32 Chickens, 5 Pigs, and a Whole Lot of Idaho: How Our Magic Valley Homestead Came to Life

Here's something I didn't expect when we moved to southern Idaho.

I expected to ease into it. Get settled, learn the area, gradually add animals and projects as we figured things out.

That is not what happened.

Within a few months of arriving on our three acres, we had 32 chickens roaming the property — far more than we needed, but that's a lesson you learn after, not before. And then the girls got involved with 4-H and suddenly we were adding five pigs to the operation.

Five pigs.

I took this photo of my wife out in the pen with the boys the first week. She's laughing. That's the right response to suddenly having five pigs on your property when you've never had five pigs before in your life.

How the 4-H Pig Project Works

The way 4-H livestock projects work in Twin Falls County is beautifully straightforward. You get your pig in May — small, manageable, still figuring out the world. You raise it through the summer, learning everything about pig care as you go. In September, you take it to the county fair, your daughter walks it in the show ring, and the judge evaluates both the animal and the handler.

Then, on the last day of the fair, the pigs sell at auction.

Local businesses bid. They bid generously — not because the pork is worth that much at market, but because they believe in what these kids are doing. Our girls' pigs brought over $1,000 at auction. After the cost of feed and care, they pocketed a solid $650 each.

That's a Magic Valley 4-H summer. I can't think of a better way for a kid to spend one.

What the Pigs Taught the Kids

Here's the thing nobody tells you about raising pigs with your kids.

The animals don't care about your schedule. They need feeding when they need feeding — before school, after school, on the morning you have somewhere to be. The girls learned to manage that responsibility without being asked. They just did it because the animals depended on them.

That shift — from doing chores because a parent reminds you to doing them because something living needs you — is significant. I watched it happen over that summer and I still think it was one of the best things that came out of our move to Idaho.

Idaho and the American Redoubt Had Been Very Good to Us

I wrote that in my blog at the time and I meant it. Wide open spaces, friendly people, and a community that supports families who are trying to build something on a piece of land.

The folks we bought the pigs from delivered them because we didn't have a trailer. They offered to haul them to the fair too. That's Magic Valley neighborliness in action — and it's not an exception. It's just how people operate here.

If You're Thinking About This Life

I sell real estate across all six Magic Valley counties, and I work with a lot of families who are looking for exactly this — acreage, animals, a piece of land where the kids can do real things.

I know what properties support a livestock operation and what questions to ask before you buy. Water rights, fencing, shelter, proximity to 4-H resources — it all matters.

📞 Dr. Ron Jones | 208-712-8386 — I've lived this life in Magic Valley and I can help you find the right property to start yours.

Photo taken by Dr. Ron Jones on his Magic Valley homestead in Filer, Idaho — the girls' first 4-H pig season, 2015.

Dr. Ron Jones | Rim & River Real Estate | rimandriver.com | 208-712-8386