Hi HilaryJC
Whilst it isn’t the best idea to put food too close to a hog house being used as a nest (it could attract predators to the area), hogs (being contrary!) will sometimes decide to bed down in feeding boxes. Sometimes they will just settle down in a bare (apart from food, etc.) hog box, but other times they will take in a bit of vegetation to sleep on.
Something similar has happened here lots of times. Usually the ones here have only stayed a couple of days and then moved elsewhere. But if a hog has been sleeping in a feed box, it’s a good idea to give it a good clean out once they have vacated and use boiling water to kill any parasite eggs which the hog may have left behind.
I had one hog here who decided to build a nest and hibernate in a feed box – even though I thought the space was quite small. Luckily I managed to get the food out before he settled down for hibernation, so it didn’t attract any undesirables.
Re. the separate hog house – most hogs prefer to do their own interior decorations, so it’s best to just put a handful of material in to give them the idea and leave a supply of material nearby. Hogs have been known to empty out hog houses which humans have kindly filled for them and used the material elsewhere!
Good luck with the hogs and happy hog watching!
