I would like to see a pic of a tree that has been cut with tusks by a hog.

I don't know if I have any in the files -- I know I used to -- but will check. If I don't, I'll see if I can get a shot taken for you sometimes next week.

What is more impressive then gouges in the trees is when a boar cuts on the wooden electrical/utility poles. Those things are treated and hard as a rock, and hogs are drawn to them because of the creosote, which they rub against.

The tusk marks on those show you the sheer power of those jaws.

I might have some pics of rubs. I will have to go through my archives.......

L

All right! Lorenzo to the rescue!

There may be a few thousand miles between Lorenzo's hogs and the ones here in Texas, but that is exactly how they look around here, too.

Thanks, Lorenzo!

Have a tree simalar to this on my place in East Texas. I need to get a camera and learn how to post pictures.
Okie

Pedernales Electric Co-Op just put up new poles to a service down the road from my property this summer. You can tell how big the biggest is by the height of the missing creosote.
Does it effect the taste of the meat?
Robert

RVL, I think they rub on it for the oil to help keep bugs, etc, off. A few years ago a friend and I trapped some baby pigs and fed them to slaughter size. We wrapped a pole with burlap, placed it in the pen and poured used motor oil on it and they instantly went to rubbing on it like they had been doing it all their life! These piglets were about 3-5 pounders when we got them so I am pretty sure they never saw another hog do it, they just instinctly took to it. I know of at least two utility poles along the red river that has rub marks on them from hogs. I always thought it would make a pretty good lure for hogs but never tried it.
Eterry

Interesting thread. Although Pigs here rub, I've never seen damage like that. Occasionally you will find a Tree Fern close to a wallow that is concave due to years of rubbing, but mostly you just find a muddy "tide line".
Do you have really bad infestations of lice or ticks over there?

RVL III wrote:

quote:

Pedernales Electric Co-Op just put up new poles to a service down the road from my property this summer. You can tell how big the biggest is by the height of the missing creosote.
Does it effect the taste of the meat?
Robert

Only if you use the creosote poles to bar-b-cue the hogs...

All kidding aside, it should have no bearing -- especially when you consider what all a hog devours in its role as nature's most aggressive opportunist.

It took a couple of hunts to find one, but here is what I'd consider a typical rub tree in NZ.


The second pick should show The ordinary type of marking made by tusk's. Most of what you see, is mud from a nearby wallow.

quote:

Originally posted by Eterry:
RVL, We wrapped a pole with burlap, placed it in the pen and poured used motor oil on it ....
Eterry

why would you want to do this?
maybe a large, coarse scrub brush with trickle feed barbecue sauce!

The pigs rub it on to repel ticks and fleas. Don't ask me how they know to do it; maybe their sense of smell is able to recognize agents that would do that. I think that is why they are atrracted to certain species of trees like pine, as pine pitch is another good bug repellant.