The din has returned to the Poultry Barn after an eerie, aviary quiet last Fair with birds banned to prevent disease transmission. POULTRY FROM LOFT 14The roosters are crowing, chickens clucking and ducks quacking again and it’s a joyful noise to be sure.

If you climb the stairs to the building’s second level you get to see more colorful fowl and to get a—you guessed it—bird’s-eye view of the feathered frenzy below.

For those who prefer their fowl in the wild, a few ducks were seen floating peacefully in the man-made pond near the racing stables. That area, not yet ready for visitors, will become the New York Experience next year.

“Right now, the reason it’s closed off is they’re putting in six inches of topsoil, Acting Director Troy Waffner explained. POND 16“Then they’re going to grass it. It won’t be done in time for this year. We’re still looking at how to program this for 2017. At the end of the day, it’s going to wind up being a festival grounds of one sort or another. We’re looking at the racing stables and making some kind of vendor space back there because the horses aren’t really in the front stables anymore, they’re in the back. So we’re taking the front stables and turning them into some sort of vendor space. We have a year to work on it.”