4-H swine prepared for fair

Ashley Blaylock steps over the fence of her pig Howie’s pen to give him a bath. In her yellow boots and soon to be muddy jeans, Blaylock scrubs Howie’s sunburned back. Howie then nestles his nose into Blaylock’s jeans as a sign of appreciation.

Since April, Blaylock has made the trip east of Superior to her grandmas’ house once a day to take care of Howie. Blaylock, like the other members of the local 4-H, spend the year raising a pig to show and auction off at the Mineral County Fair.

“A week before the fair is when you start scrubbing,” Blaylock said while hosing down Howie for another cleaning. “It makes his white spots look shiny.”

Besides scrubbing, Howie needs to be feed three times a day. He is given starter food, then grower food and finally finisher food a week before the fair. Howie also needs his water checked. His care is all in an effort to keep his weight up while looking sharp.

“The sucky part about pigs is you can’t get the smell off your hands,” Blaylock said after bathing Howie.

After Howie’s bath, Blaylock’s friend and fellow 4-H member Nicole Stroot stopped by to check on Howie.

Stroot has a pig of her own, Tootsie, and has raised pigs for the past 8 years. Each year, Stroot and Blaylock get their pigs from Dixon. Blaylock said when she first got Howie he weighed 25 pounds.

Stroot took a measuring tape to Howie after his bath and found he weighs 220 pounds. He was 42 inches long and had 44 inches of girth around.

Blaylock and Stroot’s pigs both came from the same litter earlier this winter. 4-H members Cary Chamberlain and Kinzie Cooper also have pigs from the same litter for the fair this year.

Stroot has worked with her pig Tootsie, who is undersized at 185 pounds. Tootsie suffered from Scours, which is an illness that messes up the digestive system, and Stroot has tried to keep her fed and healthy for the fair. The illness caused Tootsie to grow slower than the other pigs.

For a pig to be eligible for the auction, it must weigh between 200 and 240 pounds. Stroot hopes to have Tootsie at the healthy weight for the fair. Raising pigs at the fair is how Stroot was able to pay for her horse Rusty.

Howie’s clean coat does not last long when he rolls around in the mud puddle built up in his pen. Despite his desire to be filthy, Blaylock decides to feed him again. Blaylock’s grandma feeds Howie, who is Blaylock’s second raised pig, in the mornings to save Blaylock the trip.

Blaylock fills an old Folgers coffee can with food for Howie. She dumps it in his bowl and watches him inhale his meal.

“When he’s hungry, he’ll squeal,” Blaylock said.

Along with Blaylock, Stroot, Chamberlain and Cooper, others in the county raise pigs for the fair.

In Alberton Jake, Heath and Chase Thompson and Lyndi, Cody and Tyler Ishler all raise pigs. Participants raising pigs in the 4-H program have to be less than 18 years old to qualify.

Blaylock, who will be a senior at Superior High School this year, has raised pigs for two years. Chamberlain, who will also be a senior at Superior High School, is raising pigs for the first time. Chamberlain has raised chickens and horses in the past. Cooper has raised pigs for almost six year. Cooper’s pig Dixie stays at Stroot’s house with Tootsie.

Each 4-H member spends everyday for months raising pigs, all to see them auctioned away. When asked if they get attached to their pigs, Blaylock nodded yes.

“It’s really sad,” Blaylock said. “One year, I watched them get loaded up. I was there at the wrong time. I try not to see it.”

After their pigs are sold, the 4-H members are invited to see the remains and find out how much of the pig was used. Blaylock never goes.

Although seeing their pigs shipped away is a sad moment, all of the 4-H member’s hard work pays off once the auction begins.

Blaylock will put Howie in a trailor and haul him over to the fairgrounds Friday night for the show.

Howie will be judged on showmanship and market value. Saturday night, Howie will be lured into the ring for the auction.

Blaylock will dress in her 4-H clothes and walk Howie around the ring as the announcer calls to the crowd.

Then Howie will be sold and another year of raising pigs will be complete.

In the meantime, Blaylock pets Howie’s head after his meal. Blaylock will be back the next day to give Howie another bath and feeding. With the stench of Howie still on her hands, Blaylock leaves her grandma’s house right after Stroot.

Stroot and Blaylock both agree that the pig’s smell is something they never like.

“It’s the only part I won’t miss,” Stroot said.