I have got quite use to the hog rut and all the fighting now although I remember the first time I saw it, and didn’t know anything about this behaviour, I found it very distressing (and I’m still not a fan to be fair),
I place my feeding bowls in different parts of the garden in the hope the hogs will just go to individual bowls and avoid the fighting but they sometimes just go straight past the feeding bowls and head for the other hog it has smelt out and the fighting begins – some just seem more interlorant than others but more so at this time of year.
I have had 2 hogs coming to feed. a small hog and a large hog. but its the small hog that gets the large hog rolled up!
Last night a third hog entered the fray (the first time I had seen it) and squared up to the small hog (it was also small but a bit larger than the small hog) and I witnessed one of the most brutal hog fights I have ever seen (they appeared to be biting each others snouts) and they were pushing and shoving then one would lose their footing (their legs look so fragile when this happens) and crash, bang, wallop they went flying whilst the other hog tried to press home its advantage.
The smaller hog won out, and has been at the feeding bowl this evening and looks unscathed by the experinece, so hopefully the loser also came out ok as well.
I much prefer it when the hog just rolls up in a ball agaisnt the agressor, as I know they are pretty welll protected then, but sometimes neither will yield and thats when you see the worst of the fighting.
On a lighter note last year I had a dominant hog that had 2 hogs rolled up but a fourth hog snuck in and helped himself to the food whilst the commotion ensued nearby – I found this hilarious especially as the feeding hog kept glancing over to check the others were still preoccupied.
Happy hogging all,
