Porcupines

[knotsobrite]

Obviously many of you haven't had to remove porcupine quills from a dog .... it takes to guys to hold the dog down and one to pull quills from the dogs face, mouth and throat with a pair of pliers ....and if you don't get them out properly or miss one,the quill will work it's way into the dog and will eventually kill it . Porky's also girdle tree bark which will destroy a tree . Anyone who has a cottage in the north will also know how much damage they can do .

[Exo200]

Shot lot's at our cottage over the year's ! Last spring they trashed 5 nice pine's around the cottage we patched them up with what I'll call the special tree tar.They seem to like the younger pine's with smooth bark as they leave the big old rough barked one's alone. Dog's , plywood shed's , I've seen them eat brake line's on car's, We shoot them on site!

[jim]

Obviously many of you haven't had to remove porcupine quills from a dog .... it takes to guys to hold the dog down and one to pull quills from the dogs face, mouth and throat with a pair of pliers ....and if you don't get them out properly or miss one,the quill will work it's way into the dog and will eventually kill it . Porky's also girdle tree bark which will destroy a tree . Anyone who has a cottage in the north will also know how much damage they can do .

I agree about offin' the buggers, for the above reason, but I too have a philosophy to eat everything I kill, unless it's going to eat me!! My kids loved porkies in the slowcooker when they were kids. I don't know where the fatty wild taste comes from. Tastes like rabbit and very lean. Lots of people think Pike tastes like s...t, that's because they don't know [or don't want ] to fillet the bones out. Most people i've fed pike to, couldn't tell it , from the walleye beside it. porkies are tasty , learn to skin and cook them .

[MikePal]

I shoot them on sight...in fact if I see one when I'm out, I come all the way home get my gun, go back out and then shot them. They cost me a fortune very year in Vet bills.

Story: I left a pop up in the bush after Bow season for use during the ML season. Went out to get set-up Sunday before the opener, opened the zipper and stuck me head in and there 3" from my face was a porc siting in my chair as happy as could be..Pulled myself back out fairly quickly then spent 15 minutes trying to get it off the chair and kicked outside. Found where he chewed thru the tent to get in, lots of damage.

[GoldenLakePete]

Porcupines ate my little plywood boat when I was a kid. Every dog I've owned has been hurt by porcupines. Porcupines have damaged or killed some of our maples. They ate part of the floor of my parents' cottage. I've seen acres of young pines killed by porkies ... I could go on and on. I shoot the horrible things!

[trimmer21]

Porcupines are like strippers-fun to watch but DON'T TOUCH. LOL

[impact]

I had one trash the outhouse at deer camp. What a crappy thing to do!
I have no love for them.

[old243]

Jim , you say you liked them in the slow cooker. How do you go about skinning them. and preparing them. I thought they might be fat. Never tried one , Not sure my wife would cook it. I have difficulty getting her to cook venison. I am a not too bad cook , but she doesn't let me cook , claims I am too messy. Old243

[jim]

They have no quills on the belly, so you have to skin them out like rolling him out of a carpet.[leather roper gloves are still a good ]idea]. They are not fat, but very lean. Lots of good meat, but same consistency as rabbit. Cook it the same as rabbit, maybe ad some pork fat to the slowcooker[ or dutch oven]. Can't help with the wife. Next time get one with her own boat and filleting knife!

[old243]

Jim, she says she has ate her share of it in earlier years, Old 243 not going to now. As far as finding one with a boat , I don't think I am up to training another one.