News reporters - they want to interview me and my hogs!

[backhoeboogie]

The doggone news has called and want to interview me and do a feature on my traps and holding pens. I asked them who gave them my name and they won't tell me. They are going to have to find them someone else to make a fool of. I am not granting interviews and not letting them on the place.

Now if some land owner wants info I'll gladly show them all the ins and outs of trapping hogs, not trapping deer in the process, and what kind of holding pen it takes.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

If you grant what the media wants PETA will be camped out on your driveway.

 

[Beef11]

If you grant what the media wants PETA will be camped out on your driveway.

I would love to have peta members camped out on my place. Ohh the fun i would have.

Backhoeboogie put a lid on the trap, place several peta members in the trap with the hogs shake and serve. See how many are pro hog after a few minutes.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Backhoeboogie put a lid on the trap, place several peta members in the trap with the hogs shake and serve. See how many are pro hog after a few minutes.

:lol: :lol:

You cannot underestimate the power of the media. They have made me look like a genius in some interviews and they have made me look like an idiot in another one.

They can interview you for 15 minutes and take a 5 second clip where you didn't know the precise answer and air that.

They can film the hogs for 30 minutes. If a bigger hog snips at a smaller one, they will air that to look like nothing but a bunch of bullying going on in the pen.

You can never predict animals. They could do anything and they could even try and prevoke them for the camara show they want.

It all goes back to the motives of the media. The interviewer himself could be peta. You can bet they don't own farms and they don't have fields destroyed, fences wrecked, hogs cleaning out feeders etc.

As stated before, if a farmer needed help, I will grant him full access to inspect my traps and pens.

 

[mnmtranching]

Good move, not letting the media come in.

 

[Gate Opener]

I wouldn't trust the media either. You can be sure there would be some kind of liberal slant to it. You did the right thing.

 

[KANSAS]

Backhoeboogie,

I appreciate the fact that you will not allow them to interview you or your hogs. However, if they are looking for a story, any kind of story, they are gonna find it at your place or someone elses. Odds are the someone else wont be as capable as you are to do the interview and could potentially create even bigger problems. If you feel you would do a good job then you should do the interview. The next guy down the road might not be able to decifer between being played or not and could seriously put a hurtin on the publics perception of the hog problem and the trapping itself. Sometimes we are obligated to do things we dont like simply because it is our duty for the good of the whole. From past posts you seem pretty capable of handling yourself.

Just my two cents...

 

[Caustic Burno]

The doggone news has called and want to interview me and do a feature on my traps and holding pens. I asked them who gave them my name and they won't tell me. They are going to have to find them someone else to make a fool of. I am not granting interviews and not letting them on the place.

Now if some land owner wants info I'll gladly show them all the ins and outs of trapping hogs, not trapping deer in the process, and what kind of holding pen it takes.

Ain't no way Boogie I would talk with the media much less let them on the place.

 

[skidboots]

Backhoeboogie: I like the way you think! I've enjoyed reading your posts over the last year, and agree with all your opinions. (Odd, cause I have been accused of not agreeing with anyone on anything).
Anyway, glad to see you trap hogs. I have some hunting land down by Uvalde, yet I see more game here 30 miles from San Antonio, in my own front yard. Lately, more hogs have been showing up here and tearing up the my property and that of all my neigbors. Feeders and rifles have collected quite a few, but my closest neighbor built a big fence of no climb wire, and a makeshift door about 6' by 5' and a 2X4 to hold it open, then baited and set up all night to pull the string. Caught 28 hogs the first night! They were all piglets about 12 to 15 lbs, still that may be some kinda record for one night's catch.
Just thought you might see if you can beat that record sometime.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Caught 28 hogs the first night! They were all piglets about 12 to 15 lbs, still that may be some kinda record for one night's catch.
Just thought you might see if you can beat that record sometime.

That is better than my best. They probably looked like basketballs bouncing off of the walls of that trap. I have seen it too many times already.

Ya'll catch all you can and then some. 28 hogs trapped now is 500 less next year.

About all I am doing is curbing their numbers. They'll never be wiped out.

Be careful with that no climb. If you get a full grown hog, it won't hold him long. The only thing I found that would hold them is the 4 inch grid (or better) panels, with tops and bottoms. You can use cow panel for the tops and bottoms but not for the side walls.

Cow panel on the side wall will result in their heads getting through and welds breaking. Either the hog escapes or he dies. Once he gets his head through the wall, they'll go nuts and wiggle until something gives.

Tell your neighbor congratulations and encourage him to keep up the good work.

 

[Fly-guy]

Caught 28 hogs the first night! They were all piglets about 12 to 15 lbs, still that may be some kinda record for one night's catch.
Just thought you might see if you can beat that record sometime.

That is better than my best. They probably looked like basketballs bouncing off of the walls of that trap. I have seen it too many times already.

Ya'll catch all you can and then some. 28 hogs trapped now is 500 less next year.

About all I am doing is curbing their numbers. They'll never be wiped out.

Be careful with that no climb. If you get a full grown hog, it won't hold him long. The only thing I found that would hold them is the 4 inch grid (or better) panels, with tops and bottoms. You can use cow panel for the tops and bottoms but not for the side walls.

Cow panel on the side wall will result in their heads getting through and welds breaking. Either the hog escapes or he dies. Once he gets his head through the wall, they'll go nuts and wiggle until something gives.

Tell your neighbor congratulations and encourage him to keep up the good work.

Hey backhoeboogie,

I am working on a trap and would like to ask your opinion on several things. The trap has a 1x1 tubing frame, is 12' long, 5' wide, 5' high with 4x4 wire on the sides and top.

Should it have a welded wire floor or not?

Since it will be around cattle, I made a one way door that is spring loaded that they hopefully can, or will push past. Is this a good choice or not?

What do you recommend for bait?

And last but not least, what would you recommend for a holding pen?

Thanks,

Fly-guy

 

[backhoeboogie]

Fly-Guy,

I would reply in a pm but someone else may want this info.

You will catch cattle. You will catch the same cattle over and over. Even when you soak corn in diesel, you will catch cattle. You will also catch deer occasionally. So it is best if you have a way to evacuate the trap readily to let the deer and steers/heifers out.

I think your length is too long. Cut it in half and make two traps. I prefer traps about 5 feet long such that I can pick them up with a tractor bucket and haul trap and all to the holding pen. Everything else is good. 1 inch tube steel frame is plently strong if you weld the panels to it. The panels themselves with a 4 inch grid, are perfect and serve as a gusset for the whole trap.

My traps have tops and bottoms. That is what allows me to haul the entire thing to the holding pen, open the door when they are set door to door, and sort of let the hogs go into the main pen. I place 2 to 3 inches of dirt/sand in the bottom covering the grid completely. Hence, the smaller the pen length the less dirt I have to use.

I use guilotine gates. Once the hogs are trapped, I cannot catch any more in that trap until it is reset. Continuous catch would be okay but these I have work for me.

My main pen is 3 inch tube steel frames with 5 foot, 4 inch grid panels welded to the sides of them. I use cow panels on bottom on the ground and they are simply wired securely to the pen frames. I essentially do the same thing on top. Cow panel tops tied to pipe, wired to the frames around the perimiter.

I have a alley through the main pen on one side with a guilotine gate that lifts from ropes and pulleys externally. When I process hogs I can run them into the alley and select them. Then I can run the others out before I enter the alley and retrieve a hog.

You can bait up several holes. Drive a T-Post and tie a cow panel to it going through the hole. The hogs get accustom to the panel. When you are ready to trap that hole, slip the panel out of there and slip the trap in on them. Rotate that panel to another hole. Perhaps the hole you just moved the trap from. When the hogs see the trap they will think it is simply the panel they are sort of familiar with.

Please catch hundreds of hogs. The more you catch the better off the grass farmers in this country are. They all should be thanking you for the service you are doing. Hog damage is tragic.

If you are ever in the area, pm me and I will be glad to show you everything I use.

 

[Cow_Town]

Just to share a few of my hog trapping stories, I'll let you determine if they belong in the thrills or chills category.

I started out and used regular cattle panel with two 20' circle traps and for four months never had a big hog get out. I use just the overlapped panel method for the gate.

When I ran the traps, first pulled the pickup against the door section as an obstruction. Then got out with semi auto .22 and started placing shots behind ears rapidly. The only problem with this was baby pigs got out, which I then more often than not caught them by hand or shot them a few days later or let the yotes get them.

I always make sure when I build the circle trap to include a couple small cedars or other brush inside the trap. Just build it around them. The brush helps immensely to keep hogs from trying to escape as they think they got some cover.

I always " cleaned " out a full trap from the pickup bed. One morning I caught two big boars 250+ each. Well the first went down quick and the second didnt. That boar was trying his best to climb over that panel and get in the back of the pickup with me, while I'm trying to get a shot lined up. Boy were his teeth popping. After what seemed like a week, I finally am able to line up and put him down. He goes to dead center of the trap and jumps straight up in the air like a porkpedo and falls dead.

I had a small square trap on the same place. Caught one scrawny sucked down sow and 15 tiny pigs. I dont think they all belonged to her, but they where all there. The babies couldnt even get out of this one. Put the poor sow out of her misery ( you could count every bone on her body) . There where some spotted babies in the bunch. So of course I plan on raising them. I didnt have anything to haul them home in but a blue plastic barrel. It took me a long time to extract all of those pigs one at a time but I finally got it done. Got the little boogers home and put them inside the barn in an unused chicken pen. I got them to eating steamed rolled oats, cracked corn and calf manna with some milk replacer. It took them a day or two to get out of the corner and eat. They loved that mix let me tell you along with some friut. Time goes on and they start growing well, so I built a good pig pen for them and turned em' out. Wormed em' cut them,and filled a bulk pig feeder up with commercial hog grower and cracked corn. Did they grow ! I've always heard you couldnt fatten up feral hogs but I proved it wrong totally. Fed them for three and a half months and then butchered them. The largest ones weighed 60-70 lbs. and the average was 55-60. They made some amazing BBQ. Gave lots of them away processed.

Last one, dont ever unintentionally put your ear too close to a trap while one is in there. Nearly lost my left ear due to that after leaning down to pick something up and not paying attention.

Just a few examples of the daily fun involved in trying to keep these things under control.

 

[Cow_Town]

One of my traps. I have nothing but good to report on this design. As long as you run it every day you have no problems. Alot of people around here tell about theirs getting tore up, you cant half ass one though. From lots of experience I stand behind them. 27 hogs of all sizes is my record in one of these. Anything other than babies that I can fatten up, doesnt leave my traps alive.

 

[Fly-guy]

Guys,

Thanks for the input everyone, I'm sure the information will pay off! My neighbor has a neighbor to some of his pasture that looks pretty good. I saw several rubs and LOTS of rooting - needless to say, the spot looks realy good. I hope to get set up sometime this weekend and then we'll see what happpens!

Backhoeboogie, I appreciate the offer and just might take you up on the offer sometime.

Fly-guy

 

[Cow_Town]

If you got any other questions Fly feel free to ask me too. I would also be glad for you to visit if you are ever down this way. Between Boogie and I you might just get burnt out on hogs real quick.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Between Boogie and I you might just get burnt out on hogs real quick.

Process about 10 of them one morning, turn around and look at 25 in the pen that will have to be fed, and that will get anyone burnt out.

 

[Cow_Town]

Between Boogie and I you might just get burnt out on hogs real quick.

Process about 10 of them one morning, turn around and look at 25 in the pen that will have to be fed, and that will get anyone burnt out.

Thats why most dont leave my traps alive. I dont like being backed up like that. Those 15 about killed me, Carpal tunnel from turning wrenches was kicking my butt.

 

[Fly-guy]

I think Porkey the Pig might be a little smarter than I gave him credit for.

I set the trap last week and dumped 4 gallons of corn inside the trap and then left the door open. It took a couple of nights, but he did help himself and ate all of it.

So, I thought I go for the big one and set the spring on the trap door. A couple of nights later, you could see where they rooted all around the trap. They even rooted a hole about a foot and a half across and about a foot deep off to the side.

Me, well I was wishing that the hole was inside instead of outside the trap. That way, I would know whether the spring door worked or not, right?

By now, I'm beginning to think, is this pig dumb or is he just having some fun with me?

It looks like I might have to go to Wal-Mart and get a dead pigs leg there!

Fly-guy

 

[backhoeboogie]

I think Porkey the Pig might be a little smarter than I gave him credit for.

They are definately little wise guys. They'll tick you off every chance they get. Fix the fences and they'll start ripping at another spot.

I've hunted all my life and never really "enjoyed" the kill, but putting a bullet between the eyes of a feral hog feels good all over, the little smart alecks.