Why do you feed the Feral Hogs?

We use automated feeders to provide a timed and fairly controlled feeding of corn and supplements to the feral hog population in our study. This allows us to provide vitamins, antibiotics, and treatments. This allows us to provide conditioning for the pigs that will allow us to provide the oral contraceptive vaccines and any disease-related vaccines. In a field application of our contraceptives, we would set up a portable feeder at a controlled site and condition the local feral hogs by feeding untreated feed for about two weeks. Then we can introduce the vaccinated feed and monitor the results.