In reference to the type of State Fair pigs he mentioned, here's 2011's second-place hog, Tickle Me Elmo III, weighing in at just shy of 1,290 lbs:
And here's the 1,305-lb. champeen, Reggie, in all his porcine glory:
Look out! He's got a knife!
In a pen at the State Fair, it's kind of a cute sight. In a swale in the middle of peanut-farming country, it's a nightmare and a threat to a farmer's livelihood:
22 comments:
Feral hogs on my uncles place were like coyotes in WY and I guess like elephant poachers in Kenya.
Shoot on sight, shoot to kill.
Gerry
You ain't woofin' about that knife.
In good conditions they can have 2 or 3 litters a year; nightmare in more ways than one.
That's the time to invite Og over with Backhoe
It matters not what you farm, from grapes to grass, feral hogs are a growing blight that really show no signs of stopping. The drought down Texas way has probably slowed their population increase slightly, but with a gestation period of 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days that amounts to the same thing as a .gov budget cut. It may be a decrease in the rate of increase, but the huge principle is still there.
A herd of these literal swine in a hay meadow overnight can do more damage than a baker's dozen of teenaged boys equipped with Everclear and John Deeres.
Down here the battle cry is "Perish, thy unclean porcine animal!" or, alternatively, "Die, pig, die!"
There are also those who subscribe to the shoot to wound school of thought. Shooting a pig dead means you drag him to the dead pile. Wounding him means he drags himself off. That sounds pretty coldhearted, but when these animals attack your very means of making a living they get what they get.
Lotsa bacon there...
There are also those who subscribe to the shoot to wound school of thought. Shooting a pig dead means you drag him to the dead pile. Wounding him means he drags himself off. That sounds pretty coldhearted, but when these animals attack your very means of making a living they get what they get.
City boy here, so, just asking because I don't know: Once you've shot the pig, can't you eat it? I mean, pig! Yum! Or are there just too bloody many of them to eat? (I guess if they hit a thousand pounds apiece, you could go broke just trying to find the time to butcher 'em...)
Bacon!!!!
...You know, this could be very easily controlled with one more addition: tigers!
Why not?
I'm gonna need a bigger grill...
Dann in Ohio
Perlhaqr said,
"City boy here, so, just asking because I don't know: Once you've shot the pig, can't you eat it? I mean, pig! Yum! Or are there just too bloody many of them to eat? (I guess if they hit a thousand pounds apiece, you could go broke just trying to find the time to butcher 'em...)"
They are pretty tasty when they're shy of 100 lbs and I'd say our average size pig down here is in the 125-175 lb range. However, once the boars reach sexual maturity, they become extremely gamey tasting...and smelling, for that matter.
The biggest issue is probably sheer numbers. If you were motivated and possessed the necessary land ammo, and smokehouse, you could be awash in bacon within a week. Most ranchers don't view them as something to eat, instead they're vermin to be removed as efficiently as possible.
I'm fond of telling folks that the growing pig problem is proof of the lack of a new Great Depression.
RobertaX said...
"...You know, this could be very easily controlled with one more addition: tigers!
Why not?"
Have you ever considered employment in any of the various federal agencies? I'm pretty sure that's what the Corps of Engineers said about Kudzu. :)
Lady, get your foot away from that cage.
Frank has a couple posts where he comments on the subject of salvaging the pigs he shoots.
http://frankwjames.blogspot.com/2011/08/bodies.html
The prior one is already in his archives.
Somewhere on youtube is a video of a LARGE wild boar attacking a hunting group on a hillside. Pig charges from lower, out of the bushes. IIRC, it was supposed to run about 800lbs. Not positive. An exciting few seconds, with one hunter shooting as he slides downhill after dodging the attack.
My Mom and the ex-brother were driving here from the east coast on Alligator Alley back in the seventies, and ran into a huge feral hog. The hog got up and ran away. State Farm totalled the large Ford station wagon they were driving. Hey, at least it wasn't a deer through the windshield!
Had an uncle that had a scar from his ankle to his knee where he tangled with a feral boar in Arkansas back in the thirties.
Sometimes when you have a problem, your stuck with your problem. But, if you have two problems they cancel each other out.
Maybe we should back the $ with bacon.
You could turn in a feral hog at the local "food bank" for $1.00 a pound, or turn in $20.00 for a side of bacon.
Two words: Pet Food!
But, I also like the food bank idea. Human consumption is problematic due to various diseases & parasites. Pets have a stronger digestive system. My 2¢.
Ulises from CA
Joel,
"Lady, get your foot away from that cage."
Eh, I dunno; Reggie was pretty inert. It's gotta be a lot of work getting that big...
No might to it... That is a nightmare in the making...
This is what happens when you ignore the interweb all day. Someone fact checks the weight of the hogs being discussed.
Cool post, Thanks Tam, as it more or less establishes the truth about how big these things get....WHEN they are fed 8 times a day and they DON'T have to move much.
Er, Life is Good When You're a REALLY Fat Hog?...
All The Best,
Frank W. James
"This is what happens when you ignore the interweb all day. Someone fact checks the weight of the hogs being discussed."
That was just this year's champs. There may have been heavier ones before. (I know it was a pretty lame year for pumpkins, compared to last year... :o )
Jebus! Anybody know where I can get a Boys AT rifle to shoot that thing???
As for tigers... anybody giving odds on who would win that one?
Eh, I dunno; Reggie was pretty inert.
Had a friend who worked in a hoghouse in upstate NY. Helped him out a few times while the two big holes in his foot sort of healed. That porker was pretty inert, too, I'm told. Till he wasn't. And that was through heavy boots. A boar that takes biting into its head can go from inert to "oh, shit" very quickly.
If it weren't for bacon and barbecued pork, I'd call the whole species an excellent candidate for extinction.
@perlhaqr:
"City boy here, so, just asking because I don't know: Once you've shot the pig, can't you eat it?"
Been there, done that.
The biggest I ever killed field dressed at 197 pounds and tasted pretty damned good. But, in my experience, all you get is pork; there's very little fat on 'em, so bacon and such is right out.
"Or are there just too bloody many of them to eat?"
In a word, yes.
A quarter mile west of where I have attempted to exterminate them the hard way (hunting with rifle and/or pistol), a neighbor trapped 251 in two months. He made a dent, but not a big one.
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