A few weeks ago we got a call about an escaped Pot Belly Pig near Buffalo. The pig had been on the loose for almost 8 months. Owned by a young girl, understandably she was pretty upset after such a long time had passed. The first trap that was used was a Tractor Supply trap that was in need of repairs. It had gotten damaged somewhere along the line in shipping I guess, but the pig would have been too much for the under built trap, with or without damage, light material and very little reinforcing. As you might expect, the pig broke out of that trap without much trouble, leaving the door pushed out with the lock bar outstretched in front of the trap.
Our task was to build a large trap strong enough to hold a 65 pound pig and then perhaps double as a coyote trap in the future. In the picture the pig looks heavier than 65 pounds to me. The trap we decided to make would be 20x30x60 with angled double doors and lock rings, along with a wire trigger. It would have worked the first time using one open door with bait, but the lock ring was left connected to safety magnet at the top of the trap so only one ring dropped and one side locked. With only one ring locking the door on one side, the pig was able to push the door open and squeeze out as you might have guessed. It didn’t damage the trap, but the pig was gone again.
The following day both doors were set with the safeties out of the way, providing a very open appearance while using bait. In a short time the pig returned. With little fear, since the trap was completely open, the catch was made. It had worked out as planned, catching the pig with no damage to the trap.
In the future, if all goes as planned, we will be building more large traps for a variety of critters.