Our Solution to the Feral Hog Problem (Skip the pics if you have a weak stomach)

Feral Hogs are a HUGE pest to farmers and residents in the Southeast, including our property.

This ground was growing up in wild grasses.

Hogs have decimated this area and claimed it as their sleeping grounds.

This is just one family group of hogs. There are many in the area.

Not only have the hogs trampled this grassy area, they have destroyed the corn crop that the farmer who rents our land had planted this spring. As a result, we sought a solution. Our answer to this riddle was to form a hunting group. Every Sunday, Hubby and some guys from the area get together at daybreak to hunt the feral hogs. These boys bring their hunting dogs, rifles & shotguns and week after week, reduce the number of feral hogs in the area by at least 2-4 at a time.

Since I can not condone wasting the meat of these creatures, I have stepped in to help clean and butcher the beasts. The pictures below are not for the weak stomached out there, but portray our adventures in learning to live off the land!

These are 3 of the 4 confirmed down. All sows.

1st step in cleaning the hogs was to remove the skin.

Hubby's 1st kill! That's one eating machine that will not be wrecking our field or goring our neighbors or pets.

Another day's harvest

This boar is almost a year old. As it ages, these tusks can get several inches long and can penetrate skin down to the bone, or even sever the bone completely.

Skinned carcasses

These are supposed to be a delicacy. We weren't brave enough to try. I'll let you guess what they are.

Seasonings for sausages

Ground wild pork

A freezer full of pork

Breakfast Sausage all wrapped up

Sicilian Sausage: meat & ingredients ready to mix.

Other Sausage seasonings

Mixing a 5 lb. batch

Mixing one of 2 batches of feral hog sausage

The packaging table... this was NOT a 1 person job.

My mom and husband were integral in seasoning, mixing, partitioning and then packaging the sausage.

Last 1/2 lb pack of sausage

Great when combined with homemade biscuits...

Gravy...

and eggs!

Pile one on top of the other...

Cover with gravy & viola! A breakfast fit for a king!

Not a bad solution for a feral hog problem. The hog population has waned, but not for long. Soon the sows will birth a new generation of crop destroyers and menaces. Not to worry. We'll soon be short on pork.