Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire What?

You just told us feeders manipulated the movement of those deer. There is zero way those deer lived off what tiny amount of low quality feed a few feeders spread.

Yeah, from what I hear of the problems the hogs cause down there, I would think most predators would get a pass. Time to reintroduce jaguars!! 😉

I, not Ranger, made the assertion that feeders only manipulate movement of wildlife (and not deer exclusively).

Ranger made an assertion from which one might infer that feeders had sustained deer, not I. I'd also make the case that the conclusion that the feeders had sustained the deer is a faulty one.

in this neck of the woods the biggest contributor to the feral hog issue is the guys that take pigs in the mark twain national forest and turn them out. they thought it was a good idea so they could run their dogs well things are completely out of hand now and these boys if they get caught are heavily prosecuted. the damage to farmland is real when they get in the more agricultural areas. anybody that says it isn't is an absolute fool..

Pretty good assessment.

So I guess we can bring g those Escobar Hippos to Denmark then.....

Camaras on feeders tell a different story. Pigs will eat about anything, But feeders are their number one choice and once accustomed to them they stop traveling for food, Stay put and root up vegetation that deer might have eaten. Basically destroying the carring capacity of the area if not controlled.

Maybe Hippos eat hogs...

Too phuggin many mushrooms!

LOL.

I wouldn't say that you know nothing, but I'd say that it appears that most of what you know is wrong.

Cameras on feeders don't tell you anything other than pigs came to the feeder. You seem to be in the habit of reaching rock solid conclusions based on mushy observations, and damned few of them to boot.

Artificial feed sources support artificial animal populations.

IF provided in sufficient quantity.

It don't take too dang much.


More of a timing issue.

That's prolly why the 40 or so collared doves were hanging out on the phone wires this morning, waiting for the 50 or so pinyon jays to come in and say it's safe to come eat the scratch I put out for the two coveys of quail that hang out around here? Or the juncos that hang around most of the winter after they come out of the high country?

Maybe this fellow wouldn't have been hanging out, preening, on the garden fence yesterday as it waits for the house sparrows that come in to eat the chicken food? Or, instead of sparrows it was hoping I'd let the hens out of the Gulag on day parole?





Now, the question might be asked how many of those birds would exist if I weren't feeding them? The robins have no problem getting fat on what they find around here as I don't see them feeding on the scratch or peanuts I put out. Just the highly abundant juniper berries this year and as it's been a mild winter whatever bugs and worms their finding in the yards. I'm pretty sure I've seen an increase in the jay population since we moved in, the invasive doves too. Caused by me?? or the other neighbors I know around here that feed birds too?

The authors of that article will get no argument from me about pigs (feral or any other type) increasing the diversity of the plant life in the area. That's cool, unless they're increasing it in a way that introduces nice things like cheat and medusa, or even junipers here which are considered "invasive" into the sagebrush/grasslands around this place. (The robins and other juniper berry eaters have done a wonderful job so far already)

As others have pointed out, pigs (and other critters) spreading diversity into farm/ranch land are not really doing the Humans in that area a favor.

"Biodiversity" is a great thing in some areas. I wish there was more on the BLM land behind this place. Having lived in a couple of places that were very similar habitat, I just know a good sized herd of elk could live here. My rancher neighbor that holds the grazing lease would probably not appreciate them eating the grass his cattle would like to eat though. The other neighbors would not like them getting into their hay stacks and pastures either I bet. But boy, it sure would be nice to maybe be able to draw an elk tag right out the back door.

Bull fuggin chit !

300 years plus of hogs, record numbers now, and record numbers of whitetail deer !

Just like every other subject on here, y’all take what you read as fuggin Gospel.

PREZACTLY!!! Barry nails it as per usual.

yeah I'm sure it was overrun with feral hogs 300 years ago. the little javelina is not the same thing. even like the wild Russian boars that if you were imported some time ago are not the same thing..
the idea of intelligence escaped you years ago didn't it

You fuggers need to start learning history, even in the 1800’s there were so many gawddarned hogs they used to round them up with dogs in Texas Hill Country and do hog drives to market like cattle drives !

Not Javelina !

Hogs and their lineage have been in the Americas longer than most of you Fuggin immigrants!

You sounding like a hero..

No, a survivor!

Mutha fuggers will eat bacon, porkchops, and ribs from the store until their fuggin heart seizes up but want to kill all the feral hogs.