This post is written by 10-year old LHS guest contributor, Parker P.

My name is Parker and I am 10 years old. I joined 4-H because this is the year I can join and do a bigger animal like a pig. By the way, 4-H stands for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.This year I am raising a pig because I thought it would be cool to raise a pig so I tried and I enjoy it.

My pig’s name is Dora because she is a female pig, likes to explore new areas, and she is very friendly. I took care of my pig by feeding it five pounds in the morning before school, even in the rain, and five pounds in the evening.

I learned to be responsible by feeding my pig before my dad has to tell me. The second thing that I learned is that when it is a smaller place the pig gains more weight. The third thing is you should wear your PJ’s in the morning when you feed her because you’re gonna change anyways. It has been raining a lot lately. My pig is very lazy when it rains. It is muddy so that is when she likes to get more dirty. One of my problems when it rained is before we had a tent was the water would always flood Dora’s house. Another problem that we had was Dora kept on flipping her water so we got a spigot.

Part of my project was to record all of the expenses like from building the pen to recording how much feed we had to buy. My favorite part about 4-H is doing it all with my dad.

My pig is now around 190 pounds and I am supposed to get it to 200 pounds by June 18. I think I can do it! The auction date is Saturday, June 18, at 2 p.m. and the buyer’s lunch is at 12:30 p.m. My pig is number 30.  I hope you can make it and buy my pig.

Editor’s note:  The 2016 Hawaii County 4-H Livestock Show & Sale will be held on June 17-18 at the Mealani Research Station in Kamuela.  For more information, please contact Drew Stout, 4-H Livestock Association Chairperson at 808-937-3269.