Purina Animal Nutrition celebrated Flock-Tober with a series of challenges and three contests that reached nearly 500,000 chicken enthusiasts and garnered more than 1,200 entries. Fourteen contestants earned chicken prize packs, including two grand prizes of a year's supply of chicken feed.

Related: Flock-tober happening at Purina through Oct. 31

Purina Animal Nutrition has announced the winners of Flock-Tober events. (Photo: johan10/Thinkstock)

“We hosted Purina Flock-Tober as another way to celebrate the wonderful backyard chicken keeping community,” says Kristin Horvath, backyard flock associate marketing manager for Purina Animal Nutrition. “Through three new contests this year, we loved seeing fun first egg happy dances and meeting so many special hens. The community support that each entry received during voting was especially exciting.”

Contest details and winners

First Egg Happy Dance: Facebook fans celebrated their first egg by submitting celebratory entries. Fans shared smiling selfies, happy dance videos and clever egg keepsake ideas to vie for a grand prize of a year’s supply of chicken feed.

The winning entry was submitted by Mindie Dittemore of Bellevue, Michigan. She described her family’s path to backyard happiness and how chickens have made a difference in her son’s life, saying: “My oldest son is on the autism spectrum and is the reason we got chickens. He cares for the chicks, loves watching them grow and was so excited when we got our first egg. I was so proud of him at our county fair that he was able to get up in front of a crowd and share his love for poultry! The love of poultry can be powerful in any child's life!”

First Egg Happy Dance winner.

-Grand Prize Winner: Mindie Dittemore, Bellevue, Michigan
-Finalist: Katrina Skalko, Knoxville, Georgia
-Finalist: Brandon McGuffee, Elm Grove, Louisiana
-Finalist: Amanda Peschel, Industry, Texas

Miss Flock-Tober Pageant: This contest celebrated the unique personalities of backyard hens through four rounds of Facebook voting: Miss Congeniality, Miss Performance, Miss Fancy Feathers and Miss Broody. The four winners then went head-to-head to win the ultimate title of Miss Flock-Tober.

Miss Flock-Tober, a hen named Dolly Parton.

The winner of Miss Congeniality, a Silver Laced Polish hen named Dolly Parton, swept the grand prize competition. Her owner, Katy Krumm of Lufkin, Texas, said after winning: “This contest has been so much fun! In a world full of craziness right now, chickens bring so much joy into our family’s world. Everyone should have at least one chicken. Chickens are good for your soul."

-Grand Prize Winner, Miss Flock-Tober: Katy Krumm, Lufkin, Texas
-Finalist, Miss Broody: Ashley Hembree, Athens, Georgia
-Finalist, Miss Fancy Feathers: Latham Farm, Livingston, Louisiana
-Finalist, Miss Performance: Mark Lee, Cookeville, Tennessee

Retail Display Building Contest: Local Purina retailers also competed by submitting photos of their Flock-Tober festivities. Each store was provided a display building kit, complete with a 5-foot tall chicken and collectible tin coop signs.

Stores put their own spin on the Flock-Tober theme, from in-store scavenger hunts and live chickens to lederhosen and polka music. Brandon Henderson from Old Mill Feed & Garden in Dallas, Oregon, said: “Our team loves creating events for our customers. Purina Flock-Tober was a perfect way to utilize our employees’ quirkiness. It has been quite the success!”

Six stores were recognized for their creativity and backyard chicken knowledge:
-The Stock Market, Conyers, Georgia
-H&S Feed and Country Store, Oskaloosa, Iowa
-Benson Farm Service, Lewiston, Minnesota
-Old Mill Feed & Garden, Dallas, Oregon
-The Farm Store, Veneta, Oregon
-Cypress Ace Hardware & Feed, Houston, Texas

Source: Purina Animal Nutrition