Do bird feeders attract feral hogs?

The short answer

• Yes, through the seed on the ground. Texas A&M AgriLife lists bird seed with pet food, livestock feed and garbage as a significant attractant for feral hogs when it is easy to reach, and says to remove it, store it securely or make it inaccessible.
• Drop cracked corn and milo-heavy mixes. Hunters and land managers put out thousands of tons of corn a year for deer, and hogs eat a substantial portion of it (AgriLife L-5533). Corn on the ground is a hog feeder.
• To keep a ground station, ring it with welded-wire panels. In South Texas, 20 in panels only reduced hog visits; 28 and 34 in panels kept hogs out completely while adult deer still fed. Use 28 in where fawns need to get in.
• For the whole yard, Texas A&M gives a 6 ft net-wire fence with the bottom touching the ground everywhere, or at least two electric strands at about 8 and 18 in. Drain standing water so hogs have nowhere to wallow.
• Javelina are not pigs. They belong to the peccary family (TPWD), have different laws, and have their own page.

Yes, but not for the feeder. Feral hogs come for what lands on the ground: spilled seed, corn scattered for doves and quail, and in fall the acorns under your oaks. Texas A&M AgriLife's feral hog program lists bird seed with pet food, livestock feed and garbage as "a significant attractant for feral hogs" when it is easy to reach, and says those foods "should be removed, stored in a secure location, or made inaccessible." A hanging feeder over a raked yard is a small draw. A ground tray of cracked corn is a hog feeder.

Two answers circulate. Ranch pages say fence every feeder. The few bird pages that mention hogs say take the feeders down. For a yard, the second is usually more than you need: the hog is after the grain on the ground, and taking that away, or fencing it in, ends the visits without losing the birds.

Why hogs find a feeder#

TPWD calls wild pigs omnivores and "opportunistic feeders" that eat 3 to 5 percent of their body mass a day, mostly plants: grasses, mast, roots and tubers. The Woodlands Township, north of Houston, says they are "especially fond of acorns" and feed mainly at night and at twilight. Grain is the easy version of the same meal. AgriLife's fencing leaflet L-5533 says hunters and land managers put out "thousands of tons of corn each year" for deer, and hogs "consume a substantial portion of it."

Once they find it, they stay. "They keep coming back to that site again and again," AgriLife wildlife specialist John Tomecek told the Texas Farm Bureau in 2020, and he puts breeding at up to three litters a year. TPWD adds that wild pigs raid ground-nesting bird nests, so a sounder that settles in costs your quail and wild turkeys as well as your seed.

Is it hogs?#

Most hog visits are at night, so you usually read the yard in the morning.

AgriLife's L-5533 lists tracks, rooting, rubs and wallows as hog sign and suggests an infrared camera to confirm. If the feeder itself was opened or emptied, the suspect list is in what is emptying my feeder at night.

Javelina are not pigs#

TPWD is plain about it: the javelina, or collared peccary, has "a piglike snout" but belongs to the peccary family, native to the Western Hemisphere. True pigs are swine, brought here about 500 years ago. The law follows the family. Javelina are a game animal, and in three Arizona counties attracting them is an offense. Feral hogs are invasive, and the states below make removing them easy. The spill fix is the same for both.

What to stop putting on the ground#

The ground is the only place a hog can feed, so the seed you choose decides how much it finds.

Prices are 2026 United States big-bag benchmarks used as defaults in our seed cost calculator. Swap in your own and the ranking can change; the edible fraction and energy columns will not.

1. Drop the corn. Loose cracked corn is the grain hunters use to bait deer, and it draws hogs the same way.
2. Drop the milo mix. Cheap birdseed mixes are built on milo, corn and wheat, and birds flick the filler to the ground to reach the sunflower.
3. Feed hulled seed off the ground. Sunflower hearts in a tube leave no shells and little waste. Put a catch tray under the feeder and empty it before dusk.
4. Take ground stations in at night. A ground feeder or a low platform tray with white proso millet for juncos and mourning doves can run in the morning if it is empty by dark.
5. Rake the oaks. The Woodlands Township's first step is to rake up acorns. In fall an acorn drop under the feeder is a second buffet.
6. Lock up the bag. Seed goes in a lidded metal can, not a sack in an open carport, as in storing birdseed.

How much falls under one feeder is in seed waste and mess.

Ring the ground station with hog panels#

If you want to keep scattering seed for quail or doves, fence the feeding area itself. This is the measured fix, from trials at deer feeders in the South Texas brush country, summer and fall

1. Researchers ringed broadcast corn feeders with welded-wire panels, about 28 ft across, and

watched them on infrared cameras for two weeks before and two weeks after.

Source: AgriLife L-5533 (Timmons et al.), the 33 in finding from a Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute study. Texas A&M's feral hog site says to use 28 in "if a manager is specifically concerned about young deer or fawns."

How to build it, from L-5533 and the Natural Resources Institute's 2025 update:

• Size. About 28 ft across in the trial. NRI suggests a 30 by 30 ft circle so deer do not crowd.
• Panels. Six 16 ft panel lengths in a circle, tied to steel T-posts where they overlap and halfway between. For 28 in, cut 60 in utility panels lengthwise in half; the 34 in height is a graduated hog panel with the small openings at the bottom.
• Ground. Every panel flush to the ground, with no gaps a hog can dig under.
• Fawn slots. On a 34 in fence, L-5533 cuts at least two slots 6 in deep and 3 ft wide into the top. NRI describes two-foot slits that drop the top by 6 in. Either way, 28 in is simpler.

Birds fly in. If you do not want deer at the station either, a ring will not help, because it is built to let them jump in: that is the deer at feeders problem, and the answer there is no ground food. Expect the odd breach, too. NRI notes adult hogs have jumped "much higher" than these fences escaping traps, and Tomecek's line is that there is "no such thing as a pig-proof fence."

Fencing the whole yard#

Texas A&M's options for a pasture, a school or a yard:

• Net wire. "A strong, 6-foot net-wire perimeter fence will deter most feral hogs," installed "with the bottom touching the ground in all places." Wire can be buried as a curtain against digging. Close gates at night.
• Electric. At least two strands, the lower one at about 8 in and the upper one at about 18 in, to hit young and adult pigs on the nose. Clear vegetation from the line. The charge has to be strong enough that Texas A&M calls it inadvisable "in an area frequented by humans," and hungry hogs can become desensitized to it.
• Garden. The Woodlands Township asks for fences "flush to the ground" and at least 36 in.
• Water. Make sure rain, irrigation and sprinkler water "flows off the premises and doesn't leave large puddles suitable for wallowing." A ground-level dish is a draw too; see bird baths and water for raised designs.

What the law lets you do#

Georgia has one rule aimed straight at the ground station. Code 27-3-24(a.2) makes it unlawful to "scatter any corn, wheat, or other grains" or other feed "so as to constitute a lure, attraction, or enticement for feral hogs within 50 yards of any property ownership boundary." Our reading: corn put out for birds that is drawing hogs near your lot line is close to what that section describes. In Georgia hog country, keep loose grain off the ground near a boundary.

Where this page stops#

• Ranch trials. The fence heights come from deer feeders in South Texas, two weeks either side of fencing, and no fawns visited in the trial year. No study we found tested a backyard bird station.
• Four states only. Oklahoma's row is the 2016 enrolled text, not the current code. Other states, Canada and city discharge rules were not checked. Call your state agency before you trap or shoot.

The spill that feeds hogs feeds rats and mice and raccoons too, so the rake and the tray fix three problems. Every other symptom is matched to its cause on the problems hub.

Frequently asked questions#

Do feral hogs eat bird seed?

Yes. Texas A&M AgriLife's feral hog program lists bird seed, with pet food, livestock feed and garbage, as food that "can be a significant attractant for feral hogs" when it is easily accessible. TPWD calls wild pigs omnivores and opportunistic feeders that eat 3 to 5 percent of their body mass a day. A hog cannot reach a hanging tube feeder, so what it eats is the seed on the ground: the spill, a ground tray, and above all corn and milo scattered for doves and quail.

How high does a fence need to be to keep hogs out but let deer in?

28 to 34 in. In AgriLife's South Texas trials, 20 in panels reduced hog access, while 28 and 34 in panels kept hogs out completely, and adult deer visits did not decline significantly. A separate Texas A&M-Kingsville study found fences taller than 33 in limited fawn access, so Texas A&M advises the 28 in height where fawns matter. Rings were about 28 ft across in the trial; Texas A&M's Natural Resources Institute suggests a 30 by 30 ft circle.

Are javelina and feral hogs the same animal?

No. TPWD says the javelina, or collared peccary, has a piglike snout but belongs to the peccary family, which developed in the Western Hemisphere. True pigs belong to the swine family and were brought to North America about 500 years ago. Javelina top out around 55 lb; feral hogs can pass 150 lb. The law differs too: javelina are a game animal in Arizona and Texas, while feral hogs are an invasive species that states let landowners remove.

Can I shoot feral hogs on my own property in Texas?

Texas law lets any person with the landowner's consent take feral hogs without a state hunting license, since SB 317 took effect on 1 September 2019. A TPWD wildlife enforcement officer said at the time that hunter education rules still apply, and that it is still illegal for a bullet to cross a property line without the neighbor's consent. Local rules were not checked here, so call your city or AgriLife county office first.

Will an electric fence keep hogs out of my yard?

It can, but Texas A&M warns that the charge has to be strong enough to make it inadvisable where people come and go, which rules it out for many family yards. Use at least two strands, the lower one at about 8 in and the upper at about 18 in, to hit young and adult pigs on the nose, and keep vegetation cleared so the fence does not ground out. Hungry hogs can become desensitized to the shock when food is short.

Sources and further reading

1. Preventative Options Coping with Feral Hogs, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Bird seed a significant attractant, to be removed, stored securely or made inaccessible; acorns and tubers natural foods; 28 to 34 in fence around deer feed, 28 in for fawns; 6 ft net wire touching the ground; two electric strands at about 8 and 18 in, charge inadvisable where people frequent; drain puddles suitable for wallowing
2. Using Fences to Exclude Feral Hogs from Wildlife Feeding Stations, L-5533 (10-11) Timmons, Rattan, Campbell, Long, Higginbotham, Campion, McFarland, Dictson and Cathey, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (copy at the Portal to Texas History, UNT) South Texas, summer and fall 2010; 20, 28 and 34 in panels in 28 ft rings around broadcast corn feeders; 20 in reduced hog access, 28 and 34 in excluded completely; adult deer visits did not decline significantly; fences over 33 in limited fawns (CKWRI); slots 6 in deep by 3 ft wide; materials $170, $187, $190; thousands of tons of corn a year, hogs eat a substantial portion
3. Using exclusion fencing to prevent feral hog access at feeding stations (16 December 2025) Ryland Wieding, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute An estimated 3 million feral pigs in Texas; pigs dominate other species at feed; 34 in hog panels recommended; 30 by 30 ft circle; two-foot slits lower the top by 6 in; adults jump much higher when escaping traps
4. AgriLife researchers explore new wild pig control measures (Texas Agriculture, 3 April 2020) Jessica Domel, Texas Farm Bureau, quoting John Tomecek of AgriLife Extension Feed for deer and turkeys attracts pigs, which keep coming back; T-post and cattle panel exclusion designs; no such thing as a pig-proof fence; up to three litters a year, five to eight piglets surviving each; every county but El Paso; moving pigs illegal
5. Ecology and Management of Wild Pigs Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Omnivores and opportunistic feeders, 3 to 5 percent of body mass a day; mast, roots and tubers; prey on ground-nesting bird nests; higher reproduction where supplemental feeding is common; transport illegal in Texas
6. Javelinas (Introducing Mammals) Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Javelina belong to the peccary family, not the swine family; true pigs brought to the continent about 500 years ago
7. New law allows hunting feral hogs without a license (Texas Agriculture, 5 July 2019) Gary Joiner, Texas Farm Bureau, quoting TPWD's Stormy King SB 317: any person with landowner consent may take feral hogs without a hunting license, effective 1 September; hunter education still applies; projectile may not cross a property line without consent
8. Wildlife (Environmental Services) The Woodlands Township, Texas Feral hogs omnivorous, especially fond of acorns, feed mainly at night and twilight; rake acorns, fence gardens flush to the ground at least 36 in
9. Wild Hog (hunting) Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission More than 150 lb, 5 to 6 ft; sounders; rooting; year-round with landowner permission, no hunting license, no permit for gun and light at night; trapped hogs not released on public land; FDACS permits to transport or hold live hogs
10. Jurisdiction for Swine: Prohibited Actions, Georgia and Oklahoma Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Law Research Library Ga. Code 27-3-24(a.2) grain or feed luring feral hogs within 50 yards of a property boundary; 27-3-24(b) transport permit or kill before transport; 27-2-1(b) residents need no license on their own premises; Okla. 2 O.S. 6-611 release ban (Oklahoma page in the same library)
11. Enrolled Senate Bill 1142 (2016), amending 2 O.S. 6-604 Oklahoma Legislature Any person with permission of the owner may remove feral swine day or night without a Wildlife Department hunting license or control permit