Hi Boop
Some hogs start to hibernate as early as September – usually the males as they have had plenty of time to put on the necessary condition – not having any hoglet duties to attend to! Usually it’s the males that disappear first then the females and often some hoglets are left after all the females have disappeared. That isn’t an absolute rule, but seems the general trend. But, you will have realised from that, that temperature is not the only trigger for hibernation. Not all hogs hibernate, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for them and keep feeding and definitely leave water available all day every day, even during winter.
It might be a good idea to make one of your hog boxes available for hibernation. Apparently hogs often move nests during hibernation, so they might welcome an alternative. Just put a small amount of bedding in the box and leave piles of other material nearby, i.e. medium sized leaves, long grasses, etc. Hogs seem to like to make their own nests and to be honest make a much better job of it than we would be able to do! Their hibernation nests are an elaborate structure of grasses and layered leaves with a chamber in the centre.
Good luck. Hope all the hogs return in the Spring if not before.
