My cousin did 4H for years and I can tell you he saved a lot of unwanted animals. A dozen ducklings on sale at TSC (they asked what happened if they didn’t sell, were told they are taken out back and killed), a pregnant sheep on craigslist (previous owners didn’t even know she was pregnant) etc. He had a chicken live to be 6 years old. Their life expectancy is 3 years. These kids put an insane amount of work into those animals, and you can’t exactly show and win with an animal that isn’t in good condition. The whole point of the program is teaching children about responsibility and raising animals. They know a lot more more than you or me or anyone that doesn’t personally raise animals.