Last month, my family and I brought a pig into our high school Ag Room. The pig’s name was Mabel. Mabel is a spot gilt. A gilt is a female pig that hasn’t had piglets yet. A spot is a breed of pig. When we brought Mabel into the Ag Room, she was pregnant. The plan was for her to give birth to her piglets in the Ag Room. We moved her into her pen in the Ag Room a week and a half before her due date. Mabel needed time to get adjusted to her new environment, so that is why she was brought in early.

                Everybody was excited to have a pig in our school. All the teachers, students, and administration loved Mabel. Everyday day, the kids in my Ag class would check in on Mabel, anxiously waiting for her to give birth. We set up two web cams to watch Mabel. We called it Mabel Cam. One camera connected to a link on our school website. The other connected to an app you could download on your phone. Every day, everyone grew more and more anxious for Mabel to have her piglets. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I would check the app and make sure Mabel didn’t have her piglets in the middle of the night.

                Finally, Mabel had her piglets. She had them on the February 16th and 17th. I went up to the Ag Room at 7 o’clock at night on the 16th. I went up with my mom, brother, and friend. My Ag teacher was also there. We waited about two and a half hours until Mabel had her first piglet. One of the piglets was taking forever to come out, so we played the “Eye of the Tiger”. The piglet came out then, so we named it Rocky. On the 16th, six piglets were born. I took my friend home around 12:30 in the morning. Once I got back to the school, Mabel had two more piglets. Mabel had a total of eight piglets. Five piglets were girls and three were boys. We named the girls Cookie, Cleo, Lucy, Susan, and Waffle. We named the boys Slig Bob, Rocky, and Bear. My friend and I helped clean the piglets up and make sure they were breathing properly. I even got to cuddle with them. Piglet cuddles are the best.

                We had a long night at the school. The last piglet to come out, Bear, took some time. He was stuck and we had to call a vet to come pull Bear out. By time all of this was done, it was 5:30 in the morning. I got home around six. I took like an hour nap and got up at seven to get ready for school. I was so exhausted, but I still went to school. Throughout the whole day, I almost fell asleep. In my science class, a classmate offered to buy me a soda to keep me awake, but I declined. Luckily, we only had school until one that day. As soon as I got home, I went straight to bed. I woke up around five, had dinner, and did some homework. Since I hadn’t gotten a shower yet, I got one. Then I went back to bed.

                After Mabel had her piglets, everyone couldn’t get enough of them. Every day, tons and tons of people would visit them. Since we had the webcams, teachers in all our schools showed Mabel and her piglets to their students. The Elementary School watched, the Middle School watched, and it was even on T.V. at our High School. Mabel was famous. We have a local news station that even came and interviewed my brother and Ag teacher about Mabel and her piglets. Mabel and Cookie were interviewed and then even oinked when the microphone was on them. While the piglets were in school, we got to weigh them a few times. They gained about ½ a pound a day.                

                The piglets and Mabel stayed at the school for about two weeks. After two weeks, they were moved back my grandparents farm. My family and I plan on selling the piglets to kids at our school to show at our local fair. I’ve checked on them since they have been taken back to my grandparents farm. I can’t believe how much they are growing. It seems like yesterday they were just born. We hope to do this again next year.