Fine swine

Jeff Benson

The Orange County Fair celebrated a number of unexpected birthdays

Sunday, as two animals gave birth to 16 total young in the maternity

barn just 90 minutes apart.

The day’s champion was an exasperated 460-pound Yorkshire sow,

Iris, who at 1:15 p.m. Sunday began farrowing 14 fuzzy piglets a day

before she was due. Nearly 100 onlookers cheered her on as she pushed

and pushed ... and pushed, all while a pen full of wide-eyed,

curly-tailed grunters fought for suckling space.

Darryll Ruffolo, 25, and Sean Terheggen, 14, stood in the pen all

day with Iris, assisted with the delivery and cleaned each soiled

piglet. Ruffolo said he’d done this several times before as a teacher

with Mission Viejo’s Future Farmers of America. But Sean never

imagined he’d be cleaning newborns before showing up for the day’s

volunteer work in the fair’s livestock corral.

“I’ve never done this before,” he said. “But the experience was

awesome.”

In the agonizing 30 minutes between piggies No. 13 and 14, a large

crowd gathered around the pen holding one of Iris’ barnyard

neighbors, Mona the Suffolk ewe. Mona seemed a lot more relaxed than

the sprawled Iris did, despite having just birthed her second lamb in

less than 10 minutes -- while standing up.

The newborns’ legs were way too big in proportion to the rest of

their bodies, but both lambs managed to make it to their feet in

their second hour. Big brother was followed soon after by his twin --

whom Mom promptly stepped on.

While these birthing animals were obviously in no condition to be

handled, others were. Sunday was also the big day for judging pygmy

goats.

Riverside resident Sue McCullough, who said she owns 25 such goats

in her “Pygmy Palace,” won the day’s first two competitions. Her

brown pygmies, Mack’s Brown Sugar and Klondike, earned her awards for

“First Place -- Showmanship” and “Champion -- Weather (Neutered

Male),” respectively.

Other less-experienced owners didn’t fare as well but had just as

much fun.

Lauren Christensen, 12, and her mother, Toni, said their goats

needed the experience of being handled and judged. The two finished

with goat events and will now concentrate on the L.A. County Fair in

September.

Lauren said she’s been involved in the 4-H club for four years but

has only been keeping goats as pets for two years. She entered her

three Agouti goats -- Miz Liberty, Cookie Doe and Goldi Locks -- in

various competitions, while the elder Miz Liberty is on only her

fourth career show.

“I really got into goats because they’re like grass-eating dogs,”

Lauren said.

Actually, grass isn’t all they eat. The hungry, black-haired goat

also ate half of the fourth-place ribbon it helped Lauren win.

* JEFF BENSON is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at jeff.benson@latimes.com.