Hi Nic,
Thanks for your post and I think you are right what I have seen the past few nights is a female hog as she keeps coming around about the same time and the male hog is completely tolerant of her and in fact now pays her no attention whatsover! I think what has happened here is there definitely were 2 males fighting but I have wrongly identified this female hog as the same hog receiving the bashing (I’m not bad at identifying individual hogs but I certianly don’t get it right all the time) hence what I thought was a change in behaviour towards what I thought was the same hog is actually a different hog! I’m now thinking there were probably 3 hogs, 2 males and 1 female, with the female probably out of sight and coming in to view when the other male hog left the scene and I was mistaking this for the same hog…possibly.
The (definite) male hog is still using the hog house and its been there for over 3 weeks now. My understanding was that they moved around using different day nests never staying too long anywhere (they have only ever had short stays in my hog house previously) but I think this chap is due a bill for board and lodgings. I know its the same hog as it has a distinctive blaze on its head and its spines and skirt are also quite recognisable. Does anyone know if this behaviour is normal? Is this a hog pre-deciding on a hibernation home and making sure he doesn’t lose it? Knowing my luck he will probably disappear and go off and hibernate elsewhere in the end to make my comments look silly.
As for the hog house survey I have done this although, ironically, not long before this hog took up residence. Maybe I need to do it again/provide an update.
