Sheila is a tall girl
Sheila is 72 inches long ( 6 foot, 182cm) and her girth is 68 inches ( 172cm). She is 34 inches high at the highest point of her back and when I measured her girth I could not reach all the way around her, I had to lean over her back and kind of throw the end of the tape around and underneath her, then crawl under her belly and retrieve it.
Not many pigs would be happy with all that behaviour but Sheila and I have an understanding.
After applying the equation from yesterday Sheila’s weight comes to 832 pounds/377 kg. And the WINNER of words is Eydie with an amazing estimate of 831 pounds. Email me Eydie at celima.g.7@gmail.com and we can discuss your guest post on the 18th of February. If you want to of course. No worries.
In many old Polynesian cultures if the king and his wives were nice and fat and well fed they were seen to be successful and powerful. Only the poorest or hardest working were as skinny as the skinny girls of today. I love Sheila’s size. Pigs keep growing and I know of some perfectly healthy and still working boars who have reached 1500 -1700lbs sometimes more. There are even some show pigs as much as a ton (2,000 pounds) though I imagine their lives are not very long. Sheila will keep growing in size this is why one must NOT overfeed pigs unless they are not expected to live terribly long. In winter Sheila eats 4 pounds of my special feed mix a day (quarter of which is alfalfa or rabbit pellets) one egg, fruit, all the hay she wants and vegetables on store day. 
In the animal kingdom the biggest and tallest and strongest and most flamboyent are the leaders of the herds.
Our big Sheila is the leader of her herd. This is why she has been deemed a Pet on the farm. I want her to stick around. She knows all my ways and trains the younger ones and keeps the older ones in order. She is a natural and firm but fair leader.
Yesterday we smoked a couple of our own pasture raised chickens in John’s new home made smoker.
We had fun yesterday. Sheila loved the attention. All the measuring and hugging.
When I left her last night she was standing in the yard happily munching on hay intent on getting even bigger.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Love celi
74 Comments on “Sheila is a tall girl”
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thekitchensgarden 
I loves that pig xxxx On 8 Feb 2016 13:11, “thekitchensgarden” wrote:
> Cecilia Mary Gunther posted: “Sheila is 72 inches long ( 6 foot, 182cm) > and her girth is 68 inches ( 172cm). She is 34 inches high at the highest > point of her back and when I measured her girth I could not reach all the > way around her, I had to lean over her back and kind of throw the” >
She’s fabulous. … three cheers for the big girls!
I’m thrilled I came so close! Glorious Sheila! Long may she…waddle.
What an extraordinary weight! Her bone density must be like steel. I’m very impressed.
Sheila looks perfect to me!
I noticed that smoker in one of your recent pictures – it looks fantastic and I’m quite jealous. I bet the chicken tasted amazing, but don’t tell he pigs about it… not the boars anyway 🙂
Oh Mad, this smoker is right up your alley.. now I am looking at smoking everything, but i need to fill the racks when it is going so i am looking into smoking vegetables.. c
Smoked cheese is gorgeous. They don’t do it in France, so that’s one of the things I miss.
Sounds good and Poppy needs to hurry up with a some plonkers 😉
I make smoked garlic salt with our garlic and good sea salt.
Wow she certainly is a big girl! Love her. That chicken looks good 😀
It was quite divine and very easy to cook – we will cook like this more often now i hope.. c
Amazing smoker! That must have been quite a job to build. Chickens must have been amazing.
Long live Sheila!!!!
John likes to work with steel.. But it is so heavy it is lucky we have a tractor to shift it!.. c
My favorite book as a child was “Hamilton,” by Robert Newton Peck. It was about a pig who was misunderstood and teased for his size until he becomes a hero by just being who he is. The chorus was “A pig is just downright supposed to be big.”
Hamilton! I will find it – i am always looking for books for the young ones.. c
It is a wonderful book. Sadly out of print, but it was a Weekly Reader selection, and every couple of years, I run across it for $.75 at a used bookstore.
Oh! he’s the one who wrote “A day no pigs would die.”
Yes, and all the Soup books. Which are hilarious. “A Day No Pigs Would Die” made me cry!
Well done Eydie, hope we get to hear from you next week. Wow, Sheila is impressive size and weight, better not to pick a fight with her! Do we get to have an annual “guess the weight of ….” need not be Sheila every time? Many African Cultures too regard large girths and prominent bottoms as a sign of great prosperity – we have many examples 🙂 Laura
Next week! Gosh that sounds close – i need to start making the lists! c
Sheila is a beautiful girl of traditional build and powerful personality. She is a goddess among pigs… That’ a very good looking smoker and those smoked birds look extremely tasty. Our John is a very handy man to have around, to deal with the fruits of your labour so creatively!
Yes, she is beautiful. I think so too.. c
Whoa! I never knew that pigs kept growing. I imagined that some I had seen were in the 1,000 lb range but never knew they could go upwards to 2,000 pounds. I think my heart would go all aflutter if I were near a pig that weighed 2,000. I think I am glad that you have trained and loved up Sheila from a little grunt to her beautiful and grand size now! ❤
(I just read a Steinbeck short story about a big pig and unlike Sheila she was a frightfully evil pig. Three cheers for Sheila the Sweetheart!)
fightfully evil! Ha ha .. wonderful.. c
That pig is amazing! I love her! Thanks for sharing her with us! She is the perfect farm pet for sure!
Yes, I am lucky she gets on with any animal (unless they get close to her food) c
well done Eydie looking forward to your post. Well done Celi for giving us all something to think about – as usual. And well done the porky pig Sheila for being the star of the day. xx
Morning Jane! c
Nothing like smoked chickens, turkey, or your own pasture raised pork!!! Yum!!!! 🙂
Aren’t we lucky! You and I.. c
I love Sheila… and I proudly wear my Sheila t-shirt. It gets a lot of comments at the nearby farm stores. Will you do t-shirts again?
Yes, I must do the T shirts again. the calendars this year dissappointed me – the colours came out quite wrong on the ones I received. T shirts are more fun.. c
I LOVE my calendar and think it is colorific! Much love, Gayle
That’s interesting – the other days I’ve been busy with searching and reading all stuff at the interweb on smoking. I would like to make some cold smoked saussagees and such. But came to the conclusion that it is not worth doing it beeing a one person household. So I’ll make some saussages from time to time the unsmoked way… – Did you hot smoke your chickens or cold smoke?
Lovely Sheila – I made her lots taller (90 long and 88 wide) and that way lots heavier.
Have a nice day, Celi.
I have no idea what the difference is, but there is a fire! so maybe it is hot smoke? c
As far as I have “learned” at cold smoking the temperature of the smoke has to be between 15 and 20°C only, max. 25°C for several hours, several times (with pauses in the fridge). It’s good for fishes and saussages. So they get a better shelf live (and taste of course).
Whereas at hot smoking the temp. of the smoke should be at about 50 and 60°C and the smoking time is only about 2 to 3 hours. Hot smoking means that the prepared meat (or whatever) is kind of cooked during the process (sometimes before the process). They say it’s necessary to have a thermometer integrated to the smoker to control the smoke temp.
And I’ve read to take care of storing smoked goods in the fridge because you won’t get the smoke smell out of it for long and other goods would take the taste too.
Here’s what wiki says (fyi): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_(cooking)
I think Our John knows already how it works…. – bows to him for building his own smoker!
Yes this is all Johns department – i supply the meat! thank you though.. c
What a biggy piggy! I am impressed.
Luckily she is a gentle giant but Manu will get even bigger – that will be interesting! c
Congratulations Eydie! Sheila certainly looks big compared to the other animals, but the image that lives in my head is the one you shared one time of her size in comparison to you Miss C. That picture made an impression 🙂
Yes, I need someone to take another shot – she is still growing! c
Love the photos of all the animals and I love how you treat them and understand them. The smoker is quite interesting to look at. Wood fired is unusual. I hope you have a perfect day as well. I’ve missed stopping by here while I was gone and was thinking of you all.
I bet you are glad to be home too.. c
Those ladies didn’t sleep much. Yes, I’m very glad to be home. It’s always fun to go but the best part is coming back.
Love our Sheila, all stunning 832 pounds of her! And those smoked chickens look amazing.
She does have a way with her. c
That homemade smoker is something my husband would likely build. Great work, Our John.
Yes, he is now trolling about looking for things to smoke! c
Sheila is nothing short of amazing. I couldn’t begin to guess her weight. Her weight boggles this poor city girl’s imagination–or lack of one!
She is pretty heavy – and her weight blew my mind as well – I double checked the numbers about 20 times! c
Oef! Sheila is one big piggy! I was guessing she was five feet long and wondered if that was too much, so I am amazed at her being six feet! And 832 lbs…. whoa! And while she does look big and thick around the middle, she doesn’t appear ‘fat’, but solid. Congrats to Eydie, who must have some idea of pigs, I am thinking. Obviously I don’t…. heh heh
Oh to have a smoker. Wonderful. There is nothing like meat cooked over a wood fire. I am salivating as I write this.
Hope you’re having a great day too! ~ Mame 🙂
Yes she is not fat, that would be bad for her as she needs to get her exercise .. c
Oh my – Sheila is all woman to this little oinker – hubba hubba. Mom weighed me over the weekend. I was at 52 pounds – sshh I’ve gained some weight. XOXO – Bacon
Fifty – Two you are a tiny wee fella, Sheila could pick you up and carry around like a hand-bag! c
What’a picture! 😀
Snorts – I wouldn’t mind Sheila taking care of me – oinks and winks. XOXO – Bacon
Holy mackerel! 832 pounds? Mama mia! That’s some sweet pig! We all love Sheila. And we all love you! Cheers!
Looking forward to seeing Eydie’s blog. Not long now, and you’ll be taking us around the world, Celie. BTW I think your header pic of Mister Flowers’ tail is fabulous.
Our gale is growing stronger and stronger, and I hope the wood shed doesn’t fly away.
Wowza, 832 lbs. That is one big girl! I guessed only down in the 600 range…but I don’t know what happened to my comment. In fact, I don’t see it a lot of times. Hmmm. Off into cyberspace somewhere my words are floating around. The closest I will be to being an astronaut! 🙂 That smoker is gorgeous!
Had to stop by early to find out what Sheila weighed. So relieved it isn’t 1023!! So neat that Eydie got within a pound!!! Congrats!
Well done Eydie, how did you work it out so close…or was it a lucky guess? Hope you write the guest post, looking forward to it. Sheila is magnificent!
Congratulations Eydie!
Ah, Sheila. Such a wonderful large piggy girl. I couldn’t even guess her weight, but am happy to know it now and her dimensions. Gives me a much better visual idea of her size relative to other animals. Amazing.
Oh my goodness! I’m chuckling away here. HOW DID I END UP WITH THOUSANDS OF POUNDS? 😉 Actually very glad to hear that Sheila is NOT that heavy. I’d worry about those little pigs getting rolled flat if she was. Good fun Celi. Congrats Eydie!
Tall girls rock.
Looking forward to your post Eydie and congratulations: was I ever off . . . last remember Miss C saying Sheila weighed about 600 lbs and I kind’of ‘went’ from there 🙂 !
I guessed 368kg – I was pretty close! Just a couple of feeds out!
You were VERY close – you must know your pigs! c
… like the back of my hand…!
Maybe Sheila thought you were measuring her for a new dress. 🙂 She is a wonderful pig. That’s a nice smoker your John made. Dinner looks delicious.
Having seen Sheila in the flesh, no photo does her justice without something to give perspective. She’s huge but she remains one beautiful pig!
Well, that was a lot of fun, Miss Celi! What’s next? Lots of love, Gayle
Good on you Sheila enjoy that hay! Those chooks look very tasty Celi ..
Congratulations Eydie, you were so close! I on the other hand, a city girl by birth, was way off the mark. I look forward to reading your post while Celi is away. The chicken from the smoker makes me hungry, I am drooling at the thought of a juicy slice for my supper. Celi, do you do delivery?