Measuring pigs...

Tonight we did something I was very excited to try. We measured the pigs. Why measure a pig? you might ask. To find out how much it weighs. The pigs we are raising are destined to go to "freezer camp." I have read (and heard, from pig raising friends) that in an ideal world one wants pigs to go to "camp" when they weigh approximately 220 lbs. Pigs grow very rapidly from tiny to 220, but after that the growth slows. So, (in my newly learned farming lingo) in order to take advantage of the best feed to meat ratio, I want my pigs to go to camp at the right time. If I send them too soon I will get small chops and silly little hams. If I wait too long, I will be wasting money feeding them. The measuring process is a bit complicated... there is a special tape, (generously loaned by my pal Carol who raises pigs.) One measures from between the pigs ears to the base of the tail, then around the pig just behind the front legs. There is multiplication and subtraction involved, so I sent Chris into the pasture with the tape, because he is a math whiz and my math skills hover around those of a first grader. The pigs were having none of it. Despite food bowls full of pig chow and fresh goat milk, they kept running from bowl to bowl to escape the man with the tape. So I jumped into the fray. Since I am the one that feeds the pigs most of the time, (and scratches them with a bristle brush and brings them treats and things to play with) they are more tolerant of me. The male pig is skittish, and has been since the day we got him. He avoided me with a nimbleness the belied his size. The girl pig, however, stood quite still while I measured, and didn't even flinch when I put the tape around her. She measured 44 inches long and 41 inches around. If my husband the math whiz's calculations are correct, Yum Yum, the female pig, weighs around 190 pounds. Tiller, the skittish male, is quite a lot larger, but I didn't tape him. Because he was having none of it! The plan is for the pigs to go to camp on December 3. So, I would say that even if we are off on our measurements, the pigs will be plenty big by then to fill our freezer with big chops, succulent bacon and plump hams. Meanwhile, they are happy pigs, rooting up their pasture, sucking down goat milk, wallowing in mud holes and avoiding men bearing measuring tapes.