Barnwell County not only has its own Miss America - she is also a Grand National Champion.

Like any celebrity, product endorsements are starting to roll her way.

Mark Beasley of Barnwell is the owner of a three-year-old unnamed dark Cornish hen that made it through a flock of competitive rounds to seize three crowns in the esoteric world of trophy chickens.

Beasley attended the Northeast Poultry Congress, the "Superbowl of Chicken Shows," in Boston, Mass. Jan. 16 and 17 and took home grand honors.

"To win at the top, the chicken has to be as near-perfect as can be," said Beasley.

More than 4,000 bantam chickens strutted their wares, showed their feathers and flashed their beaks where people from as far as Mexico showed their prize birds at the event.

The event is sanctioned by the American Bantam Association and the American Poultry Association.

"It's one shot a year to win the top spot in the land," said Beasley. "You can't do better than this - I never really imagined myself winning this award."

The Cornish hen won the Best of Her Breed category which makes her National Champion Cornish Hen - Miss America - as crowned by the International Cornish Breeders Association.

But that was just the first of her accomplishments.

She went on to win Class Champion hen running the gauntlet against other breeds in her bantam class such as Polish and Sumatra bantam chickens.

Classes are divided and determined by combs, legs and feathers, said Beasley.

"The breeds make up the different classes - there are about 25 different breeds in her particlar class (all other comb clean legged class) - and there are seven classes that make up all the 242 breeds of bantams in the world," said Beasley.

She was then judged against six other bantam class champions and won, which makes her "the best overall bantam in the land," honored as Grand National Champion.

Beasley and the hen will soon be getting a lead crystal trophy and won more than $1,000.

And, like any national or international contest winner - endorsements.

"People have been calling from chicken incubator companies," he said.

Mark Beasley has been showing chickens since 1982.

It's an interest which his grandfather passed onto him.

He is a poultry farmer and master breeder and exhibitor as well as a licensed judge with the American Bantam Association.

Beasley is heading to California this weekend to participate in the California Open as a judge.

On average, a show can showcase 1,200 to 1,500 chickens, he said.

"I guess a chicken show is something people might not know too much about about if they don't go - but thousands of people go to them,"said Beasley.

The shows use three standards to judge chickens.

"The shows use a standard of perfection that describes every breed and every color," said Beasley.

The first standard is confirmation that judges body symmetry and shape, said Beasley.

The next category is color and feather patterns, he said.

Strict guidelines such as a quarter of an inch of broken off feather can blow the chances for an award, said Beasley.

"Any little spot or blemish is a defect - an off-colored toenail can lead to disqualification," he said.

Beasley and others in the trophy chicken world use special transportation to avoid the problem.

Finally, there is conditioning, which judges the chicken's physique.

"That is when you get a fat boy against a muscle boy - the muscle boy is going to win," said Beasley.

Getting a chicken ready for a show can begin months ahead of time, said Beasley.

The chickens are fed special feed with vitamins and "coop-tamed" - a process that involves holding and touching the bird so it gets used to being handled, Beasley said.

Before the show, the chickens are washed and groomed and their beaks and toenails are trimmed.

"I have a good time at every show," said Beasley.

He gives credit to God for everything he has accomplished and thanked his family for their support with his hobby.

But one final prize remains for the susperstar prize-winning hen - giving her a name.

"I suppose we'll have to name her now," he said, laughing.