The South Country Crafts & Critters 4H Club checks in with an update on their activities.
Happy New Years to all! The New Year has brought about some busy 4H activities. In January the Cloverbuds learned about healthy food and created animal faces with food for the rest of the club as a meeting snack. They have also learned about swine and made some dryer balls from wool with a special guest speaker. The beef members have learned about inoculations for beef cattle and had their husbandry checks done. The horse club members been meeting regularly to discuss all things horses and hope to get outside in the nice weather soon. The outdoor living members participated in an Avalanche survival activity where they learned about snow shelters and got to see a trained Avalanche dog in action as a demonstration. Sewing members are learning all about the how a sewing machine works and embroidery. The members had a fun afternoon socializing at the end of January with a movie and popcorn. They are busy at work now preparing their speeches for the annual public speaking competition on February 26th.
On February 5th, 11 swine members got their swine projects, and 2 members raised their own and all had a successful day weighing them with the average weight being 45lbs. The approximate finished weight should be 250lbs or more. Most of them are the Duroc breed from Sunset Hogs in Pincher Creek, AB. The Duroc breed of pigs are pink in color, droopy ears, longer bodies and are known for their good temperament, and friendliness which makes them fun projects to learn showmanship skills with. They make great 4H projects because of their quick growth and excellent marbling of the meat which is a deep red with very little waste. They can also handle the colder climate well which is a bonus with our unpredictable spring weather.
