Wild Pigs

[walkaboutjacks]

I saw a post elsewhere on how to catch wild pigs without having to shoot them (basically feed them corn and slowly build a pen around them over time) and I am soon to moving to some property in ocala Fl
lots of wild pigs in florida so I have some questions.
Not sure I would want to keep a big boar, but a momma pig and some piglets would be awesome. If a boar gets caught in the bunch how would I get him out/rid of him. Then, will feeding them get rid of any "gamey" taste? how long would that take? I am a widow with a daughter who has health probs so I dont see her being much help.
I think I would advertise on craigs list or some such to get one processed now and then as I couldnt do that either he would get one I would get one...
what ya think?

 

[Wannabefree]

It should work if wild hogs are that plentiful around there. I'm not sure you'd want to attract a lot of them, they're very dangerous, and extremely destructive. I'd just trap the big ones and call around and find out who could slaughter for you. They're open season year round here, so all you'd need is hunting/trapping liscense to be legal. There shouldn't be a real gamey taste to the bacon, but if you insist on fattening them, you can use corn and it'll take about a month to feed one to get the mast out of their system that leaves the slight gamey taste to the meat. I haven't done this yet, but have been thinking about baiting them myself, and already know a guy who'll slaughter for 50 cents a pound. That's cheaper than the grocery store meat, and better, so there is you a price to go by as well. Keep in mind I'm in rural Tennessee though, prices could be higher in your area, but I would shop around and get a couple prices first.

Folks years ago didn't do it like this. They usually used dogs back then and generally just shot them. They liked the hog meat from the ones fed off the mast. This was prior to the mountain chestnut trees becoming extinct, and the hogs lived off those chestnuts and acorn crops. The wild hogs we have are the remnants of the hogs they raised a century ago...before livestock was confined within fences, back when folks hogs run free range and gardens were what got fenced to keep the stock out Any "wild" hogs were just leftovers from someones stock if/when they moved off and their hogs continued to breed. Most hogs back in the woods and mountains then belonged to people, and had their ears marked various ways to tell the difference in one man's hogs from another. Each family had their mark recorded at the courthouse, and every family knew what every other's mark was in the community. They'd bring them in from range only for slaughter and if there were pregnant sows about to have a litter. They kept them close by "salting" them. The hogs would come close to home to find the salt they were used to their owners putting out for them. Interesting background I thought

 

[walkaboutjacks]

It should work if wild hogs are that plentiful around there. I'm not sure you'd want to attract a lot of them, they're very dangerous, and extremely destructive.

Oh yes they are plentiful and destructive! They even have them out at the airport (SW international) and call in trappers to get them...trapper told me they breed faster than he can catch em
I always used to point them out to my taxi customers and tell them the story of the huge black sow I saw running up towards the terminal building one day and would comment "Well....pigs must fly after all!"

 

[hillfarm]

We have a boy (when I reread that, I thought lord i'm getting old, the boy is in his early twenties.) that sets out a huge trap on a trailer set up and he comes and hauls off any that get caught. He typically pays me 25 dollars a hog and I get rid of a nuisance and he gets the meat. He must make out pretty good on the deal. Cus he's all smiles when we get one. I just dont enjoy pork enuf to want to try to eat any.

 

[JRmom]

I agree with Wannabefree about attracting them to your property. They are very destructive, very dangerous, and in my opinion, not tasty at all. They are a huge nuisance and I certainly wouldn't want them around my property.

 

[Wifezilla]

I like the taste of wild boar. I would be setting out traps and making trips to the butcher as often as I could. If you don't like the taste of wild boar, that is another issue all together. If you accidentally trap a male, I bet a craigslist ad for "free wild boar bring your own gun" would take care of it rather quickly.

 

[beerman]

Be careful a lot of them are cross bred with a type of large Russian hog and are VERY dangerous. I saw a 2 hour show on them on discovery I think. They were showing how they use 3 dogs to try to bring a hog down and a lot of dogs die.
Brian

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I got one about a year ago. It was a young female, maybe 60 pounds. The taste was fine ... They said older ones or boars would not taste the same. What amazed me was how vicious she was! Being only a few months old (they get 200 pounds or more around here) and being a female, yet she did try to kill me! And tried repeatedly to attack.

The guy said you could take a young piglet and put a ring in it's nose and raise it like a domestic pig, and it wouldn't really know the difference and stay relatively tame with the feeding. I didn't have any desire to risk it though, after seeing how sows with piglets behaved, as well as the ones a few months old.

It was an experience, but I personally wouldn't want to raise them.

Around here they are so destructive and common, many people PAY to have someone trap/shoot them. I'm amazed at the guys who actually pay to be taken on hunts for them, up to $200, when most landowners would happily let the hunters come and take them for free.

I have a friend of a friend who traps lots of them, and gives away lots of meat.

 

[JRmom]

Geez, you guys. I can't believe anyone thinks wild hogs taste good!

Walkaboutjacks, seriously, if you think you want to pursue this, eat some first! It's not grocery store pork. (we need a barfing smilie!)

 

[Wifezilla]

We have this one ...



But that is a great idea. Taste the wild boar first. I had a friend that bought a whole farm pig and wouldn't eat it. Turns out the farmer raised them mostly on pasture. She was so used to commercial pigs raised on corn and soy the farm pig tasted nasty to her.