In May, we picked up the piglets Frosty and Oreo:
At first, Ammon was so excited to have them! But within a week or two, everything seemed different than last year. In 2009, we got Phineas and Ferb for $100 each from a swine farm in Moore, Idaho. They were nice, calm pigs. This year, we got Frosty and Oreo from a swine farm in Leadore, Idaho. One of the girls in our 4-H club had gotten her pig from there last year, and it earned overall Reserve Grand Champion in quality at the 2009 fair. We thought we could get a good quality pig from there too, plus they were cheaper, only costing $75 each.
But these pigs were not nice and calm like Phineas and Ferb. Frosty and Oreo were hyper, jumpy, nervous pigs. We hoped they would grow out of it. Ammon spent a lot of time this summer feeding and watering them everyday, and hanging out in their pen with them so they would be more comfortable with him. I think they got used to him after a while, but they never became friendly with him.
Over the July 4th weekend, the pigs escaped their pen. That NEVER happened last year. As told by Ammon in his 4-H story, this is what happened:
"I was playing in the yard when my mom yells at me 'AMMON, A NEIGHBOR CALLED SAYING THAT YOUR PIGS ARE OUT AND ARE DOWN AT THE CATTLEGUARD. GO CHECK THEM!!' So I ran to the pig pen and sure enough, they had escaped from the new pen we had finished building that afternoon. So I ran back up to the house crying my head off and I said through tears that they weren’t in their pen. My parents were telling me to 'stay calm' and that 'everything’s going to be alright'. They said 'ride your bike down and try to spot them', so I rode my bike along the road back and forth twice with no luck. I went back up to the house and told my parents the news. Then dad pulled out his motorcycle and told me to hop on. So then we rode around the neighborhood asking the neighbors if they saw the pigs. But still we had no luck. So I went to the house to eat dinner while dad went to his high school class reunion. When my brother Jonah got up to the house for dinner, he said 'Ammon, I know where the pigs are'. I said 'where?' and he answered 'in grandma’s lawn'! So I told mom that I was full and went outside wearing only my crocs on my feet for the adventure ahead of me.
I was down at grandma’s house looking for them when the same neighbor that had called earlier drove by again and said that my pigs were just down the road, and sure enough there they were. So I went back up to the house, called dad, told him where the pigs were, and asked him what to do. He said 'keep an eye on them and wait until I get home'. Well apparently my mom’s idea of keeping an eye on them is trying to catch them. {in my defense, that's not what Ammon told me when he got off the phone} My mom finally got the ATV started, and we began the hunt. We went down to where the pigs were. My brothers and I were behind a fence trying to scare the pigs in the right direction. We were having a lot of trouble because they had gotten into a hayfield, and the hay was taller than me. I was as happy as could be when grandpa pulled up in his tractor (not so he could run over them up but so he could help us). While grandpa was helping us we made much better progress. We finally managed to get Oreo in her old pen. Now we just had to catch Frosty. Mom had managed to get him onto the road where it was easier to catch him. After a lot of running, cussing, and almost giving up, we got the pig to a place where it couldn’t escape and that’s when dad returned home. After a lot more chasing, diving, cussing, and running, my dad finally got a hold of Frosty and put him in the pen with Oreo.
Thankfully, they haven’t escaped since then! And I’m glad they haven’t, because I didn’t want to experience that all over again!"
It was NOT fun at all, chasing those stupid, hyper pigs all around for over an hour. I hated them after that, and Ammon and Josh weren't so fond of them either following that inciddent. If they hadn't been so small, I would've had them butchered that day!!
Another difficult thing about the pigs this year was the fact that Frosty and Oreo did not grow as well as Phineas and Ferb had. Last year, we purchased the swine food from an out-of-town feed store, but this year we decided to buy all the swine food from a local feed store. After two months, we realized they weren't growing as fast as they should have been. We think the pig feed sold in town is of a lesser quality than the pig feed we purchased last year, even though the price per bag is the same. We got our pigs at the same time and from the same place as two other boys in our club did, but they bought their feed out-of-town, and their pigs were growing very well. At the 2nd pig weigh-in, the difference between our pigs and their pigs was huge.
Two weeks before the fair, we knew our pigs would not be big enough to take. The recommended MINIMUM weight for fair pigs is 210 pounds. Our pigs were only between 130-150 pounds each. I thought we should just drop out of the fair, continue to raise our pigs until they were big enough to butcher, keep one for us, and sell the other one to Grandma and Grandpa Tolman to eat. BUT, Ammon didn't want to miss out on the fair because he thought that was the "FUNNEST" part of raising 4-H pigs. Thankfully, another member of our 4-H club came to the rescue. They traded pigs with us. They let us have their butcher pig to show and sell at the fair, and our 2nd pig that was intended for the fair would become their butcher pig. We would continue to feed and raise until it was big enough, and then we would give it to them to replace theirs given to us.
Ammon named the loaner fair pig "Mater":
He really liked Mater. He was so thrilled to have the opportunity to go to the fair and show it! A big thanks to Liz and her family for allowing him that chance!
The last week of August was fair week. On Monday, we decorated the pig pens, took Ammon's and Liz's pigs to the fair, washed the animal, and set-up the pen with wood chips and pig feed.
On Tuesday, the showmanship show was in the morning and the swine quality show was in the afternoon.
{walking the pigs from the pens to the arena for the show} 
{Ammon smiling at the judge during the showmanship show}
{walking alongside Liz's and Gracie's red pigs in the arena during the quality show}
Ammon did really well! He earned a blue ribbon in showmanship, and a red ribbon in quality. 
Saturday was the livestock sale. Ammon and Josh went in early that morning to get the pig washed and ready to sell. And all the boys dressed up for the event:
Saturday was the livestock sale. Ammon and Josh went in early that morning to get the pig washed and ready to sell. And all the boys dressed up for the event:
For the second year in a row, Tolman Ranch and Dairy had the highest bid for Ammon's pig during the auction. Last year, Ammon earned $2.65 per pound. This year, he earned $4.00 per pound. There was less animals this year, so the purchase price per animal was higher than last year.
Overall, the experience this year was NOT a positive one. I'm wishing and hoping that we'll take a break next year from the pig drama. It would be nice to have one year off before the following year when we'll have four pigs: one for Ammon, one each for the twins, and one for us to eat.
Oh, and speaking of eating pigs--ours are FINALLY big enough to go to the butcher shop next week!!!! And for me, the BEST part of raising pigs is eating them!!!
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