The pigs are growing!

While milking last night, my daughter brought one of her piglets into the calf barn.  She constructed a mini corral using hay bales and let the little one run around while she was doing her calf chores.  Boy, are those little pigs ever growing!  This little gilt (girl) was running around her enclosure, bucking, snorting and occaisionally letting out a happy squeal.  We took turns holding the little pig, gently scratching it behind the ears.  Doing that erased all worries of the little pig about being away from her momma for a little while!  After about 15 minutes, we returned the little one to her littermates so that she could get in on any feeding that she might have missed.  This is the time when little pigs are cute.  Once they get bigger and roll in the mud - yuck!

This weekend is pig auction weekend too.  Farmer Rick and our daughter are headed to an auction that we attend every year (this time, mom's staying home - we have a cow due to calve).  When our older boys were young, they also attended this auction to buy their market hogs for the fair.  Each year they took grand champion live and in the carcass quality classes.  This is how they funded part of their college education.  At the end of the fair, the top animals are sold on auction to local business owners who then in turn, provide meat for their employees via picnics, parties, etc.  These animals often bring much more than market price, so there's quite a bit of competition all around.  Our boys were allowed to buy something special with a portion of their procedes, but the remaining amount was put away in an investment account for their future and for purchasing their next fair animal for the following year.  We wanted to teach them sound farming and life skills through this venture, and I believe it paid off.  Now we are continuing the process with our daughter.  We bought the first animal for her when she started in the fair club.  Now, every year, she is to plan her purchase and raising of the animal for the fair very carefully.  So far, she's done quite. well.

The one thing that she enjoys doing also is raising her own hogs for the local market.  Since her hogs have done so well at the fair, she has no problem having customers looking for feeder pigs to grow for their own family's use.

There are so many things to learn and do on a farm.  Being small, we have the ability to diversify and try new things.  With our children raising and showing pigs, they have learned so much about responsibility, good work ethics, showmanship, and good money handling skills.  These skills will serve them well as they progress throughout their life!