🐖Pigs: raising and housing

A market pig is a summer-long job. The good news is that pigs are smart, they learn a routine fast, and once your pen is built right, daily care takes about 20 to 30 minutes twice a day. This page covers what to do every day, how to feed your pig to make weight, how to keep it healthy in Navajo County’s heat, and how to build a pen that a 250 lb pig cannot wreck.

Tip: Build the pen and shade before the pig comes home. A pig arriving to a half-finished pen is how pigs end up in the neighbor’s yard.

Tagging usually happens the first week of June — the superintendent sets the exact date, so watch for it from your club leader.

The daily routine

Pigs love a schedule. Feed at the same times every day and your pig will be waiting at the gate.

Morning (before school or by 8 AM in summer)

• Check that your pig is up, moving, and acting normal.
• Dump, scrub, and refill the water. Pigs drink 2 to 5 gallons a day, more in heat.
• Feed the morning ration. Watch it eat. A pig that skips a meal is telling you something.
• Scoop manure out of the pen. Pigs pick one corner as a bathroom, which makes this easy.

Evening (when it cools off)

• Check water again. Empty and refill if it is warm or dirty.
• Feed the evening ration.
• Spend 15 to 20 minutes walking and driving your pig. See learning to show.
• Brush the pig and look it over: eyes, nose, skin, feet, tail.
• Write down anything you did or spent in your record book.

Every two weeks: weigh your pig and write it down.

Tip: Spend time in the pen daily, not just for chores. Some kids read aloud to their pig or use marshmallows as a hand-fed reward. With space, a separate 25 × 25 ft practice ring beats training in the pig’s own pen.

Feeding to hit weight

Your target on the fair scale is 260 to 290 lb. Pigs must be at least 220 lb and no more than 320 lb at the fair, so feeding is really about steering toward that window.

Choosing a feed

Use a complete show pig feed from a feed store. It has everything the pig needs, so you do not need to add anything. Do not feed table scraps, garden waste, or restaurant leftovers. It is illegal to feed garbage to pigs in Arizona and it can make them sick.

A common first-year choice locally is Sunglow feed from Cal Ranch — grower, then developer, then finisher as your pig grows. Use a high-lysine grower early, switching around 100–150 lb.

Tip: Register your 4-H member with Cal Ranch for a project discount on feed.

Tip: The Arizona Pork Council has offered first-time exhibitors a grant (about $450 recently) — ask your club leader or swine superintendent how to apply.

How much to feed

Feed twice a day. Split the daily amount in half. These are starting points; adjust based on your pig’s weight.

Pig weight	Feed per day (about)	Protein	Notes
40–75 lb	2–3 lb	18%	Growing frame and muscle. Feed all it will clean up in 20 minutes.
75–150 lb	4–5 lb	16–18%	Fastest growth stage. Gains 1.7–2.0 lb per day.
150–220 lb	5–6 lb	15–16%	Watch condition. Muscle should look hard, not soft.
220 lb to fair	5–7 lb	14–16%	Fine-tune toward your target weight.

Feed by weight, not by scoop. Weigh one full scoop of feed on a kitchen scale once so you know how many pounds you are giving — a 1-lb scoop keeps it consistent every feeding.

Switching feeds

Whenever you change feeds (including when you bring the pig home), transition over about 9 days: roughly 25% new/75% old for days 1–3, 50/50 for days 4–6, then 75% new/25% old for days 7–9. Sudden switches cause diarrhea.

Water is part of feeding

A pig with no water stops eating. In summer, check water at least three times a day. Automatic nipple waterers are worth it, but check them daily to make sure they are working. A 50-gallon barrel with a hog nipple works well — expect an occasional leak at the fitting, so check it.

Weighing and adjusting

Tip: Skip the math. The Pig Feed Planner takes your weigh-ins and the fair date and tells you how much to feed today, whether you’re on track, and what your pig should weigh each day until check-in.

Weigh every two weeks. If you do not have a scale, use a pig weight tape or this formula:

1. Measure the heart girth (around the body just behind the front legs) in inches.
2. Measure the length from between the ears to the base of the tail in inches.
3. Weight (lb) ≈ (girth × girth × length) ÷ 400.

Then work the math. Count the days left until check-in on September 14, 2027, and figure out what your pig needs to gain per day.

Too small? Speed up gain.

• Move up to a higher-energy finishing feed or ask the feed store about a fat supplement.
• Add a third small feeding in the evening when it is cool.
• Make sure the pig has shade, misters, and cool water. Hot pigs do not eat.

Too big? Slow down gain.

• Cut feed by 10 to 15 percent and add more exercise walks.
• Ask the feed store about a holding ration (lower energy, higher fiber).
• Never starve a pig to hold weight. A pig that loses condition looks bad and can be sifted at the fair.

Heads up: Pigs gain fast in the last month. If your pig is 280 lb on August 1, you have a problem. Start planning by mid-July.

Health in the high desert

Our part of Navajo County sits at roughly 5,000 to 6,500 feet. Summers are hot and bright, the wind never quits, spring nights are cold, and monsoon storms roll through in July and August. Pigs cannot sweat, so heat is your biggest enemy.

Heat stress

• Pigs start to struggle above 85°F. Signs: fast open-mouth breathing, lying stretched out and not moving, refusing feed.
• Provide shade all day, not just in the morning. Watch where the shadow moves.
• Use a mister or a wallow (a shallow mud hole) so the pig can cool its skin.
• Feed early in the morning and late in the evening.
• If a pig is overheated, wet it down slowly with cool (not ice-cold) water starting at the feet and legs.

Sunburn and skin care

White and light-skinned pigs sunburn badly, just like people. Signs: red skin, peeling, a pig that flinches when touched. Shade and a wallow prevent most of it. Some families use livestock-safe sunscreen or a light coat of baby oil mixed with water on the back and ears in the worst weeks.

Wash regularly with a gentle shampoo — baby shampoo, Head & Shoulders, or a drop of Dawn all work. Two to three times a week is plenty; more can dry out and flake the skin. A conditioner or lotion helps a dry, flaky coat, and a whitening shampoo before the show brightens a white pig’s coat.

Worms and parasites

Deworm when you bring the pig home and again about 6 to 8 weeks later, using a swine dewormer from the feed store. Follow the label. Rub-on or pour-on products also help with mites and lice, which show up as constant scratching and rough skin.

Vaccinations

Ask the breeder what vaccines the pig has had. Many show pigs get shots for erysipelas and respiratory diseases. Talk to your vet or an experienced club family about what your pig needs.

Common problems

Sign	Possible cause	What to do
Coughing, thumping breathing	Respiratory illness, dusty pen	Reduce dust, wet down the pen, call the vet if it lasts more than a day
Diarrhea	Feed change, parasites, stress	Slow down the feed switch, check deworming, keep water clean
Limping	Injury, hard ground, overgrown hooves	Rest, soft bedding, check for cuts or a hot swollen joint
Not eating	Heat, sickness, bad water	Check water first, then temperature, then call for help
Rough skin, scratching	Mites, lice, sunburn	Treat with a labeled product, add shade and a wallow

The rule you cannot break: withdrawal times

Your pig is going to be food for someone. The USDA Wholesome Meat Act applies to every animal at the fair.

Rule: Read the label on every medicine, dewormer, and feed additive. The label tells you the withdrawal time, meaning how many days before slaughter you must stop giving it. Write down the product, the date, the dose, and the withdrawal date in your record book every time. If illegal residues are found in the carcass, it can be condemned and the buyer gets their money back.

Your YQCA certification covers this in detail. Take it seriously.

Building the pen

How big

• At least 8 × 10 feet per pig. Bigger is better. A 12 × 16 pen gives the pig room to walk and gives you room to practice driving.
• Many local families instead build a 16 × 16 ft pen per pig, using 16-ft cattle or hog panels on T-posts with a gate — more room than the minimum above.
• Two pigs need about double the space, plus a way to separate them if one is a bully.

Fencing that holds a pig

Pigs push with their noses and lift with their heads. A pig that gets its snout under a panel will pick the panel up.

• Use hog panels (16 ft long, 34 in tall, with small squares at the bottom) or cattle panels with the bottom reinforced.
• Set T-posts every 4 to 6 feet and tie panels on with heavy wire or panel clips at the top, middle, and bottom.
• Anchor the bottom. Run a strand of wire, a 2×6 board, or a railroad tie along the bottom edge, or bury the bottom 4 to 6 inches of the panel — this is what stops a pig from digging its way out. Some families run a single strand of electric wire 6 inches off the ground inside the fence.
• Put the gate in a corner and use a carabiner or chain to latch it. Pigs learn to flip simple latches.
• Walk the fence line every day and check for gaps.

Flooring

Dirt is fine and is what most families use. A full concrete pad is cleaner and helps avoid bacteria and sunburn-related skin problems, but costs more to build. Either way, add a feeding pad so feed does not get wasted in the mud:

• A 4 × 4 ft concrete pad, or
• A rubber horse-stall mat staked at the corners, or
• Pressure-treated 2×6 boards screwed to a frame.

Put the feeder and waterer on the pad, at the opposite end from the corner your pig picks for a bathroom.

Building shade

Shade is not optional here. The sun at 6,000 feet is stronger than in the valley and there is very little natural shade in the Holbrook, Snowflake, and Taylor area.

Option 1: Panel-and-tarp shade (cheap, one afternoon)

Materials

• Four 8 ft T-posts or 4×4 posts
• One 16 ft hog or cattle panel, or a roll of shade cloth
• One heavy-duty tarp (10 × 12 ft) or 80 percent shade cloth
• Bungee cords, zip ties, and baling wire
• Post driver, fence pliers

Steps

1. Pick the north end of the pen so the shade falls into the pen through the afternoon.
2. Drive four posts in a rectangle about 8 × 10 feet, leaving about 6 feet of post above ground on the high side and 5 feet on the low side. The slope lets rain run off.
3. Arch a hog panel over the top of the posts or stretch wire between them to make a frame.
4. Lay the tarp or shade cloth over the frame. Pull it tight and tie every corner and every grommet with bungee cords and zip ties. Wind will find any loose spot.
5. Wire the tarp edges down to the top of the fence panels so they cannot flap.
6. Check every tie after the first big wind. Replace anything that has stretched.

Option 2: Three-sided shed (better, weekend project)

A shed blocks the wind, sheds rain, and gives your pig a warm spot on cold spring nights.

Size: 8 feet wide × 8 feet deep × 5 feet tall at the front, sloping to 4 feet at the back. Face the open side east or southeast, away from the wind and the afternoon sun. Some families instead build smaller: a 4 × 8 ft hut for two pigs, with a removable front panel and a heat lamp for cold spring nights.

Materials

• Six 4×4 × 8 ft pressure-treated posts (set 2 feet in the ground)
• 2×4 lumber for the top plates, rafters, and girts
• Corrugated metal roofing (three 8 ft sheets) and roofing screws with washers
• Plywood or 2×6 boards for the walls, at least 3 feet up from the ground on the inside (pigs chew and rub)
• Concrete mix for the post holes, exterior screws, hurricane ties

Steps

1. Mark the four corners plus two middle posts. Dig holes 24 inches deep.
2. Set posts in concrete, front posts taller than back posts to create the roof slope. Let the concrete cure overnight.
3. Screw 2×4 top plates across the tops of the posts, then rafters every 24 inches from front to back.
4. Screw roofing to the rafters. Overhang the front by 12 inches for extra shade.
5. Sheet the back and two sides. Add a 2×6 kick board around the inside bottom so the pig cannot root under the walls.
6. Lay 4 to 6 inches of straw or shavings inside. Keep it dry.

The wallow and mister

• Wallow: Pick a low spot away from the feeder, dig it out 6 inches deep and about 4 × 4 feet, and fill it with water each evening. Your pig will do the rest.
• Mister: Clip a garden mister line along the shade frame and run it on a hose timer for 15 minutes every hour on hot afternoons. Point it at the ground, not the feed.

Tip: Rotate the wallow spot every few weeks or it turns into a swamp. Fill the old one in and start a new one.

Feeders and waterers

Equipment	Good choice	Why
Feeder	Heavy rubber pan or a small metal self-feeder with a lid	Hard to tip. If using a self-feeder, close it and hand feed twice a day so you control gain.
Waterer	Nipple waterer on a barrel, or a heavy rubber tub	Nipple waterers stay clean. Tubs must be dumped and scrubbed daily.
Bedding	Pine shavings or straw in the shed	Keep it dry. Wet bedding breeds flies and disease.
Tools	Manure fork, wheelbarrow, stiff brush, hose	Make chores fast.

Do not use galvanized feed pans for water in direct sun. They get hot enough to keep a pig from drinking.

Keep records as you go

Everything on this page belongs in your record book:

• Every bag of feed with its date, weight, and cost
• Every weigh-in
• Every medication, dose, and withdrawal date
• Materials for your pen and shade
• Hours you spend on chores and training

Do not wait until August to start. Ten minutes a week in ZSuite now saves a miserable weekend later. See record books.

Getting ready for fair week

In the last two weeks:

• Practice loading your pig into the trailer a few times.
• Buy your shavings, a water pan for the barn, and a brush.
• Confirm your Seasonal Pass and YQCA certificate are current.
• Bathe the pig a day or two before check-in. It must be clean and dry at the scale on Tuesday.
• Bring water from home. Pigs can be picky and some will go off unfamiliar-tasting water right when you need them drinking.

See fair week and the packing list for the full run-down.