Swine Time

Today, class, we will be learning what it means to "clip" a pig.

Clipping a pig basically means to give it a hair cut...........but in a pig's case, it's a really LOUD hair cut.

You want to clip a pig before a show so he feels all pretty and special like when the Lion on The Wizard of Oz gets all gussied up before he meets the Wizard....or in this situation, the Judge!

First, you are going to need a pig. I prefer the beautiful maroon-ish red-ish breed that is called Duroc. I just love Durocs. I love their Fightin'Texas Aggie maroon color.



Here are Bucky and 8-Ball. These are R's pigs for the San Antonio Livestock show next week.

Step 1: Get squeaky clean.


I use this handy dandy soapy thingy that attaches to the hose.



Get the pig really super soapy all over.........
(Bucky loved this part.......except for when I accidentally squirted it in his ear. You NEVER want to squirt something in a pig's ear because at that point, you become the bath RECEIVER instead of the bath GIVER.)

Make sure you get all the parts nice and soapy.

Then let the soapy stuff sit for a bit and "marinade". While this is taking place, you can talk to your pig about how handsome he looks and how you will give him all the cookies he wants if he walks correctly in the ring and wins you a big fat ribbon. (Or you can just skip the ribbon part and tell him he can have all the cookies he wants no matter what....which is what I do:-)

Then it's time for the final rinse! LOOK at that gorgeous red color....I love it.
Sherwin Williams should make a paint color called "Duroc Red"---I would paint my entire house that color.

Next, you take WD-40 (yes, I said WD-40....the same exact WD-40 that you would use to fix a squeaky door) and squirt it all over the pig's hair. If you want, you can tell the pig it's some fancy Vidal Sassoon mousse/hairspray so he will feel fancy and special.

(I love this picture because I'm quite sure I was the only mom from my neighborhood that morning squirting WD-40 on a pig)

The WD-40 helps protect the blades on the clippers while making it easier to go through the coarse hair.


Then, starting wherever the PIG decides to "let" you start..........you start clipping away running the blades of the clippers against the direction of the hair growth.

Pigs are very much like three year olds............you have to let them think it's "their" idea and things will go much better. You can't really boss a pig around too much............you have to be patient, calm and willing to let things happen on "pig" time. As long as you are willing to do that, you won't get frustrated and want to pull your hair out.

(Pause story: You may be wondering, "Where is R?"........he was in school because we did this on a Friday morning........ R DOES know how to clip a pig.......here are some pics from last year just to prove it!)



These are from March 2008.......these were his pigs for the Houston show last year.

FFA stands not only for "Future Farmers Of America", but also, "Families Feeding Animals"..........it's not JUST a kid project, it's a family project.
Sorry, I just had to get that out of the way because it really bothers some people.

Okay.........now that you believe me...........

Resume current story HERE:

Bucky thinks this whole hair cut was "his" idea...........that's why he's being so sweet.


I really enjoy clipping pigs.......it's very calming for some reason.

If you are lucky, you get a pig like Bucky that will let you do most of the clipping in the wash-pen area without having to put a snare on his nose. I'll show you that a little further down.


Clipping this way takes a little longer because your "target" is moving. (Kinda like giving a toddler a hair cut...............a moving 270 pound "toddler")

Bucky let me do about 80% of his hair cut this way.................but then it came time to do his face, neck, and ears.............that's when things turned a little "hairy".

At this point, you have to "snare" the pig..........which means you take this thin piece of rope and loop it around his top jaw/snout. Once this is on, it's the pigs natural reaction to pull back on it. You then loop the end of it around a bar and the pig will just stand there pulling back on the tension of the rope. It's amazing to see this little bitty rope control a 270 pound animal!



The good part is, pigs will basically stand perfectly still while pulling with all their might on the rope.

The bad part is, it's LOUD. It sounds like you are KILLING the pig. Pigs can be very loud when made to do something they don't want to do! The FFA barn is RIGHT next to a restaurant and when it's pig clipping time, I'm quite sure their requests for bacon cheeseburgers go down dramatically. It's always a treat to see the horrified stares from the outside diners when they hear this: (click for audio)



You can just "feel" all the frantic phone calls to PETA taking place at this moment.
(and this short video clip is NOTHING......I took this once the super loud part was over....sometimes it's so loud, you have to yell to the person standing right next to you.)

Once all that is over................


VIOLA! A clean, clipped pig! This is 8-Ball.


And here is Mr. Bucky...........



Just LOOK at that precious little dimple above his tail.....how cute is THAT?)

And just like a three year old would do....................

digging in the mud after a bath is always a fun thing to do!

A nice bath is a great way to start off a long trailer ride to get ready for next week's show in San Antonio! Good Luck boys!