# Hog calling > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hog_calling > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hog_calling.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hog_calling > Source revision: 1337307841 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Not to be confused with [Calling the Hogs](/source/Calling_the_Hogs). **Hog calling**, or **pig calling**, is the art of making a call to encourage [pigs](/source/Pig) to approach the caller. Competitions in hog calling are held.[1] ## Calls To attract pigs (or family), the calls are based on four strategies: a male call to encourage territorial males to come to fight, a female call to encourage males to come to mate, a general call of dinner is served, and a piglet in distress call which works on adults. ## Aids to calling Calls are usually simple [woodwind](/source/Woodwind) instruments, sometimes adapted from other hunting lures. Electronic devices are also available. ## Contests Hog calling contests are usually held in regions with [pig farming](/source/Pig_farming).[2] Rules may vary between competitions. There usually is a time limit of 30 seconds, but some festivals allow for longer time. In competitions where there is no set rule for the duration of the call, it can be a criterion for judgement, awarding more points for sustained loud calls. The contestants are also judged on creativity. The contestant should aim to mimic a hog's call, but the exact type of call may vary. For example, some might call out "SOOO-o-oeeyyy", with the s sound perhaps coming from 'sow', and others "Who-o-eyyy". The use of props and costumes might also happen, but is usually frowned upon. Despite being originally about communicating with pigs scattered over a field, modern hog calling competitions will provide a microphone for contestants to amplify their calls. However, it is expected that the champion of a contest is able to render the microphone redundant. While some contests take the audience excitement as a necessary criterion of a good hog call, others consider that to be a side effect of the performance. And finally some contests divide participants by age (having a separate contest for kids and adults), while others mix everyone.[2] The [Illinois State Fair](/source/Illinois_State_Fair) regularly hosts a hog calling contests. The winner of the 2015 contest had already participated 24 times and won 10 of them. That competition involved four contestants.[1] ## In popular culture In the short story, "[Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey](/source/Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey)", by [P.G. Wodehouse](/source/P.G._Wodehouse) the sow [Empress of Blandings](/source/Empress_of_Blandings) misses her first keeper, Wellbeloved, when he is sent to jail for a spell; her pining is worrisome to her owner ([Lord Emsworth](/source/Lord_Emsworth)), with the big show approaching, until she is pepped up by James Belford's hog calling techniques, returning to her trough with enough gusto to take her first silver medal. The [Arkansas Razorbacks](/source/Arkansas_Razorbacks) chant is [Calling the Hogs](/source/Calling_the_Hogs). In July 2024, the Australian rock band [King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard](/source/King_Gizzard_%26_the_Lizard_Wizard) released the song Hog Calling Contest, the second single from their 26th studio album, [Flight b741](/source/Flight_b741). The song features hog calling. ## See also - [Duck calling](/source/Duck_calling) - [Tarzan yell](/source/Tarzan_yell) - [Yodeling](/source/Yodeling) ## References 1. ["First Time Husband Caller and Veteran Hog Caller Win State Fair Contest"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180912170150/https://www.agr.state.il.us/newsrels/attachments/201508161657011.docx). Illinois Department of Agriculture. August 16, 2015. Archived from [the original](https://www.agr.state.il.us/newsrels/attachments/201508161657011.docx) on 12 September 2018. 1. ["Boar Hunting in Wisconsin"](https://goneoutdoors.com/boar-hunting-wisconsin-6728058.html). *Gone Outdoors | Your Adventure Awaits*. Retrieved 2021-04-08. ## External links - [Pig Hunting Tips: How to Call in Wild Hogs](http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/hunting/2012/03/dont-chase-wild-hogs-call-them-instead) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hog calling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hog_calling) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hog_calling?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.