On January 25th, the third grade classrooms participated in a Virtual Pig Farm tour of Christensen Farms in Minnesota. Logan was our tour guide, and he taught us many things about pig farms.
First, the pig farm helpers have to do stretches before they go in the barn to get warmed up. They also have to go in the shower and clean everything, even their hair, because they don’t want to get the pigs sick. The pig helpers have to put coveralls and safety glasses on, so they don’t get pigs sick. They do lots of research to know how much a pig should weigh before the pig goes to the market. They have 16 feed bins! That's more than average. They weigh the pigs, so they know when to take them to the market. They also do laundry when they're done in the shower. They have a meeting room to discuss what to do. They have shockers to deal with some pigs.
Next, they have a LOT of pigs, in fact they had 2,325 pigs. The pigs are really, really heavy. One pig was 331 pounds, that's a LOT. The pigs are also very hungry; they eat 7 pounds of food a day. There are also some kinds of pig pens such as big pens, small pens, and hospital pens. The pigs have a wet dried feeder and in the feeder there are soybeans and a food made from a byproduct of ethanol. The pigs are pink and are also REALLY big. What makes them really big is they put 24,000 pounds of food in the feeders. The pigs are also VERY friendly and like to chew on your boots. They sell the pigs at the market. Some pigs are small and they live in a VERY long barn. When it is hot, a curtain opens. On the floor of the pigs’ pens there is concrete with holes. The barn is also insulated.
Finally, Logan answered our questions and one of them was, “What is your favorite pig?” He said his favorite pig was Harley. Harley really likes Logan, and Logan likes her too. Harley also really likes to get petted. Harley is six months old and is pretty heavy.
In conclusion, we had so much fun learning about the pig farms. It was an outstanding virtual tour!!!