Rural Living??

[Anonymous Poster]

Hey Bird,

What about those "The pig that ate grandma" horror stories? /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Are they really dangerous when they get big?

(Guess I'm pig-norant /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif )

Larry

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>Are they really dangerous when they get big?</font color=blue>

Larry, I'm not a good one to tell you much about hogs, since it's been 46 years since I was raising them, but I do remember a little. And yes, they can be dangerous, just as cattle can, if they're not raised to be gentle. There's a great deal of difference in the personalities and temperament of the milk cows we had when I was a kid and these beef cattle my neighbor has. Our milk cows were milked, petted, etc. twice a day and were like pets; never dangerous. His cattle are never touched by human hands except for castration, vaccination, branding, dehorning, and ear tagging, so they tend to be a little wild and dangerous (not that I can blame them). I guess hogs are a little like that. Mine were usually gentle. I was only attacked once by a sow with a new litter and I (12 years old) was running around yelling, waving a stick, chasing chickens out of the pen, and when I ran behind her, she whirled and hit me so violently, she didn't just knock me down, she sent me rolling and I came right back onto my feet running as fast as I could for the fence, and barely won the race, only because I didn't have far to go, and she was still trying to get at me through the fence after I was on the other side. There was no doubt in my mind that she'd have killed me if I hadn't just been lucky. Of course my Dad had taught me to never get in the pen with a grown boar. I heard lots of stories of people killed and injured by hogs, but I never actually knew anyone who was hurt beyond needing a few stitches (boars frequently have some sharp tusks that can really tear a man's leg up).

You know hogs can not perspire; that's why they have the reputation of wallowing in the mud. They'll stay pretty clean if they can, but when it gets hot, they've got to get in water or mud or the heat will kill them. And unlike most other farm animals, they do not crap all over the pen. They'll pick one corner as the bathroom and it doesn't matter whether you have one or a dozen in the pen, that's where they all go all the time (another reason they seem a little smarter than others).

Bird

 

[cowboydoc]

Robert,
They were wild! You never got it out of them. Two of them we gave to the zoo when they were older and one, a male, got pretty tame and I kept him for about five years. One day went out to the pen where they were kept and he had just died, never knew why. He was the best one. He got along really well with the other dogs and didn't have too many problems with him.

 

[RobertN]

Bird, I rides hogs, but they just are not the same /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

 

[RobertN]

Richard,
Here in Folsom, Ca, they have a "zoo". It is mostly rescue animals, and others which people tried to raise. Thier stories about animals are very close to the expierience you had with the three coyotes.

The bear they have there, "Fisher", is used by companies who make bear proff containers. He is very clever about getting into them. If the container doesn't pass Fisher, it usually dosn't make it to market.

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

 

[RichZ]

As always, I'm impressed that despite our differing views, this thread has remained extremely civil. I have a degree in Wildlife Conservation, and have studied this topic extensively throughout my life. Many myths regarding wildlife exist, and are tougher to kill than most wildlife. Although,it is true that wolves will at times kill livestock, it is rare that this is their main food source. In fact wildlife studies have shown that a large portion of a wolf's diet is small rodents. So they actually are more helpful than harmful. However, this is an emotional issue that is hard to convince people of. Wolves are not the evil animals that is portrayed in fairy tales. In fact they are very intelligent, and in fact admirable in their own right. Many ranchers who kill wolves in response to kills on their herd, are actually reacting to the kills of wild (or not so wild) dog packs. There have been times when ranches have been surprised that the kills were by their own dogs. More irresponsible than almost anything, are people who dump their pets in the wild, when they become tired of them for some reason. Dogs have had most instincts bred out of them, and, when desperate and starving, will attack animals that wolves would very rarely attack.
Another common myth is that hunting thins the herd and is good for the species. This would be true if all hunters followed wildlife management practices. The fact is, most hunters go after the prime memebers of a herd. For example, most deer hunters would rather kill a 12 point buck (if they can find one) than a runt buck. Killing the healthiest animals actually harms the gene pool of the herd, and makes them weaker. I'm not saying that hunting is bad, just that wildlife management practices should be taught to all hunters, and that myths in wildlife practices do more damage than anything. I think that one thing we can all agree to, is that man has been a pretty poor steward of our natural resources, and people should be better educated to avoid some of the actions we've read in this post.

 

[RobertN]

<font color=blue>I must say that I think the title should be changed to 'Thrash'n'Bash'. All parties are not reading the posts carefully enough, and taking what they do read 'personal'</font color=blue>

I agree, and am guilty as charged.

Sure did learn a lot out of this though; that's the great thing about this forum. So many people have so much info to share. I have a different point of view than when I started.

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

 

[RichZ]

As always, I'm impressed that despite our differing views, this thread has remained extremely civil. I have a degree in Wildlife Conservation, and have studied this topic extensively throughout my life. Many myths regarding wildlife exist, and are tougher to kill than most wildlife. Although,it is true that wolves will at times kill livestock, it is rare that this is their main food source. In fact wildlife studies have shown that a large portion of a wolf's diet is small rodents. So they actually are more helpful than harmful. However, this is an emotional issue that is hard to convince people of. Wolves are not the evil animals that is portrayed in fairy tales. In fact they are very intelligent, and in fact admirable in their own right. Many ranchers who kill wolves in response to kills on their herd, are actually reacting to the kills of wild (or not so wild) dog packs. There have been times when ranches have been surprised that the kills were by their own dogs. More irresponsible than almost anything, are people who dump their pets in the wild, when they become tired of them for some reason. Dogs have had most instincts bred out of them, and, when desperate and starving, will attack animals that wolves would very rarely attack.
Another common myth is that hunting thins the herd and is good for the species. This would be true if all hunters followed wildlife management practices. The fact is, most hunters go after the prime memebers of a herd. For example, most deer hunters would rather kill a 12 point buck (if they can find one) than a runt buck. Killing the healthiest animals actually harms the gene pool of the herd, and makes them weaker. I'm not saying that hunting is bad, just that wildlife management practices should be taught to all hunters, and that myths in wildlife practices do more damage than anything. I think that one thing we can all agree to, is that man has been a pretty poor steward of our natural resources, and people should be better educated to avoid some of the actions we've read in this thread.

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>Bird, I rides hogs, but they just are not the same</font color=blue>

Yeah, RobertN, I've ridden that kind of hog, too; just enough to know that I don't want to own one./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

 

[RobertN]

Ya, I imagine so... Besides, that Kubota just fits you to a "T".
'Course, a Deere "L" would probably fit you well too /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif