Porcupines!!

[sioux 1876]

I am curious if any of you fellow members have a problem with porcupines? Dead or alive I am interested. Please pm thanks.

[sioux 1876]

I am curious if any fellow AO members have? or know where any porcupines dead or alive are. Thx please pm

[hilt134]

Theres one living in a culvert at my grand fathers place in ontario? I was not aware of how large they are until i stuck my headlamp inside there. Must of been three feet long.

Anyway what i would do is find youself a decently wooded area then look around for trees with patches of bark chewed off. If it has just snowed look for fallen bark and broken branches as well. Next thing is the culvert. In the winter they like places they can bed down and keep warm they are very lazy and stay close to home. this ones tracks didnt go father than 100m from the culvert. One thing we noticed as we wanted to get a photo of it was that it spent maybe an hour or two max out of cover to eat. Seemed to go before dark not quite sure how much before though. Good luck sorry i cant give specifics.

[H380]

I dont know if their population cycles or not but have seen lots this winter .. a great number of them wont raise young this spring .

[Coiloil37]

Where are you at? There's a freshly killed one just west of red deer I know about.

[The moose]

I have seen at least a couple every time i go out this winter. Dont know why all of a sudden they seem to be everywhere but they are.

[dukla]

Almost every year without exception they eat up my tamarack trees. Dogs are smart enough to keep away from them now lol.

[northerntrapper]

Could use more on my line, we have very few. Fisher love them, as well as other critters. My dad would never pass up the chance to set a couple or more yote snares on a porcupine trail through the snow, with a chin lifter of course.

[Marty S]

I have a problem with these wretched little creatures.

[sioux 1876]

Originally Posted by Coiloil37

Where are you at? There's a freshly killed one just west of red deer I know about.

Near Calgary. so red deer might be a little stretch.

[sioux 1876]

Originally Posted by Marty S

I have a problem with these wretched little creatures.

Where are u located Marty? Maybe we could set something up.😎

[spoiledsaskhunter]

Luv the outdoors asked for some so I shot three. ......said he'd be down to pick them up. Never did show so I threw them in the garbage pit. Too bad they went to waste. He won't be getting any more shot by me.

Guess magpie feathers were ok as long as I was paying the postage.

[waterninja]

Saw one recently with my grandson. Grandson was scared it might attack. Lol. IMG_2108.jpg


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[Fisherpeak]

Live in Kimberley B.C. in mountain forest country and have seen ZERO in 18 years. And my friends haven't either. And we hunt . A lot.

But, last year we shot a peacock 25 miles back up Perry Creek. Nearest house was about 14 miles behind. Skinned him and Boraxed and pinned the hide and he hangs on the wall.By the way, white meat and tastes a lot like a mild grouse.

[marlin1]

they get a pass from me . seen a few , even swimming in Magregor lake once . No need to shoot IMO less I was starving

[sioux 1876]

Originally Posted by waterninja

Saw one recently with my grandson. Grandson was scared it might attack. Lol. Attachment 131313


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That's a sweet pic!! Thanks for sharing.

[Marty S]

My problem was that I only got 6 this year. Usually I get about 25-30. Are you looking for hair or quills or both? Surely not meat??? Yick, they sure stink. I got a problem with their stink too.

[Red Bullets]

If you are looking for quills Halford's has them. Halfords has quills from african porcupine too. 5 to 8 inches long and 3/16" in diameter. The african quills make good fishing floats.

https://www.halfordsmailorder.com/ta...3-316158d29fdd

[WHMS]

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[Pioneer2]

Cougars also love to kill porcupines and apparently have an enzyme that dissolves them. Harold

[Big Grey Wolf]

Porkies are very hard on horses, especially young colts. not much fun pulling quills out of horses nose.

[walking buffalo]

Porkies are also an integral component of natural landscape development.

Pin pigs and rabbits can have a significant impact on brush/forest stand densities.

Want grasslands, need porcupines.
Want undergrowth in softwood stands, need porcupines.

Harvest the hair with this in mind.

[Red Bullets]

What Walking Buffalo said X 2.

[sioux 1876]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

Porkies are also an integral component of natural landscape development.

Pin pigs and rabbits can have a significant impact on brush/forest stand densities.

Want grasslands, need porcupines.
Want undergrowth in softwood stands, need porcupines.

Harvest the hair with this in mind.

Thanks For the feedback. I have never shot or killed one. I pluck hair the way that my people have been doing for thousands of years.In our creation stories the porcupine is held in high regard. When i do see them dead(roadkill) i salvage what I can.

[Marty S]

In the cattle lands, many ranchers just shoot them to eliminate them, they are hard on cattle, especially calves/yearlings. They are a renewable resource, just like coyotes and beavers. So shooting a few and harvesting them isnt going to hurt anything.

On the flip side, having a mind blowing cougar population at large, unmanaged sure had an impact on the porcupines, virtually eliminating them from the landscape in these parts. However, the landscape continued unfettered, and continues to exist today.

[jimmyrig]

busted the dog in a valley in nose hill calgary sitting nose to nose with one just wagging his tail and looking back at me saying "uhhh hey! have you seen this thing?" didnt get him infact the dog tried to get him to chase him but luckly he didnt try and bite the thing. i was hunting once and one walked right by my feet and climbed straight up a tree.

[oldgutpile]

I walk miles and miles while upland hunting in this heavy cattle ranching areas. Some of the local landowners tell me that if I see one and DONT shoot it, I'm not welcome back! As previous mentioned, lots of grief with calves and such.
Normally I would see a dozen in a fall and winter of bird hunting, but this year I cant recall seeing many. Still the occasional road kill though.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by oldgutpile

I walk miles and miles while upland hunting in this heavy cattle ranching areas. Some of the local landowners tell me that if I see one and DONT shoot it, I'm not welcome back! As previous mentioned, lots of grief with calves and such.
Normally I would see a dozen in a fall and winter of bird hunting, but this year I cant recall seeing many. Still the occasional road kill though.

We had several dog/porcupine interactions this fall while bird hunting, and every porcupine that we saw was eliminated. Lucky for the dogs, none received more than 15 or 20 quills.

[josh_beeks]

PM me, I shoot them nearly every time i go out a friend has lost a few dogs over the years so i always take them out so if you want them you can have them

[swifthunter]

I probably shoot one or two every time I go out pheasant hunting with my dogs. Luckily only gotten quills once but they are good at finding them. It's crazy how they can bury themselves in long grass or bush. Actually kinda surprised I've never stepped on one myself the way they hide