Here piggy piggy, time to go to market... in my freezer!
Back in the old days, pig hunting meant strapping on the back pack and heading out to the forest at the crack of dawn to spend all morning trudging through the woods chasing after those elusive pigs. Pig dogs would lead the way and chase the quarry to the farthest possible corner of an impossible gulch, and you'd have to catch up and confront the snarling snapping yapping scene before the dogs got ripped up. If all went well, the dogs would still be alive and unhurt, and the pig would quickly be dispatched and dealt with. But that was just half the job, and the beast still needed field dressing and packing out...all the way back over streams and mountains, through jungle and tangled undergrowth. Sure, those old timers did this, and still came home in time for lunch on a good day.
Well things got a whole lot easier since then, and now we make the pigs come to us. It helps if you live somewhere that the pigs frequent, and have something to entice them with. That's one of the reasons why living in Haiku is great... abundant resources! On our 7.5 acres there's woods and streams and plenty of habitat for game, but this is the first time pigs have actually hung around.
This time of year the mountain apples are falling from the trees, and who wouldn't want to gorge on these sweet crunchy juicy little fruits? They're too delicate to ship so we just enjoy them fresh and share them with the animals. In this case the wild pigs have been rooting around the base of the tree so it was time to set the pig trap.
No luck over the past 2 nights, but it shouldn't be too long and some unsuspecting pig will wander in and spring the door shut by stepping on the trip bar. SNAP. Hello piggy. Goodbye piggy. We prefer the smaller pigs around 50-75 pounds as they are just the right size to easily deal with and freeze the whole quarters. The trap makes it easy to be selective because if you don't get what you want you can always give it away or let it go. Sometimes a neighbor will want a very small one to raise up. We've "been there/done that" enough to know better, but if you have the space it works out pretty well.
Living in Haiku Maui really makes it easy to be sustainable and we eat very well at all times. You can do it too if you want. Buy a home in Haiku, or find some vacant land to build, and start living your dream.
Georgie Hunter R(S) e-Pro
808 283-0635
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