Hi CutePinCushion
It would be fine to rest the hog house on bricks to raise it off the ground. Hogs can quite easily climb up a brick. Easier than adding wood, which could also rot if it gets wet.
Those hog houses with two entrances may have been originally designed for feeding boxes. It’s a good idea have two exits in case two hogs end up in there at the same time – so one can’t trap the other in. Although, I wasn’t completely sure, but it sounded as each entrance only went into one chamber, so maybe not.
But re. the size, I agree a big size might be better, but hogs will also make nests in smaller sizes as well. I have one here – a large male who decided to make his nest in a feeding box with quite a small end chamber, when he had the choice of two other hog houses nearby, which I might have thought more suitable. But it was his choice, so who am I to argue with that!
But what you need to do if you want a hog to hibernate there is make sure there is loads of material nearby, i.e. medium sized leaves and long grasses. If you think of how much you think might fill the hog house loosely, multiply that by about 10 – but basically lots. In a well built nest the leaves are layered together a bit like tiles, that also creates a waterproof nest. (so they use far more leaves that way) They have to be good enough to be as waterproof and well insulated outside as well. i.e. in a hedge which would be a hogs natural nesting place. The hog may want to move to another nest mid-hibernation, so loads of material is best left available all winter.
Good luck. Hope you get a tenant! Don’t forget to leave water available for the hogs all day everyday, including during winter, just in case.
p.s. re. the scratching noises – hogs will often make a fair bit of noise, i.e. moving bedding around and scraping against the floor with their little claws. They will dig a bit in nests on the ground, so it may even have been trying to see how solid the floor was. But they are incredibly agile and can turn in surprisingly small spaces.
