4-H sisters raise pigs for county fair

Hard work, dedication, a desire to learn and in the end, a sad heart.

For three Plains sisters who are part of the local 4-H Club chapter, the sad heart is just a part of the process associated with raising pigs for show, and ultimately sale.

Mikiah Cook, who was recently chosen as a statewide President the 4-H organization, along with her sisters Jayden and Melodie, have been working several months to raise, prepare and show their pigs at this week’s Sanders County Fair in Plains. The pigs can be raised in the window of March to August.

“We were at a show and saw little pigs for sale,” said Mikiah, 16. “We all decided we wanted to raise pigs from that point on.”

The result of their season long efforts will be on display this weekend as 4-Hers and other livestock raisers gather for a chance to show their animal rearing abilities, and in the end, sell their critters to meat processors.

“Yeah,” Mikiah said when asked if it's hard to part with the animals after spending so much time working with them and preparing them for show. “It kind of breaks your heart because you get to know them and like them like pets”.

For the past several years, the three sisters have taken many daily breaks to care for and work with their animals in hopes of winning ribbons and a good price from buyers.

The spend many hours each day making sure the pigs are well cared for as the fair approaches.

“They are really intelligent animals,” Melodie said. “It can be hard to keep them in their pens because they can figure out how to get out. They are number four on the animal intelligence list.”

On average the girls spend several hours a day, every day to not just keep them groomed and healthy, but to learn about them and the livestock industry.

“It is a lot of work, but we like doing it and learning about the animals,” added Jayden.

Several times a day they walk the pigs for 20 minutes or so to keep them in good shape. Great emphasis is also placed on their nutrition which is way more complicated than most people would think. Proper blends of grain and other nutritious foods can make the difference between taking home a ribbon or not.

And when it is time for showing the animals, the girls have been trained in ways to show the pigs that will catch a judges eye.

“You have to make sure and maintain eye contact with the judge,” Jayden said. “The judges look to see if you are paying attention. They also check out the animals really closely. They look for pigs that respond well and look good. The judges watch how you walk and work with the animal as they are in the arena.”

A lot of the training they do is a matter of “learning as you go,” Melodie added.

Another good part of learning to take care of an animal is learning to be responsible for the tasks they must do, every day. And they all three say meeting and making friends is also a cool part of the process.

And, they say, they learn about the different breeds of pigs and other animals along the way.

“There is a rule that a pig cannot weigh more than 290 pounds,” Mikiah said. “If they do, you don’t get paid extra for the extra weight they have on. We watch that and so many other things and make sure no detail is over-looked.”