Hi Ado
Welcome to the Forum!
In general, it’s best, if possible, if the hog house isn’t too close to the feeding station. That’s mainly because the feeding station could potentially attract predators, as well as rowdy behaviour from some of the male hogs, which wouldn’t be ideal if, say, a female decided to have her birthing nest there.
But you can’t move it at the moment, if a hog is in residence – but when it vacates (by which I mean completely vacates, not just out for the night) you could clean out the box and then, if you have the space, move it a bit further away. Hogs using a box just for sleeping don’t really need bedding at this time of year, although they may take small amounts in. In general with hog houses, it’s best to only put a handful of nesting material in the hog house – to give the hogs the idea – and leave more material in the general vicinity. Most hogs prefer to do their interior decorations themselves. Hay is ok, although hogs natural nest building material are medium sized leaves, long grasses, etc. But they will quite happily use hay if that is the nearest material available.
The hog may be going further afield than you realise. If you have a camera there, there is always a small gap between clips when hogs are very good at sneaking past. They can be pretty speedy when they want to be! But we do sometimes hear about hogs which apparently don’t seem to venture far. It’s possible that older hogs may become a bit lazier. But hopefully the hog will eventually move on so that you can move the hog house.
Good luck and happy hog watching!
p.s. Hopefully you are providing water already, but in case not, water is vitally important – all day, every day. You never know when a thirsty hog may venture out, even during the day. Especially in this hot weather. Wide but shallow plant saucers are ideal. At least some water source left in the shade is a good idea.
