Ever hear of a chicken flying contest? For chicken lovers it's just as competitive but a lot more genteel than tractor pulling.

Perhaps chicken flying will never become as popular among farmers as tractor pulls, but it has achieved somewhat that status in southeastern Ohio. There, at the Bob Evans Farm near Rio Grande, an annual chicken flying contest is now in its eighth year. The Eighth Annual International Chicken Flying Meet was held there  May 19.

The event is sponsored by the International Chicken Flying Assn., with headquarters at the Bob Evans Farm.

Participants bring their birds to be weighed in and put in a flight class. Every chicken entered must have a name. Most entries have been trained for flying by their owners, but people who want to participate can coach a chicken selected from the flock at Bob Evans Flight Training Center located right on the farm.

Each contestant is placed on a launching pad 10 ft. off the ground and coaxed into flight. The distance is measured, and a winner finally emerges at the end of the contest. The record chicken flight is 292 ft.