they eat just fine straight out of the trap . when you pen them up to fatten them first thing they do is loose weight . i've taken em straight out of the trap to the house killed cleaned and eaten then in less than 14 hrs MMMMnnn GOOOd .. the big hogs i do like to hang for about 24 hours after cleaning them just to let them drain blood but the smaller 80 to 100 lb ers i usually start the pit before i run the trap and get with it . hogs used to be free ranged and gathered and went straight to slaughter house for years
The only reason I like to purge them through with clean fresh water and corn is; I think it helps with the smell when gutting them. In the past, when I have taken them straight from the woods to the pit, the meat was great, but the slaughter was a smelly job. I just found it makes the processing easier, and brings a subliminal peace of mind, I'm not trying to fatten them up. Trying to keep and care for an animal after removing it from the wild is a daunting task... If its too small to eat, and I can't use it for training purposes, leave it for the yotes or cut it loose.
