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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.

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

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.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/195KJRXcn0pjg2kEgW0EefeOdL80erbMNLHKhYRGJVBM/edit?usp=sharing

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

To Avoid Dryness

To Treat Cuts and Rashes

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

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.

Fair Week

Ok, this is a whole thing. Be prepared to spent a lot of time at the fairgrounds. Most people pull their kids out of school basically from Tuesday to Saturday.

You will deliver the animal on Tuesday but it’s up to you to make sure it’s taken care of. Plan to be there at least twice a day for feeding/water, but probably more for general welfare.

Preparation

Things to bring with you:

I’m going to use the 2025 schedule as a basis, knowing things may change year to year, so take it with a grain of salt. Your times will be on the Schedule page of the Navajo County Fair Book which you can search online.

Tuesday

Schedule:

Many people get to the fairgrounds long before 5pm. You can unload your pig and get them in the stall at any time that day after 8am. If you are bringing an RV trailer you probably want it there pretty early to secure a spot.

We didn’t get to the fairgrounds till about 6 and that worked out fine. We had plenty of time to get the pig comfy before weigh-in but by the time we checked in they were out of the discounted carnival tickets

As part of check-in you have the option to buy additional wristbands. These get you into the fair all week - so if you have additional guests who will be coming more than one time, plan to buy them wristbands ($15/each). You can also buy the discounted 3 hour wristbands for the carnival which were $25/each.

Wednesday

Not much happens this day. In our case, Adam went to school and I worked from the fair, feeding the pig twice and that’s about it. Most of the kids take the chance to explore exhibits, watch various shows, pal around, and spend time with their animals. It’s a fun day.

Thursday

Today is the big day! You will be showing your pig two times today - once for the market, and once for showmanship.

Understanding the Competitions

The market competition is more about the pig - its genetics, muscles, build, etc. - but it’s still important that the kid shows control over the animal and shows every part of it to the judge.

The showmanship competition is about the kid and how well they show. That said, the pig is still taken into consideration. Here the judge is looking for kids who have good control, good eye-contact on the judge, keep the pig distanced from him but also don’t stay in the corner, and keep their pig between them and the judge.

Either on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning they will post the order for both competitions. Market is broken into classes, and showmanship is in lots.

Preparation

Take the morning to feed and wash your pig. You’ll wash it again before you show it but you want to get anything major off now.

For showing, your child will want to dress up. For a girl this often means a flashy blouse with cowboy cut jeans and boots with done-up hair. For a boy it’s similar, swapping the blouse for a long-sleeve button-up, optional tie, and combed hair. A white shirt works, but most kids will wear a checkered or colored shirt, which looks cleaner, longer.

Understanding Timing

They want to have whichever class is on deck in the show stalls while the other class is in progress, so you’ll want to get your pig washed and ready at least 3 classes before your time. (e.g. if you are class 3, pull your pig out at the start of class 1, that way you can be over in the grass behind the barn, ready to load up right as class 1 finishes (about 10 min).

The same timing applies to showmanship.

Expect the shows to take several hours as there are a lot of pigs and they take about 10 minutes per round, plus the championship round and bred and fed round.

Friday

Auction day! There’s lots of excitement here, and for good reason!

The auction is a long and fun event. Dozens of buyers come in from all around the county and generously purchase the livestock, helping the kids (and their parents) recover the funds from the season and have a little extra for future goals.

The order is determined by a few factors, but it will be posted in the same place as the classes from yesterday.

Preparation

Once again, your child will want to be wearing show clothing. Have them ready to go at least 30 minutes before the auction.

You’ll also want your pig washed and looking its best once again.

It is a common courtesy to present your buyer with a gift. It doesn’t need to be extravagant, but something to show appreciation. Expect to pay ~$50 for this. Some ideas:

Whatever the gift, including a note from the child is a nice touch.

Timing

This is a bit more relaxed. Each animal takes roughly 2-3 minutes to auction. Go get your animal about 10 slots before yours and you should have plenty of time to rinse it off and head to the barn.

Format

The format is simple, it’s in the same barn as the showing. Each kid will show their animal again but in a much smaller ring and alone while the bidding happens.

A prudent parent will encourage their child to walk around and meet the potential buyers before the auction starts and also greet those you invited. A simple introduction, like, “Hi, I’m <name>. Thank you for coming today” can open a conversation and help teach your child to interact with adults, especially adults in power.

Pay attention to the location of your buyer so you can deliver your gift. Kids typically deliver the gift within a few minutes of the purchase.

Saturday

Another slow day, like Wednesday. Hang out, feed your pig, keep them comfy in the potentially hot weather.

Sunday

The fair is over, the animals are gone. Between 7-8:30am everyone is required to clean out their stalls. Bring a shovel, wheelbarrow, and a bucket. Once stalls are clean you are free to go home!