The goal of any swine project is certainly to raise a  champion. While there is only one champion show, all exhibitors can benefit from their swine project by learning about the swine industry, producing a safe and wholesome product, gaining responsibility, and making friends. Swine projects  involve thousands of youth throughout the U.S.

Raising and showing a champion involves hard work and a little luck. Selecting the “ideal pig,” the right facilities, a sound feeding and health program, proper fitting and showmanship, and paying attention to details each and every day are all important. Overlooking any one of these details can prevent you and your pig from making it to the first pen.

Selection

It is extremely important to know and understand the published rules of the show where the pig will be exhibited before you purchase an animal. These rules vary from show to show and change each year. Factors such as weight limits will dictate what size of pig you should purchase. Whether or not gilts are allowed to show may also limit your selection. In addition, date of ownership, validation procedures, and breed break-outs may all play a role in the decision making process. Understanding the rules of each show will aid you in purchasing a pig that meets the criteria established by the show officials and will avoid disqualification.

The importance of selection cannot be overemphasized. An animal’s genetics largely dictate its performance in traits such as growth, muscling, and  at the leanness. Youth exhibitors usually select their animals when the pigs are eight to ten weeks of age and weigh between 40 and 80 pounds. The challenge is to try and predict what a 40 to 80 pound feeder pig is going to look like at market weight. If you are able to wait until the pig is closer to 80 pounds before purchase, you will have a better chance of predicting how the animal will turn out. However, if you wait too long to select and purchase a pig, the number of animals you have to select from may be reduced. The breeder, parents, 4-H volunteer leaders, other 4-H members, and your county agent or agriculture science instructor are all people who may help with the selection process.

Each exhibitor is looking for the “ideal pig.” The criteria for the classification of “ideal” may be different for each exhibitor, depending on where the pig is going to be shown, rules for a particular show, number of days until the show, the season of the year, and many other factors. The options should be discussed and many decisions made before you leave for the farm or sale to purchase your pigs.

Regardless of whether pigs are purchased at a sale or directly from a farm, pigs should be purchased from a producer you trust. The producer is also a good resource for you to use for suggestions on how to feed and raise the animal since he/she will usually have extensive knowledge about the performance of related animals as well as experience in finishing pigs. Buying animals directly off the farm has some advan­tages, such as purchased pigs are not exposed to other pigs from which they could pick up diseases. Also, on-farm purchases allow you to observe related pigs at different stages of growth (such as littermates and parents). This may help you predict the future perfor­mance of your animal. Also, the producer is able to give advice and more one-on-one attention to you as a customer. However, pig sales offer a larger selection. This may be particularly advantageous when one is looking for a specific breed and weight. Pig sales also offer the opportunity to compare pigs from different breeders and reduce the amount of time spent driving from farm to farm comparing animals.

One of the most common mistakes that many exhibitors make during the selection process is not placing enough emphasis on feet and leg soundness. Many show pigs, partly due to their extreme muscling and also due to selection for larger framed hogs, have structural defects that lead to lameness. Muscle can only attach to bone, and extreme muscling places a lot of stress on the skeleton, leading to lameness. Selecting pigs that have adequate width of bone and angulation to the joints will help prevent lameness. Feet and leg problems that are evident in feeder pigs will usually worsen as the pig grows. While examining your prospective animal, step back from the pen or pig about 10 to 20 feet and watch it walk and move. Pigs should take long strides and appear to be comfortable while walking. Many show pigs are straight-shouldered, causing them to “goose step” or swing their feet out in front of them before placing them on the ground. Pigs exhibiting “goose stepping” should not be purchased. Any problems that are apparent at 50 pounds will likely worsen by the time the animal reaches 250 to 270 pounds.

Most groups of feeder pigs that you will be selecting from will not (and should not) have much noticeable fat. This is because fat is not deposited to any appreciable amount until the end of the growing period. Muscling tends to be very apparent in young animals because of the absence of fat cover. Young pigs should be lean. Animals fatten from the front to the rear of the body, so the first place you may notice a pig laying down fat is in the jowl or chin area. Other places to look for fat deposition include the shoulder area, down the top (over the loin), the lower third of the body (underline area), and finally, the pones or tailhead.

A pig won’t drastically change its overall shape throughout the growing period. It will just change its dimensions and get bigger. For example, if the pig is short-bodied at 50 pounds, it will probably be short-bodied at market weight.

Muscling is proportional. If an animal is heavy muscled in the top, or loin area, it will be heavy muscled throughout the rest of the body. Look at the pig’s shoulder, loin or top, and ham for muscling.

Facilities
A state-of-the-art facility is not necessary for a swine project. The important factors to consider in housing pigs are animal comfort, cost, and ability to clean and disinfect the facility. An animal that is not stressed by its environment tends to grow better and be healthier. The primary goal is to provide an environment that allows the animal to express its genetic potential to the greatest extent. Heat stress is a major concern in many areas of the U.S. Shade is of utmost importance, especially with white pigs, since they sunburn more easily. Fans, misters, and common sense can be used to provide pigs with a suitable environment. Facilities and equipment do not have to cost a lot of money. For example, misters can be made by poking small holes in a garden hose.

The flooring of the facility may be dirt, sand, wood, or concrete. Each type of flooring has advantages. Dirt or sand is the cheapest and the easiest on the feet and legs of the animal; however, it is impossible to completely remove microorganisms from dirt and sand. To minimize the exposure of pathogens from one year to the next, the soil can be tilled and left exposed to sunlight for at least three days before a new group of animals are introduced into the pen. Concrete is the most expensive and the hardest on the feet and legs of the pig, but is the easiest to clean and disinfect. A combination of flooring is often used; cementing a portion of the pen (usually around the waterer to prevent mud holes from forming) or placing sand on top of the concrete. The sand
will need to be removed and concrete cleaned and disinfected between groups of pigs.

Feeding and Nutrition
Genetics, nutrition, environment, and health status will determine the growth rate of your pig. The ideal situation would be to leave the pigs on a self-feeder until the day of the show. In fact, in commercial production, pigs are encouraged to grow as fast as possible while still maintaining an acceptable level of leanness. This practice minimizes labor and increases average daily gain and profitability. However, in a show situation, you are trying to coordinate the day when the pig looks its very best with the day of the show. You may also encounter weight restrictions. Controlling the pig’s growth rate may be required so that these two events will coincide. When pigs are on a self-feeder, it is still important to check the feeder twice a day to ensure feed is always available and that feed is flowing into the bottom of the feeder. During high humidity, feed has a tendency to cake along the sides of the feeder. When this occurs, feed should be pushed down daily to prevent spoiling.

After the pigs reach about 125 pounds, it is time to start closely monitoring their growth. Start by weigh­ing the pigs once a week. The pigs should be weighed at the same time of day (i.e., Sunday afternoons or Thursday evening after school) since a pig’s weight will change throughout the day depending on the amount of feed or water fill. Weighing at the same time of day will help prevent large fluctuations in weight that may only be due to water intake. It is advantageous to use stationary scales. While many clubs or counties may share scales, moving them from one place to another increases the chance of damaging them, causing weights to be inaccurate. A set of scales are a good investment if there are multiple 4-H members in the same family who will be showing for some time.

Record the weight of each pig weekly. After a few weeks, the average daily gain can be calculated (by dividing the weight gain by the number of days between weights). It is important to know how many days are left in the finishing period (how many days until weigh-in at the show). After observing the growth rate of your pig for a few weeks and knowing exactly how many days until the show, you can start manipulating the pig’s growth so the animal will weigh its optimal weight for the show. The optimal weight will differ for each animal depending on frame size and degree of muscling and fat. Depending on the animal’s growth rate and number of days in the finish­ing period, you will probably need to start hand feeding your pig to more closely control feed intake.

Handfeeding means individually feeding each pig a set amount of feed. Pigs should be fed at least twice a day. If the pig needs to gain weight quickly, it will eat more feed if fed more often. To determine how much the pig will eat on its own, feed a known amount to the animal at the normal feeding time and return in about an hour and see if any feed is left. If there is feed still left in the trough or pan, try feeding a slightly smaller amount at the next feeding until the pig is cleaning up all of the feed within an hour of feeding. This is the approximate amount of feed that the animal would eat until full.

As the pig gets closer to its optimum weight, the amount of feed can be adjusted to better facilitate target weight gain. A pig should not be fed less than 4.5 to 5 pounds daily. It is also important to remember that most diets are formulated for animals that are allowed to eat all that they want (full feed or ad libitum). When limit feeding, additional vitamins, minerals, and protein may need to be added to the diet. to provide the needed amounts of these nutrients. Fresh, clean water should never be withheld from the animal.   Not only does this jeopardize the welfare of the animal, water deprivation will cause muscles to lose shape and expression.

Nutrients
Water is the most essential of all nutrients. If using nipple waterers, check the flow rate periodically. Nipple waterers for grow-finish pigs (40 pounds to market weight) should provide one quart of water per minute. As mentioned previously, an animal should never be deprived of water. 

Carbohydrates and fat provide energy to the animal. Carbohydrates make up the majority of an animal’s diet. While energy is needed for growth and maintenance, overfeeding energy will cause an animal to store the excess in the form of fat. However, if the energy level is insufficient, muscle mass can actually be lost because it also takes energy to maintain existing muscle mass. 

Proteins are made up of amino acids that are linked together to form long chains. Ten amino acids are not produced within the pig’s body and must be provided in the diet. Of these, lysine, threonine, tryptophan, and methionine are the most important. The need for lysine is higher than other amino acids; therefore,  in most cases, if a diet meets the needs for lysine adequate amounts of the other amino acids are usually also provided.

Most commercial show pig complete feeds are balanced for nutrients needed during a certain stage of growth. This means that based on unrestricted (full feed or ad libitum) access to the ration, the diet will provide adequate amounts of energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Overfeeding protein can be expensive and can actually cause the animal to use the excess protein as energy. When limit feeding, it is important to ensure all needed nutrients are supplied in the diet. Vitamins, minerals, and protein may need to be fed at higher levels if the pig is being limit fed.

Summary
Showing pigs can be a rewarding experience for youth. The quest for the “champion” pig begins with selection. The selection process should take into account show regulations, number of days until the show date, structural soundness, genetics, and muscling. Once a pig has been purchased, daily management of environment and feeding becomes critical. Manipulation of the feeding program is usually needed closer to the show date. Grooming also factors into the appearance of a champion pig. Above all, enjoy the experience of showing pigs!