MYRTLE POINT - Amidst the smell of sweet hay and hog manure, and the grunts of fat piggies as they barreled down a row of pens to be weighed for auction, one little boy scrambled with four piglets.

Running after the tiny herd, which barely escaped his grasping fingers, Carter Northup, 2 1/2, got an early taste of the 4-H Club that has already become routine for two of his older brothers and mother, Denesa Rains.

Rains, who started in 4-H in the late 1970s, said she likes to start her boys off young in the program and plans to enroll Carter in 4-H when he reaches fourth grade.

"I think it's a good program that teaches responsibility, work ethic and teaches them the value of life," Rains said, as Carter gobbled a well-deserved treat in her lap for catching Wilbur, one of the wiggly piglets. She added that her third youngest son, who is in third grade, also will be joining 4-H next year.

"I got 'em," Carter cried between mouthfuls of chocolate ice cream, which streamed down his face and arms.

Still in diapers, Carter didn't know quite how to handle the black and white piglets, occasionally smacking them as his mother and brothers cried, "Don't hit!" However, he and the orphaned piglets, which are about 2 1/2 weeks old, spent their first time in the ring on Tuesday night, during the 4-H Swine Judging on the first day of the Coos County Fair & Rodeo. Carter, the only toddler to compete, and his piglets earned blue ribbons in the Open Class conformation crossbred wiener class, said Rains, who had dressed her young son in his cowboy gear.

"The judge was really impressed that there's kids starting up young and raising pigs at this age, and having fun doing it," Rains said after the show.

Fed on calf-replacer milk and a combination of stale Cheerios and Life cereal, the piglets are being raised by Carter and his family at the 72-acre Rains and Little Northup Ranch in Myrtle Point.

While she does make money off of her ranch, Rains said she keeps it open primarily for her boys, and believes the 4-H Club is teaching them invaluable lessons.

"Most kids stay home and play video games and watch TV. We don't have time to watch TV," Rains said. "The boys help a lot on the ranch or I would not be keeping it."

Just then, Carter wrestled free of her arms and ran toward the Midway. Catching him in a near instant, she said the work he will do on the ranch should tire him out.

"He's got a lot of energy and you have to put it to some use."

Eric Rains, 14, Carter's eldest brother, said working on the ranch is fun, although he and the other Rains boys typically get up at 6 a.m. on school days to care for the pigs, llamas, cows and other creatures.

"Most people have to learn from books what animals are like, but if you live on a farm, you get to know firsthand. You get to touch and feel them and learn what they are like," said Eric, a 4-H member who will be a freshman at Myrtle Point High School. "I just think it's a lot funner because you get to play with them and stuff."

Eric said Carter already is getting a feel for ranching and enjoys playing with the piglets and going on tractor rides.

"Carter likes to play with them," Eric said.

Rains said she already has seen how 4-H has made a difference in her children's lives, noting that they are all top students and athletes. She said her three eldest children also have wrestled in national wrestling competitions.

"I just feel that if you keep their minds active and hands-on, they'll have more successes in life," Rains said. "The farm is not just an exercise in taking care of responsibilities, but it's also building muscle."