--- title: Your Guide to Raising a 4H Pig date: 2025-11-10T08:16:00-07:00 author: Matt Bloomfield canonical_url: "https://www.mlj.one/volunteering/4h/your-guide-to-raising-a-4h-pig" section: Blog --- [ ← Blog ](https://www.mlj.one/volunteering/4h) Post November 10, 2025 # Your Guide to Raising a 4H Pig Helping your child raise a 4H Pig can be overwhelming if you didn't grow up doing it. I wrote this guide immediately after my first year to try to capture all the questions I had going into it. While it's a bit Navajo County centric, I'm sure the general principles will apply in any fair situation. --- Part 1: You're here! [Part 2: First Time Fair Information](https://www.mlj.one/volunteering/4h/first-time-fair-information) ## Finding and Choosing a Pig I’m no expert here. Choosing a pig your first year is pretty tough. That said, a Berkshire is a pretty safe bet and seems to be preferred by the judge. A Hampshire is a solid pig but don’t expect to win. Duroc pigs are beautiful but tend to be a little smaller and, from what I’ve heard, harder to control. It seems that the current trend in judging just favors some type of Berk/Hampshire cross and perhaps even some Yorkshire included as well. Different breeders will charge different prices. Expect to pay anywhere from $300-800 for a piglet, depending on who you buy from. You can spend up to $2500 if you really want to go big but that would be a poor decision your first year. A higher price does not necessarily mean a better animal. When it comes to choosing the actual piglet, you are looking for squareness instead of roundness and good muscle/skeletal structure. You won’t be able to determine that as a newbie so either bring someone with you or roll the dice with a good breeder. If you have the lead time, you could go to a show the year before you buy and listen to how the judges talk about the pigs in order to learn more about what they are looking for. ### Breeders A few known breeders I’ve discovered - Claudia Walker - I bought from her and all her pigs made weight and were good-mannered, but definitely not show winners. - Ty Wood - known for solid options - Tamra Step - Ed Konrath - Haws Showpigs - Gunner Caldwell - Dodd’s Pigs (Phoenix) - No Doubt Genetics (Pima) - Or do the open-barn sale in Holbrook ### Timing You want to have your pig sometime in March or April. It cannot be older than 9 months by the time of the fair. Tagging happens the first week of June and you really want a well-adjusted pig by that point. ### Grants The Arizona Pork Council typically offers a $450 grant for first timers. Keep an eye out for that as it can be really helpful! ## Housing a Pig Ideally pigs have some space to run around. We kept ours in a 16x16 pen and our hut was 4x8 but made for two pigs. With only one it could be smaller. In an ideal state you would put concrete down to keep your pigs clean and then have a roof for shade. Pigs do get sunburned and dirt can harbor bacteria. Most people, however, will deal with dirt ground and open air. 16’x50” cattle panels fastened against T-posts make a pretty good pen. You’ll want a gate to let them in and out. Pigs like to dig and are quite good at it which can be annoying, so railroad ties or similar around the inside edges can help there. Piglets will try to escape. A pig needs a place to stay out of the elements, and if you get it early and it’s still cold, you’ll need a place for it to stay warm. A small, 3 sided enclosure will work most of the year. Adding a removable front panel and a heat lamp will work for the winter. Most pigs are fed using a feeding tray against a fence. For water, a 50 gallon water bucket with a nipple makes a nice option. It will probably leak from time to time, so think of placement and drainage. ## Feeding a Pig You’re going to read and hear about a lot of feed brands. I recommend just using Sunglow from Cal-Ranch for your first year. If you register your child online Cal-Ranch will give you 5% off all supplies for the 4H project. Do it early! ### Basics of Feeding Whatever you do, make sure you use a show feed and, especially in the first few months, focus on a high lysine amount. Like somewhere around 10%. You generally switch feeds after they reach around 100 to 150 lbs. There are Grower Feeds, Developer Feeds, and Finishers. If you change feeds, do it gradually. A good rule of thumb is to do 25% new/75% old for a few days, then 50/50 a few days, then 75/25 a few days. Note that the amounts you feed your pig will change drastically throughout the season. I’ve made a document here that gives you a pretty good idea of how many pounds you should feed daily. Find a scoop that is about 1 lb of feed to make this easy. ### Feed Brands The most popular competitive feeds are MoorMan’s and Gen-X - both of which will require a local connection to purchase. Another option is the feed from Hatch Family Farm. They have different combinations of protein and is not a pelletized feed. Sunglow from Cal-Ranch is a great all-around feed for a good price. You can add supplements to take it to the next level but I’m no expert there. At the end of the season you can start giving them beat pulp soaked in water to fill them out. It is my opinion that a first year person will not know enough to be competitive with feeds, so just find a brand you can easily access and stick with it. ### Weighing the Pig When a pig is little you can stand on a regular scale while holding it to get its weight. As it grows, however, you can either find someone with a livestock scale, or measure it to know its weight. The measurement technique requires a sewing tape measure and is easily found on YouTube. ## Caring for a Pig It’s good practice to wash your pig about every day. Their skin can become stained with mud and be difficult to ever clean. Head and Shoulders shampoo works great for cleaning a pig. Some people just use Dawn. At a minimum, rinse them off every day. ### To Maintain Whiteness - Natural White - Sullivan’s brand (or Weber version but don’t let that sit too long) - helps the white pop and remove yellow from the pig - Can also use shampoo made for blonde-haired women - Start putting sunscreen on white areas and champion choice on the dark areas to let the hog get better contrast - 10-15 minutes in direct sunlight and then wash them off ### To Avoid Dryness - 2-3x/week use shampoo - don’t want to dry out their skin too much - Show-rated Conditioner - brush them in the direction of their hair. Keep it on all night and then rinse it out in the AM - If super dry skin - use cocoa butter human lotion - Champion’s Choice - helps with dry/flaky skin as well. Good to use right before going in the show ring if not too hot - shiny pig ### To Treat Cuts and Rashes - Human beauty cream helps with cuts on the pig - nivea beauty cream - Red line - helpful for rashes, allergic reactions, sunburns ## Training a Pig This is the hardest part for a first timer in my opinion. The key is to start early to increase your chances of success. Get a pig whip (36”) early on and start letting the pig nibble it and interact with it. Also, let your child try to bond with the piglet. You want him/her to be its safe space and become its trusted leader. Have them go out and read it a book out loud, feed it marshmallows, and just generally spend time with it. This will help them to bond. Having two whips can be helpful in training. Holding one firmly against one side while using the other can give you a nice backstop. For more firmness, reverse the whip and use the butt against the pig to keep it from turning. Do not train the pigs in their pen. Buy some hog fencing and build a little 25x25 ring you can work them in. Use a mister to spray them down as a reward. As a bonus, you really want the pig to keep their head up when they walk. Honestly, if it’s your first year I’d just focus on getting the pig to go the direction you want. YouTube is really your friend here. ## Hauling a Pig ## Paperwork & Tags There are a few super necessary items to take care of - Seasonal Pass - this comes from AZDA and is easy to get online, just do it! Your breeder probably did a self-inspection which is all that is required to get the pass. - NCJL Certificate - NCJL Registration and Ear tag - 4H Record Book - This can be done online in the ZSuite program 4H uses. If you start it early, you can add to it throughout the season. It’s actually a super convenient way to keep track of your spending and other progress. - 4H Member Record - This is cumulative from year to year, so at the end of your 4H experience you will have a book to show all you’ve done during your time. ## Selling a Pig About a month away from the fair, have your child go talk to businesses about buying your pig. If they don’t have the funds to come bid on your pig at the auction, they can fill out an add-on form that will show their support without needing to be out $1000s on the pig. This is a great experience where your child gets to practice talking to adults in a professional way about something meaningful to them and also ask for their support. ### Auction You are not necessarily required to get buyers there. NCJL works on that as well, but anyone you can invite increases the pool and the potential buyers. Have your child write up a short letter as an invitation with a picture of them with their animal. Your 4H leader should have a brochure with important information you can include when you hand-deliver these to businesses and individuals. Try to choose people you spend money with as this is exceedingly kind of them to do. ### Add-ons Pre-fill the add-on sheet from your 4H leader with the businesses you plan to visit. That way they can contribute small amounts should they choose. If a business gives you a $100 add-on, that means they can potentially deduct $100 from their taxes and your child gets and extra $100 in their check. ## Pre-show Requirement As part of our county’s 4H experience you are required to attend the regular club meetings and also to show your pig at one show before the fair. SAILA is an organization that hosts many shows and there is typically one in Holbrook. You can check their website or Facebook page (more up to date) for that information. I would recommend looking out for the local 4H camp put on at the Holbrook Fairgrounds. This counts as a pre-show and is a full, one-day clinic to help your kids know how to raise animals. As part of that they will spend some time in the show ring and it will really help you prepare for the fair. Now, on to Fair Week!