Henrico County celebrates piglets’ first birthday

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Henrico County's "Meadow Farm" held a special event on Tuesday, Nov. 26, to celebrate four piglets' first birthdays. Archie, Ducky, Iggy and Otis are four brothers who spent their first birthdays enjoying some peanut butter-banana-oat cake. "It doesn't even feel like it's been a year," one of their caretakers remarked. The four-pig squad popped out as a surprise last year after the farm brought in a new -- already pregnant -- pig to accompany one of their own. Little Otis was the runt of the litter. He required around-the-clock treatment all throughout the holiday season just to survive. Emilee Orndorff and her team of animal lovers reflected on that "whirlwind" experience with 8News. According to Orndorff, the staff worked extra hard as they weren't sure the little guy would make it, but her manager let the small piglet stay at their home for a bit. "He got to spend Christmas at someone's home underneath the Christmas tree," Orndorff said. The pig continued to grow, surrounded by a strong support system. Orndorff said Archie is the leader, Iggy is the "muscle" and Duckie is the class clown. "We wanted to make sure that the pigs that he got to live with cared about him and were responsible with [Otis]," Orndorff said. While "some little piggies go to the market" … and others just go home, these piglets are headed straight to their own party and they wouldn't have it any other way. "As much as we enjoyed being a part of their lives from day one," Orndorff said. "The best reward is knowing that they get to be pigs at one year of age and get to live their own life without us being here 24/7." The team hopes to make this an annual celebration not just for the piglets, but maybe even for some of the other animals too.