Soooo Big!

Today we followed Walter's very thorough (and very humorous!) directions for weighing a pig with a string.

First, we made friends.  That means we gave the pigs some acorns as an appetizer.

Next, we tied a string around 4's middle, then Herb picked her up by the string and stepped on a bathroom scale.

Just kidding!  But we really did give the pigs acorns and some friendly scratches to get them warmed up to our "date," as Walter calls it.

Next we measured from the base of 4's tail to her crown between her ears. We made a knot in the string to mark the length.

Then we wrapped the string around 4's middle to measure her girth.  A second knot marked that measurement.

After that, we came inside and compared our string lengths against a measuring tape.  Here's what we got:

L = 50"
G = 42.5 "

Then we used Walter's formula:

L x G x G divided by 400 = lbs.

Using that formula, 4 weighs 225 lbs.  We're amazed that she could be so big (8 seems to be a bit smaller).  That would mean the pigs are butchering weight now, although it will be at least the end of November before there's another appointment available.  So I guess they will be a lot bigger when we finally get them butchered.  At least we know we should take the first available date.

And I should start the mental process of saying farewell, getting used to the idea that in a short month, we will no longer have the amusing antics of 4 and 8 nor the daily satisfaction of bringing food to animals that squeal with joy to see us.  :(