Hi
http://dreyersfond.dk.linux83.wannafindserver.dk/nothing.php?anyone=d3rst9f4nkhs8n
ricky bringhurst
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Friday, November 7, 2014
Friday, December 2, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
FW: Podcast
From: production@cmiutah.com
To: rl_bringhurst@hotmail.com
Subject: Podcast
Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:09:15 -0700
Monday, November 21, 2011
Wild Boar Recipes
Pulled Boar Rib Meat with Cous cous and vegetables
by Woojay Poynter
# 68
For Marinade
4 Tbsp Soy Sauce
¼ C Korean Chili Paste
¼ tsp Cayenne Powder
¼ C Sake
¼ C Brown Sugar
2 oz Ginger, peeled & chopped
6 cloves Garlic, peeled & chopped
1 ea Onion, peeled & julienned
4 Tbsp Sesame oil
½ Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
4 ea Bone-in Boar Chops
For Pulled Boar Rib Meat
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1.5 # Bone-in Boar Ribs, cut into 3-4" pieces
As needed Kosher Salt
As needed Ground Black Pepper
For Cous cous
1.5 C Instant couscous
4 oz Canned chestnuts, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 oz Butter
1 Tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped fine
1 clove Garlic, peeled & chopped
2 Tbsp Golden raisins
2 Tbsp Pine Nuts, toasted
1 tsp Lemon Zest, chopped fine
1 tsp Kosher Salt
Pinch Black Pepper
For Vegetables
8 oz Shiitake Mushroom
4 ea Baby Bok choy
8 ea Baby Carrots
8 ea Baby Red Radishes
1 Tbsp Soy sauce
½ C Water
Whisk all of Marinade ingredients to blend well in a medium mixing bowl. In a large leak-proof zip-tight bag, place the boar chops and the marinade. Seal carefully and refrigerate to marinate the chops for at least 4 hours.
Drain the marinade from the chops and set aside the marinade separate from the chops.
Heat the bottom pan of a 4-6 qt pressure cooker. Season all sides of the ribs with kosher salt and pepper. Add vegetable oil into the hot pan, and brown the ribs on all sides. Add the reserved the marinade used to marinade the chops into the pressure cooker with the ribs, and seal. Pressure cook for 45 minutes at 15 psi.
Start preheating a BBQ grill.
While the ribs are cooking, heat 2.5 cups of water in a medium pan to a boil. Once hot, whisk in the couscous and then the rest of the ingredients. Cover and set it aside for at least 5 minutes.
Once the ribs are cooked, first, carefully grill the chops on the grill on a low flame and flip occasionally to present the marinade from burning. Next, carefully release the pressure and remove only the ribs leaving the liquid in the pressure cooker. Lastly, add the vegetables, soy sauce, and water, and reseal the pressure cooker. Bring back up to pressure and cook for 2 minutes.
While the vegetables are cooking, pull the meat from bones and flake the meat with a fork and mix them into the couscous.
Carefully release the pressure from the pressure cooker, and remove the vegetables.
Plate each dish with a grilled boar chop, generous serving of couscous, and the braised vegetables. Enjoy!
Wild Boar Steak
Wild Boar Steak
by Toni Motamen
# 66
Blackened 8 oz Boar Steak served over caramelized onions with honey roasted baby carrots with a Burgundy Wine Sauce.
7 different Cajun peppers rubbed in to steak, cook in cast iron pan or flat grill, preferably served medium rare
Sauce: is a reduction of beef stock, Burgundy wine, fresh garlic, and a dash of tarragon.
Rub: Mix together sweet and hot cayenne pepper, Indian chili powder, White and Black Pepper and Garlic Powder
Served with the side dishes mentioned above.
Rack of Wild Boar with Sweet Potato, Apple and Celery Root Puree, Steamed Asparagus and finished with a Roasted Garlic Onion Sauce
by Michael J. Guarino
# 5
Serves 4
1 rack of Wild Board (3-4.5 lbs)
12 thin asparagus spears
1 oz of butter
¼ cup of shallots
½ cup of red wine
8 oz demi-glace
3-4 tablespoons of Roasted Garlic-Onion Preserves (recipe follows)
Salt and ground pepper
Roasted Garlic Onion Sauce
Melt butter in a sauce pan and sauté shallots for about 2 minutes (until transparent). Add red wine to deglaze the pan and reduce to an essence. Add demi-glace and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Add Roasted Garlic-Onion preserve and cook for another 10 minutes. Just before serving, whisk in the butter.
Roasted Garlic Onion Preserves
10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 medium red onions, thinly sliced
5 Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
75 to 80 big cloves garlic, roasted
18 .oz jar orange marmalade
1 cup Currants
½ can tomato paste
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1 cup+ balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon+ sugar
Fresh Ground Pepper about ½ tablespoon (to taste
Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium high. Add onions, garlic, ginger salt and pepper, tossing to combine. Once they begin sizzling, turn heat to medium low, cover pan and cook 30 minutes, adding marmalade and currants half way through cooking. Once onions become soft and clear, uncover, raising heat to medium high. Brown the onions. Stir often, scraping up the brown glaze on the bottom of the pan. You may need a little water as they approach being done. Once deep gold, stir in tomato paste and vinegar, cooking it down to nothing.
Rosemary Garlic Marinade
2 oz Extra-virgin Olive Oil
3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
¼ cup red wine
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoons of fresh ginger, chopped slightly
Ground pepper
Remove stems from rosemary and combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend only until well mixed.
Sweet Potato, Apple & Celery Root puree
¾ pound of celery root, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 cups+ of milk
¾ teaspoon on kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 ½ tablespoons of white rice
2 small McIntosh apple, peeled, cored, and quartered
2 teaspoons of unsalted butter
2-3 medium sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
Salt and ground pepper
Place the celery root in a medium saucepan and add the milk, ½ teaspoon of salt and a couple of good grinds of ground pepper. Bring to a boil over moderate heat. Stir in the rice, lower heat, partially covered and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the apples and simmer for another 10 minutes longer, or until the celery root is very tender. Drain the mixture in a colander set over a bowl. Save the liquid.
In a food processor (or blender), puree the celery root mixture for 1-2 minutes, until perfectly smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a little of the milk liquid left over. When almost perfect, add the butter and remaining salt and blend for 30 seconds more.
For the sweet potatoes, peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch pieces, add to medium saucepan and cover with salted water. Cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain potato's and pass through a food mill for smooth consistency. Add heavy cream, butter, salt and pepper and stir until blended.
Wild Boar
French the rack and clean the meat of all fat. Place Boar in a container (glass roasting dish) that will hold the meat flat and cover with marinade. Place plastic film over container and place in refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 325° and cook Boar until a meat thermometer reads 127° (about 45-minutes to an hour). Remove from oven and let it rest about 10 minutes before carving.
About 10 minutes before the Boar is done, place Asparagus in steamer and cook for 5 minutes.
To serve, place a ½ inch high round mold on the plate and fill with sweet potato. Raise the ring mold up higher and top potato mixture with apple/celery root puree. Cut boar into chops and place two (one on each side of vegetables). Pour Garlic-Onion sauce over half of each chop and top with steamed asparagus.
by Woojay Poynter
# 68
For Marinade
4 Tbsp Soy Sauce
¼ C Korean Chili Paste
¼ tsp Cayenne Powder
¼ C Sake
¼ C Brown Sugar
2 oz Ginger, peeled & chopped
6 cloves Garlic, peeled & chopped
1 ea Onion, peeled & julienned
4 Tbsp Sesame oil
½ Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
4 ea Bone-in Boar Chops
For Pulled Boar Rib Meat
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1.5 # Bone-in Boar Ribs, cut into 3-4" pieces
As needed Kosher Salt
As needed Ground Black Pepper
For Cous cous
1.5 C Instant couscous
4 oz Canned chestnuts, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 oz Butter
1 Tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped fine
1 clove Garlic, peeled & chopped
2 Tbsp Golden raisins
2 Tbsp Pine Nuts, toasted
1 tsp Lemon Zest, chopped fine
1 tsp Kosher Salt
Pinch Black Pepper
For Vegetables
8 oz Shiitake Mushroom
4 ea Baby Bok choy
8 ea Baby Carrots
8 ea Baby Red Radishes
1 Tbsp Soy sauce
½ C Water
Whisk all of Marinade ingredients to blend well in a medium mixing bowl. In a large leak-proof zip-tight bag, place the boar chops and the marinade. Seal carefully and refrigerate to marinate the chops for at least 4 hours.
Drain the marinade from the chops and set aside the marinade separate from the chops.
Heat the bottom pan of a 4-6 qt pressure cooker. Season all sides of the ribs with kosher salt and pepper. Add vegetable oil into the hot pan, and brown the ribs on all sides. Add the reserved the marinade used to marinade the chops into the pressure cooker with the ribs, and seal. Pressure cook for 45 minutes at 15 psi.
Start preheating a BBQ grill.
While the ribs are cooking, heat 2.5 cups of water in a medium pan to a boil. Once hot, whisk in the couscous and then the rest of the ingredients. Cover and set it aside for at least 5 minutes.
Once the ribs are cooked, first, carefully grill the chops on the grill on a low flame and flip occasionally to present the marinade from burning. Next, carefully release the pressure and remove only the ribs leaving the liquid in the pressure cooker. Lastly, add the vegetables, soy sauce, and water, and reseal the pressure cooker. Bring back up to pressure and cook for 2 minutes.
While the vegetables are cooking, pull the meat from bones and flake the meat with a fork and mix them into the couscous.
Carefully release the pressure from the pressure cooker, and remove the vegetables.
Plate each dish with a grilled boar chop, generous serving of couscous, and the braised vegetables. Enjoy!
Wild Boar Steak
Wild Boar Steak
by Toni Motamen
# 66
Blackened 8 oz Boar Steak served over caramelized onions with honey roasted baby carrots with a Burgundy Wine Sauce.
7 different Cajun peppers rubbed in to steak, cook in cast iron pan or flat grill, preferably served medium rare
Sauce: is a reduction of beef stock, Burgundy wine, fresh garlic, and a dash of tarragon.
Rub: Mix together sweet and hot cayenne pepper, Indian chili powder, White and Black Pepper and Garlic Powder
Served with the side dishes mentioned above.
Rack of Wild Boar with Sweet Potato, Apple and Celery Root Puree, Steamed Asparagus and finished with a Roasted Garlic Onion Sauce
by Michael J. Guarino
# 5
Serves 4
1 rack of Wild Board (3-4.5 lbs)
12 thin asparagus spears
1 oz of butter
¼ cup of shallots
½ cup of red wine
8 oz demi-glace
3-4 tablespoons of Roasted Garlic-Onion Preserves (recipe follows)
Salt and ground pepper
Roasted Garlic Onion Sauce
Melt butter in a sauce pan and sauté shallots for about 2 minutes (until transparent). Add red wine to deglaze the pan and reduce to an essence. Add demi-glace and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Add Roasted Garlic-Onion preserve and cook for another 10 minutes. Just before serving, whisk in the butter.
Roasted Garlic Onion Preserves
10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 medium red onions, thinly sliced
5 Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
75 to 80 big cloves garlic, roasted
18 .oz jar orange marmalade
1 cup Currants
½ can tomato paste
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1 cup+ balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon+ sugar
Fresh Ground Pepper about ½ tablespoon (to taste
Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium high. Add onions, garlic, ginger salt and pepper, tossing to combine. Once they begin sizzling, turn heat to medium low, cover pan and cook 30 minutes, adding marmalade and currants half way through cooking. Once onions become soft and clear, uncover, raising heat to medium high. Brown the onions. Stir often, scraping up the brown glaze on the bottom of the pan. You may need a little water as they approach being done. Once deep gold, stir in tomato paste and vinegar, cooking it down to nothing.
Rosemary Garlic Marinade
2 oz Extra-virgin Olive Oil
3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
¼ cup red wine
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoons of fresh ginger, chopped slightly
Ground pepper
Remove stems from rosemary and combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend only until well mixed.
Sweet Potato, Apple & Celery Root puree
¾ pound of celery root, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 cups+ of milk
¾ teaspoon on kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 ½ tablespoons of white rice
2 small McIntosh apple, peeled, cored, and quartered
2 teaspoons of unsalted butter
2-3 medium sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
Salt and ground pepper
Place the celery root in a medium saucepan and add the milk, ½ teaspoon of salt and a couple of good grinds of ground pepper. Bring to a boil over moderate heat. Stir in the rice, lower heat, partially covered and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the apples and simmer for another 10 minutes longer, or until the celery root is very tender. Drain the mixture in a colander set over a bowl. Save the liquid.
In a food processor (or blender), puree the celery root mixture for 1-2 minutes, until perfectly smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a little of the milk liquid left over. When almost perfect, add the butter and remaining salt and blend for 30 seconds more.
For the sweet potatoes, peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch pieces, add to medium saucepan and cover with salted water. Cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain potato's and pass through a food mill for smooth consistency. Add heavy cream, butter, salt and pepper and stir until blended.
Wild Boar
French the rack and clean the meat of all fat. Place Boar in a container (glass roasting dish) that will hold the meat flat and cover with marinade. Place plastic film over container and place in refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 325° and cook Boar until a meat thermometer reads 127° (about 45-minutes to an hour). Remove from oven and let it rest about 10 minutes before carving.
About 10 minutes before the Boar is done, place Asparagus in steamer and cook for 5 minutes.
To serve, place a ½ inch high round mold on the plate and fill with sweet potato. Raise the ring mold up higher and top potato mixture with apple/celery root puree. Cut boar into chops and place two (one on each side of vegetables). Pour Garlic-Onion sauce over half of each chop and top with steamed asparagus.
Wild Boar Information
I pulled this great information from:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/publ/wlnotebook/pig.htm
Feral pigs (Sus scrofa), also known as wild pigs, wild hogs, wild boars, European wild boars, Russian wild boars, or razorbacks, are rangy-looking non-native members of the domestic swine family, Suidae. These transplants native to Europe and Asia are aggressive mammals posing serious ecological, economic, aesthetic, medical and veterinary threats. Feral pigs have recently been sighted in Wisconsin and they have worn out their welcome.
These feral members of the pig family should not be confused with the collared peccary, or javelina (Tayassu tajacu), the only native pig-like animal (Family Dicotylidae) living in the wilds of North America. Collared peccaries are much smaller than feral pigs, more uniformly and thickly coated and grayish in color, with a light collar over the shoulder. Their tails are nearly absent and their upper tusks point down, rather than up. Its habits and adaptations restrict it to living in brushy deserts, rocky canyons, scrub oak forests and arid mountain foothills of southern Texas, southern Arizona and southern New Mexico. As a native animal, the javelina is a natural and accepted member of North America's native community of plants and animals. Not so for the feral pig.
Looks are Everything
Feral pigs look very similar to the domestic pig. They are medium-sized hoofed mammals with a long, pointed head and stocky build. Males and females look much alike. Wild hogs exhibit great variation in color and size. The average wild sow weighs about 110 pounds (ranging from 77 to 330 pounds) and the average wild boar weighs 130 pounds (ranging from 130 to 440 pounds). Unusually large, trophy-sized feral pigs have been taken that reach three feet tall, six feet long and over 500 pounds. Their hair is coarse with long bristles (coarser, denser and longer than that of a domestic pig). Colors and patterns range from solid black, gray, brown, blonde, white, or red to spotted and belted combinations of these same colors. Most generally, however, the animals are black. An adult develops a thick, scruffy mane with stiff bristles tipped with blonde.
feral pig lower jaw showing long tusk
Feral pigs have elongated, flexible, tough, flattened snouts. Their pointed ears stand erect, about four to five inches above their head, though sometimes they flop outward. Their moderately long tails are sparsely haired, straight and never coiled like the tail of a domestic pig. They have four cloven feet, similar in appearance to a deer's hooves. Boars have four continually growing tusks that can be extremely sharp. The upper tusks are often 3 to 5 inches long, but have sometimes been recorded at 9 inches in length. These upper canines curl up and out along the sides of the mouth. The shorter lower canines also turn out and curve back toward the eyes. Usually the tusks are broken or worn from use. The boars use their tusks for defense and to establish a dominance hierarchy during breeding. Due to the injuries inflicted by these tusks, boars have also developed a thick, tough skin of cartilage and scar tissue around their shoulders.
Tracks 'n Trails
Tracks of feral pigs look similar to deer tracks, although the overall shape of a feral pig's track is rounder and less heart-shaped than that of a white-tailed deer. Pig tracks also tend to be relatively shorter (about 2 1/2 inches long), more splayed and more blunt at the tip than deer tracks. The front dewclaws, in soft soil, leave crescent shaped prints outside and behind the larger hoofs. The hind dewclaw prints, if present, look like dots.
damage caused by feral pigs rooting in woods
Scat is another sign that can be used to determine if feral pigs have been in the area. The droppings may be masses of pellets or in strings of sausage-like segments. Depending on the diet of the animal, the scats can range in size and consistency from that of a dog or a horse to that of a person.
Rooting is another common sign used to identify feral pig activity. These areas can be large, covering an entire field. In soft soils, rooting can be three feet deep.
damage caused by pigs wallowing in wetland soilsWallows are fairly sure signs of feral pig activity in wet soils.
Feral pigs also rub on a variety of objects to scratch themselves or to remove dried mud or parasites from their skin. They have been known to rub on trees, rocks, fence posts and power poles. The rubs are usually from ground level up to about 3 feet high, usually with bits of hair or mud clinging to the rubbed object.
Ways of the Wild
The home territory of a feral pig covers an area about 10 square miles or less. However, if food is in short supply, the pigs may range up to 50 square miles. They nest and rest in dense vegetation and secluded thickets. Their nests and beds are small, grass-lined hollows made of piles of grass and twigs.
A feral pig has a very strong sense of smell. It uses its tough, flexible nose to sniff out roots, tubers, and small animals living underground. Pigs also have a good sense of hearing, but a poor sense of eyesight. Feral pigs communicate with each other by grunting and squealing, similar to their domestic relatives.
These hoofed mammals can run up to 30 miles per hour and are good swimmers. They usually trot from one feeding ground to another and then slow to a walk.
Feral pigs live from about 15 to 25 years. Boars usually lead solitary lives, though several may band together. Sows forage with their young, usually about six in a family group. Several family groups may join together to live in a sounder (the proper term for a large group of pigs) of 50 or more individuals.
a pack of pigsFeral pigs, similar to people, can mate any time of the year. If a sow is not bred during the two or three days she is in estrus (in heat), she will become sexually receptive again 21 days later. Generally pigs mate during two peak breeding seasons: one in winter (December through February) and another in early summer. When a sow is in heat, boars gather and fight for dominance slashing their sharp tusks at a rival's shoulders. Boars travel between family groups in search of receptive sows. The dominant male mates first. The less dominant males slip in and mate after the dominant boar is finished breeding.
Sexual maturity and reproductive ability of feral pigs greatly depend upon nutrition and habitat. Under optimal conditions, sows can begin breeding at 6 months of age, and produce up to 4 litters per year with each litter consisting of 4 to 12 piglets. In northern portions of their range, biologists report that reproductively active sows generally only produce 2 litters per year consisting of 4-8 piglets.
After about a 115 day gestation period, sows give birth to piglets that weigh from one to two pounds at birth. The little ones have pale stripes running the length of their body until they are six weeks old. After one week of suckling, the piglets are able to follow their mother around. The young grow rapidly and are weaned in about three months. The offspring disperse after a year with their mother and are usually sexually mature by a year and a half. The young reach adult stature within three years and are fully-grown in five to six years.
Feral pigs have the unfortunate habit of trampling down and rooting up large areas of vegetation. As mentioned above, they will scratch and dig in wet ground to form wallows. Feral pigs make these wallows to escape heat and insects. They use these wallows mostly in the hot, insect-infested summer months.
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/publ/wlnotebook/pig.htm
Feral pigs (Sus scrofa), also known as wild pigs, wild hogs, wild boars, European wild boars, Russian wild boars, or razorbacks, are rangy-looking non-native members of the domestic swine family, Suidae. These transplants native to Europe and Asia are aggressive mammals posing serious ecological, economic, aesthetic, medical and veterinary threats. Feral pigs have recently been sighted in Wisconsin and they have worn out their welcome.
These feral members of the pig family should not be confused with the collared peccary, or javelina (Tayassu tajacu), the only native pig-like animal (Family Dicotylidae) living in the wilds of North America. Collared peccaries are much smaller than feral pigs, more uniformly and thickly coated and grayish in color, with a light collar over the shoulder. Their tails are nearly absent and their upper tusks point down, rather than up. Its habits and adaptations restrict it to living in brushy deserts, rocky canyons, scrub oak forests and arid mountain foothills of southern Texas, southern Arizona and southern New Mexico. As a native animal, the javelina is a natural and accepted member of North America's native community of plants and animals. Not so for the feral pig.
Looks are Everything
Feral pigs look very similar to the domestic pig. They are medium-sized hoofed mammals with a long, pointed head and stocky build. Males and females look much alike. Wild hogs exhibit great variation in color and size. The average wild sow weighs about 110 pounds (ranging from 77 to 330 pounds) and the average wild boar weighs 130 pounds (ranging from 130 to 440 pounds). Unusually large, trophy-sized feral pigs have been taken that reach three feet tall, six feet long and over 500 pounds. Their hair is coarse with long bristles (coarser, denser and longer than that of a domestic pig). Colors and patterns range from solid black, gray, brown, blonde, white, or red to spotted and belted combinations of these same colors. Most generally, however, the animals are black. An adult develops a thick, scruffy mane with stiff bristles tipped with blonde.
feral pig lower jaw showing long tusk
Feral pigs have elongated, flexible, tough, flattened snouts. Their pointed ears stand erect, about four to five inches above their head, though sometimes they flop outward. Their moderately long tails are sparsely haired, straight and never coiled like the tail of a domestic pig. They have four cloven feet, similar in appearance to a deer's hooves. Boars have four continually growing tusks that can be extremely sharp. The upper tusks are often 3 to 5 inches long, but have sometimes been recorded at 9 inches in length. These upper canines curl up and out along the sides of the mouth. The shorter lower canines also turn out and curve back toward the eyes. Usually the tusks are broken or worn from use. The boars use their tusks for defense and to establish a dominance hierarchy during breeding. Due to the injuries inflicted by these tusks, boars have also developed a thick, tough skin of cartilage and scar tissue around their shoulders.
Tracks 'n Trails
Tracks of feral pigs look similar to deer tracks, although the overall shape of a feral pig's track is rounder and less heart-shaped than that of a white-tailed deer. Pig tracks also tend to be relatively shorter (about 2 1/2 inches long), more splayed and more blunt at the tip than deer tracks. The front dewclaws, in soft soil, leave crescent shaped prints outside and behind the larger hoofs. The hind dewclaw prints, if present, look like dots.
damage caused by feral pigs rooting in woods
Scat is another sign that can be used to determine if feral pigs have been in the area. The droppings may be masses of pellets or in strings of sausage-like segments. Depending on the diet of the animal, the scats can range in size and consistency from that of a dog or a horse to that of a person.
Rooting is another common sign used to identify feral pig activity. These areas can be large, covering an entire field. In soft soils, rooting can be three feet deep.
damage caused by pigs wallowing in wetland soilsWallows are fairly sure signs of feral pig activity in wet soils.
Feral pigs also rub on a variety of objects to scratch themselves or to remove dried mud or parasites from their skin. They have been known to rub on trees, rocks, fence posts and power poles. The rubs are usually from ground level up to about 3 feet high, usually with bits of hair or mud clinging to the rubbed object.
Ways of the Wild
The home territory of a feral pig covers an area about 10 square miles or less. However, if food is in short supply, the pigs may range up to 50 square miles. They nest and rest in dense vegetation and secluded thickets. Their nests and beds are small, grass-lined hollows made of piles of grass and twigs.
A feral pig has a very strong sense of smell. It uses its tough, flexible nose to sniff out roots, tubers, and small animals living underground. Pigs also have a good sense of hearing, but a poor sense of eyesight. Feral pigs communicate with each other by grunting and squealing, similar to their domestic relatives.
These hoofed mammals can run up to 30 miles per hour and are good swimmers. They usually trot from one feeding ground to another and then slow to a walk.
Feral pigs live from about 15 to 25 years. Boars usually lead solitary lives, though several may band together. Sows forage with their young, usually about six in a family group. Several family groups may join together to live in a sounder (the proper term for a large group of pigs) of 50 or more individuals.
a pack of pigsFeral pigs, similar to people, can mate any time of the year. If a sow is not bred during the two or three days she is in estrus (in heat), she will become sexually receptive again 21 days later. Generally pigs mate during two peak breeding seasons: one in winter (December through February) and another in early summer. When a sow is in heat, boars gather and fight for dominance slashing their sharp tusks at a rival's shoulders. Boars travel between family groups in search of receptive sows. The dominant male mates first. The less dominant males slip in and mate after the dominant boar is finished breeding.
Sexual maturity and reproductive ability of feral pigs greatly depend upon nutrition and habitat. Under optimal conditions, sows can begin breeding at 6 months of age, and produce up to 4 litters per year with each litter consisting of 4 to 12 piglets. In northern portions of their range, biologists report that reproductively active sows generally only produce 2 litters per year consisting of 4-8 piglets.
After about a 115 day gestation period, sows give birth to piglets that weigh from one to two pounds at birth. The little ones have pale stripes running the length of their body until they are six weeks old. After one week of suckling, the piglets are able to follow their mother around. The young grow rapidly and are weaned in about three months. The offspring disperse after a year with their mother and are usually sexually mature by a year and a half. The young reach adult stature within three years and are fully-grown in five to six years.
Feral pigs have the unfortunate habit of trampling down and rooting up large areas of vegetation. As mentioned above, they will scratch and dig in wet ground to form wallows. Feral pigs make these wallows to escape heat and insects. They use these wallows mostly in the hot, insect-infested summer months.
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