EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Does anyone know if you can still register a mark in Texas counties for marking hogs??....heard old timers talk about it ...would like to have my own mark!! Thanks for commenting!
Caught and Tied!!

U can register a mark with the county. My brand is registered for horses, cattle, and swine. Some different laws in Place about releasing wild hogs in places in Texas.

I got a family mark I use here in Arkansas that was registered in the early to mid 1900's but they don't go by that anymore here. We just mark them for the fun of it and to know if we caught the hog before. Find out what marks some people in your area use and just pick another one. Or course tx laws are different so be sure to check them, like that fella said about the releasing.

yes you can still register your mark . go to the statefair or ffa shows and you will see all the hogs are notched for i.d. puposes and registry's . but i wouldn't want the hog police to start seeing all these wild hogs runnin round with my registered mark on em . ;D

If your gonna mark hogs in east Texas you'd better remember the early bird gets the worm! Cward has the market cornered on it!! I still have yet to catch a hog that ain't got his mark on it. And my new mark is just as prevalent. I don't wanna catch no body hauling hogs with either of our marks

You need to be sure and play by the rules, you flip a boar hog over and see a row of 8-12 symmetric lil dots on his belly and that's one of mine, you get one caught and lift his tail and he has a hole under it, thems CWards!! Your welcome to any hogs that don't meet those criteria

So do y'all have live stock laws in Texas that say you can catch a wild hog mark it an then release it and it is yours? Like the old free ranging laws in Arkansas and louisianna?

Lol no nuts, short tail and a crop in both ears better send him back in the woods them are ours

 i didnt know that feral hogs belong to anybody other than the state, mark or not. i didnt know we could do that, but i dont want to be held responsible for crop damage if i claimed wild hogs are mine. t bob, you say first come first serve and dont wanna catch any1 hauling hogs with your mark. why not take them home with you then?

Hell I understand folks wantin to barr to have a future nice huge meat hog or whatnot.....but isn't the main reason we need to catch them ba$tards because they are destroying people's livelyhoods/property? What if a hog that's marked makes it onto someone's property....most likely they catch it they're gonna kill it....I would think? Just tryin to get a better understanding is all.

Exactly. We only mark just to know if we've caught it before. If I Barr one then we Barr it for anyone to get the meat hog. And I'll do the same I I see a big one. Guys around here will still try to claim them. But on my land I haul off or kill what I want.

T-bob and myself were just joking. Hell all t-bobs mark is just the hog's teats and he was saying Chances was the butthole lol

Our marks are for personal preference to know if the hog was one that we cut. We lay no claim to the hog other than taking his nuts out, the rest is free game for him to go where he pleases. We just would like to repo him in a few years when he's a fatboy

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Section 1.101(4) and Texas Agriculture Code 161.001(a) [4], feral hogs are classified as exotic livestock and are property of the landowner whose land they are upon at any given time.  Therefore, if you're on your own property no need in marking them if you just want them to be yours.

I mark hogs because it's a part of history being lost.  There is nothing finer then catching a Barr that you yourself marked a few years back and know the time, place, and the hunt like it happened yesterday.

Nobody honors a mark anymore.  I personally will let any hog I catch wearing another mans mark, whether he had daggers or was 500 lbs.  I want a man who knows my mark and catches the hog to give me a courtesy call and let me know he caught one of my hogs.  I don't care if he keeps him, but let me know is all I ask.  Will it happen, 9 outta 10 times no, but I'd do it for the next man.

Me too, Ben. I'd call if I knew who's it was and id like a call but just because I'd like to track it and it's cool to kno and keep up with.

well i no if i catch a big hog and its marked im bringing it home anyhow.. aint bout to let no hog go back on my crops cause people marked it.. just my opinion but thats how us farmers feel.. we kinda thought the post were funny.. >:D :laugh: O0

there for if the hog moves onto public land or anybody elses property, then the hog is free for the taking, no matter who has marked it right? if i catch or shoot a hog with a marking on it, then the previous catcher owner should have takin it with him/her in the first place

Different strokes for different folks.

I personally like to see hogs worked just like we work and manage our cows.  I run marked hogs and enjoy catching a big Barr with my mark on it.  Simple as that, I don't expect anyone to honor marks nowadays, it's a thing of the past for most.  I am one that feels differently about the subject is all.

What if y'all come cross your dogs baying a cow n land you know good and dang well there aint supposed to be cows on, matter of fact there ain't posta be cows for a couple miles. She's wearing a brand you ain't never seen, do you say finders keepers, guess we're having steaks tonight?? Does your attitude change if she's got no brand?

How about if they bay a big ol chesterwhite boar with a yellow eartag? Same boar with no tag, but he's been marked barred and tail clipped?

Integrity is what you do when nobody is watching.
Earmarks ain't common no more, but that's all the more reason to respect them when you you find them, mine is a tipped off right ear with a half square visibly missing. Please make a note of it.

Great minds think alike  :D

I doubt y'all would ever see my mark across the Texas line anyways, but if you come across a "swallowfork upperbit and swallowfork" be sure to cut him back loose, he's done swam a few rivers and deserves it.

so are we argueing about people killing hogs that have been marked? If so............... O0

I dont think it's argument yet  ;D

Just backing up opinions with our thoughts on the subject, but yeah, as strongly as alot feel on the subject, an argument might be inevitable.

 according to the law they belong to the land owner the animal is on at that time. i guess yaw are willing to pay for any damage done by the hogs to current land owner if you want to talk about integrity, then cough up the money for damages.
so i guess we are talking free range cows huh? common sence will say for a cow to call the sheriff and or warden, as far as a chesterwhite, if it aint a feral then do the right thing and get your dogs off, hobble, if room in a pen take it there and post an add with where the hog was caught and no markings and post a pic. your now talkin domestic cattle and swine.
 i guess if it was baying a billy goat then with no marking then it would be cabrito for dinner then huhhh? come on 99% of us no what feral hogs look like, i hope we all know what a cow and or domestic pig looks like. if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, well i guess its a duck. if the wild hog/s are on another persons property that you have permission to be on and the land owner says get rid of the hogs, but you see a persons ear mark, ur gonna leave it alive and turn it back loose and then lie to the owner who ask you to remove the hogs. there are lots of variables, but according to the law they belong to the land owner the animal is on at that time. i guess yaw are willing to pay for any damage done by the hogs to current land owner if you want to talk about integrity, then cough up the damage money.

Charles, remember that same law gives land owners a right to shoot a dog that Is baying a hog on his property.

Hogs travel yes, but most people free range hogs on larges acres and where it can be done with minimum damage to surrounding areas.  Usually it's a few guys running marks in an area and we respect each others marks.  Same as a cow when you hit it, but good luck trying proving that specific hog did the damage.  I just simply asked for a phone call if someone knew it was mine.

This is just something I grew up around, and marked hogs have caused as many fights and killing scrapes where I come from as divorces  ;D. You'll feel pretty strongly about alot of things Charles, and this is one subject I feel strongly about.

That's correct duck, AND there's a law on the books as old as barbed wire fence that states that Texas is a fence out state. Meaning you are responsible for fencing out any animals you dont want grazing on your property. And Charles if a cow is off its range it has become "feral" same for goats and " domestic pigs" they are all livestock.

I respect where your coming from though, I can tell you see things from a recreational hunters standpoint and that's fine because myself included 90% of us are recreational hunters, but from a try to see things from a traditional point of view for once instead of arguing for arguings sake.

I don't figure you'll respect marks and that's fine by me. I will

AND that is all a man who runs marks expect.  I don't expect anything from a person who doesn't run them.

ba-iv i know and repect marks,sum people dont get it becaused there raised different,b it time or area.here were i live ther has been killings over marked hogs in the last 20yrs.u better learn to respect a marked hog or ther will b trouble.e better not get caught hauling marked hogs around.but its different in other states and areas.

you are 100% right, but the law also says the property to game animal is on at that specific time, belong to the paticular time. if the animal has an ear tag or hip brand, then do what you can to find the rightfull owner with in a proper amount of time, say 1-3 months.
 i see and understand both t-bob and ba-iv's point of veiw, but again i hunt 99% public property so if the animal is on public property then it is free for the takings. if there is a cattle ranch or hog farm near by then honest thing to do is gather the dogs up, makr location on gps, tie the animal to a tree if you can not get the animal out by hand, go see the rancher and ask him if it is his/her animal. t-bob, what is the time line on when an animal becomes feral? if the animal has been out of its ranging land long enough to look like its feral, then the owner has givin up on find it. as far as traditonal point of view, just for yaws sake, i will find the site and carry a copy of all the registered ear marks and brands when i hunt just to make sure i dont catch an animal who has either marked it and let it go in hopes of catching it again or stray cattle roaming the woods. i dont mark animals, but if it was common and still required for identifing animals for means of free grazing, then i would respect it, but this is the 21st century, the majority of all ranchers dont free graze their cattle on public property. you want to mark your caught wild hogs, then ok, but dont get your nickers in a knot if some else catches and keeps it. till the law is reverted back 80-100yrs for massive free ranging of livestock, then as long as i obey the law, the critter is for who ever catches it.
and for bigdog's comment of better not get caught hauling a marked hog, make the first shot count. if its all private properyt where surrounding ranchers andland owners have a resipricating agreement as to whos hogs are whos and their marks, then it would be considered cattle rustling which still is a shooting offense, but public property is exactly that for the entire public, not just surounding hunters/land owners

THe law applys to wild hogs only.

if a domestic hog has gooten loose near public land and your dogs have it bayed and the rancher shoots the dogs, then i would have to consult a lawyer and the police about that, but dogs dont know domestic from wild. so again, public land + hogs = free for the taking, but again once you arrive to the bay and relize its a domestic, do your best to little to no damage and try and find the owner. cantex, i think they are refering to wild hogs, so the law will apply and if you go by t-bob, a domestic hog in the wild, is wild so your comment dont have any relivence to this.

Your thinking way too much into this Charles.  I mark hogs for the fun of knowing which ones I've caught before and seeing what they decided to do this time. Also I just started getting serious about it and want to use it as a management tool to help aid in a healthy removal project without totally annihilating a population on any certain property.

As far as someone else catching my marked hog, I don't guess I care too much so long as it was on a different property. It's kinda like seeing a girl who you went to prom with getting married to some dude she met at college.  ;) >:D

tooche, or ever how you spell. i will agree with you 100% as long as it not on your land.