Ponte Vedra porkfest

[MudDucker]

Looks like you need to switch to coon trapping!

[ontiltttttt]

...if you ever wanna share some pork

[Hit-n-Miss]

Sure glad I don't have that problem at my place. You putting a dent in them.


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[Big Bend Brian]

We baited for a few more days with the door tied open. Friday we set the rootstick and despite a lot of pigs in the trap overnight it was not tripped.



Bummer. So we rebaited Saturday evening but re-set the rootstick for a less robust set.


Sunday morning my neighbor texted and stated there was some rumbling in the trap……

She set off the trap at 0516 hours.

Heading over I see the door is down with one unhappy MEAN sow.



In the next two photos you can see this sow has figured out how to raise the door. She either was pushing hard against the door and then pushing up or she bite the rope and pulled down. Certainly shows how intelligent these pigs are.






While this piggie may look cute & innocent I can tell you she was one MEAN SOW!!!


Casey practicing his Hunter Safety


This next batch will be turned into bratwurst

Moving forward: The game cameras are only showing 6 pigs left so we’ve left the door tied open for a bit and will try to get this next sounder. We’re only putting the bait well inside the trap now trying to get the 2 largest trap shy hogs to commit.






The abundant coon population is not making it easy to keep the trap baited



Brian

[MudDucker]

Looks like you tamed her pretty good. Pigs are smarter than dogs.

I have never had a sow chase me, but I've had boars charge with their tusks slashing side to side. Pigs should be handled carefully!

[MudDucker]

.

[Big Bend Brian]

This neighborhood project has been a lot of fun but I have ta admit I’m beginning to become porked out as I’m at a point now that I have to buy another freezer. I still have over 35 more pounds to grind & stuff as bratwurst, another hog in the cooler to work up, plus we’ll set the hog trap tonight again.

This spring Kapn Skinny of FS NE forum fame introduced me to sausage making (thanks Kevin!). We processed a couple of deer I was lucky enough to get while deer hunting in February (NW FL) with him and I FA DAT (Trey) on Trey’s property (thanks Trey!!):


They put me on a great stand!

I learned a lot from Skinny, enough to want to take this on myself and teach my kids how to make sausage.
With an abundant supply of pork coming in I got the sausage fever…….






Although I caught a little HEII from the wifer over using this bottle of wine


Taste testing to make sure it’s “right” before moving onto stuffing.
Kids gave the approval to press on.


Home grown neighborhood friendly Sweet Italian sausage


Been eating the “tar” out of pork lately……
Last night’s fresh Sweet Italian Sausage spag

After 4 days of baiting with the door wired up the smaller hogs are eager to enter but the 2 largest are still hesitant to enter-at least when it’s light out. I’ll have to modify the rootstick placement, closer to the door, to get the 2 largest hogs to “trip” it since they are not fully committed.








Tonight I’ll reposition the rootstick closer to the door opening where the largest hogs are chowing
Brian

[Can'tCatchAnything]

The Other White Meat!

[MudDucker]

My mother used to make sausage years and years ago. Loved her recipe, but don't know where it is now.

I know you must be getting tired of the pigs, but if you quit, they will breed fast enough to reinfest the area in a couple of years at most. Sounds like you need another neighbor to step up and take over the trap and the processing.

[Big Bend Brian]

I'm probably whining too much....I am having fun!
Brian

[Big Bend Brian]

Looking good so far…. however a couple of sows look pregnant. I also learned today that a neighbor had their yard worked up a couple of nights ago. Might have to move the trap over there next.


Pregnant sow?




This is what we’re gunning for….5 at a time


Been living high on the hawg lately……….
On its way to become a Red Wine Braised wild boar dinner


Trap is set…………………will update with more photos

Brian

[MudDucker]

I'm surprised by how little they have torn up those cow panels. Everytime I put one out, I had to replace the panels once a month or so due to the pigs slamming up against the panels. Shot a boar one night and his whole head looked like a waffle where he been slamming himself against the panels. Had I waited another couple of hours, I think he might have busted out.

An old trapper told me you have to move the traps because the pigs will slow down or quit coming if the smell of blood gets too great. He told me to always use a 22 to dispatch the pigs to prevent excessive blood loss in the trap. I never tested his theory, I just followed it.

[Big Bend Brian]

I'm surprised by how little they have torn up those cow panels.

Every time I walk up to the trap I can’t believe they don’t bust through! They hit those panels HARD!

An old trapper told me you have to move the traps because the pigs will slow down or quit coming if the smell of blood gets too great. He told me to always use a 22 to dispatch the pigs to prevent excessive blood loss in the trap. I never tested his theory, I just followed it.

I’ve had a few people tell me that. I’ve yet to move this trap and they keep coming. Even the next day their entering it. I’ve learned 22 LR hollow points DON’T get the job done well but 22 LR solid noses do.
Brian

[Big Bend Brian]

Well, it’s taken 3 nights to catch any pigs. On the 3rd night there were eleven (11) pigs caught in the trap…………….well…….really there were only 4 (but one was pregnant with 7 piglets). I’m fortunate to have caught her as the piglets were near term!



After the 1st night of not tripping the trap I reset the rootstick such that it would be easier to trip.

Saturday night: It’s amazing they didn’t trip the rootstick?

Interestingly there were pigs all over the trap. The next night the pigs managed to move the rootstick further down on the points such that it didn’t go off again. Just like before they stuffed the trap –how do they not trip it! The 3rd night I repositioned the rootstick by making the 2 stationary points almost vertical making it much easier to trip.


New rootstick placement


Trap is ready……………..


These 2 were caught over 2 weeks ago but squirted out of the panel holes. They’ve grown a fair amount in two weeks and won’t be able to get out next time


Now there’s 3 ……………………


With 4 pigs in the trap the rootstick was tripped and the door closed at 2108 hours.


Two of the six not captured: another pregnant sow and a boar




4 down


A Wyoming knife makes for faster initial cutting


Infection and significant swelling of this sow’s right front leg.


Front leg comparison
As I was dressing this sow I decided to NOT butcher this sow. With an obvious full blown infection and throughout its fat & under its skin it had parasitic worms similar to what you can find in spotted sea trout. I’d not seen these worms in hogs before.


Lots of ticks-most of these are Lone Star ticks. It’s a scary fact that the Lone Star tick can cause humans to develop an allergy to red meat. Current literature states Lone Star ticks don’t cause Lyme Disease.


Chilling as they wait their turn to become sausages…………

The trapping continues………….
Brian

[MudDucker]

W.
As I was dressing this sow I decided to NOT butcher this sow. With an obvious full blown infection and throughout its fat & under its skin it had parasitic worms similar to what you can find in spotted sea trout. I’d not seen these worms in hogs before.


Lots of ticks-most of these are Lone Star ticks. It’s a scary fact that the Lone Star tick can cause humans to develop an allergy to red meat. Current literature states Lone Star ticks don’t cause Lyme Disease.

Chilling as they wait their turn to become sausages…………

The trapping continues………….
Brian

Hogs get all sorts of worms. I have a friend who is a "former" hog farmer. He told me that he would take periodical worm fecal counts and be amazed at how they even looked healthy.

My brother in law from Shreveport got bit by a Lone Star Tick and developed the allergy to red meat. What a miserable thing to have!