.

Lee finished runner-up — or reserve champion — in entomology.

He finished first in champion conservation/wildlife.