MOUNT GREENWOOD — Ten piglets were born late Tuesday night at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in Mount Greenwood.
School officials posted an update on the new arrivals on the school's Facebook feed around 9 p.m., encouraging those interested to check out the live streaming event.
The online video set up at the barn at the school at 3857 W. 111th St. was back in action Wednesday afternoon after a brief hiatus and was also fielding questions. Visitors asked about the sex of the piglets and if there were any runts in the litter.
For the record, there are four males and six female pigs in the litter. And there were a couple of runts as part of the family that includes several pigs with a brown pigment on the lower half of their bodies.
The live stream has been following Sugarbeet, a roughly 5-year-old sow, since Thursday. The expectant show was supposed to give birth on Monday, and her previous litters averaged 13 piglets, according to Samantha Kujawa, an animal science teacher at the school.
Since Sugarbeet is an older sow, she was expected to have fewer piglets this time around, according to Kujama, who added that some hogs can take up a full four months before giving birth.
Plenty of watchful eyes have been tuning in to the live stream, including students at the school and elsewhere. In fact, several elementary schools in the neighborhood were regularly watching for updates.
The Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences welcomes an expectant sow each year as part of its curriculum. The students observe her during her gestation period, Kujama said Monday.
The live stream also had a poll asking visitors to help vote on their favorite names for the piglets. Some of the top names included Truffles, Osa, Daren and Pumba.
Last year, a sow named Peppa Pig gave birth to a dozen piglets at the school. Seven of the baby pigs survived the birth, but one was accidentally crushed by his mother days later. Thus, the piglets on Wednesday huddled near a heat lamp to avoid being laid upon by the tired sow.
