Found nest of hedgehogs in barn

[kathy.doyle@btconnect.com]

A couple of days ago we were clearing a field shelter where we had been storing hay bales on pallets(we suspected rodent activity under the pallets), and just as we lifted the last bale in the corner we found a nest of six hedgehogs. I quickly covered it with hay and protected it from curious chickens with pallets as best I could. I put out dog food for them as recommended on this site, and it seems to have gone, so hopefully they are all still there, and I did see one of them last evening when I was putting the food out. But I see, also on this site that they should be a certain weight to survive the winter and they didn’t look very big to me, though it’s a while since I saw one . I wonder if i should just continue feeding them and leave them alone or should I take them out and weigh them? I’m a bit worried they might desert the nest if start poking about again. Any advice welcome, thanks.

[William]

Hi Kathy. sorry no one has got back to you. At the moment the best advice is to leave them be, and keep putting out food and water. It may be that the young ones are not ready to leave the nest yet, and may be still suckling.
After a couple of months mother will abandon them to their own devices, then would be a good idea to weigh, but not while they are still with mum.
Just in case you may want to find a local carer in your area and get more qualified advice.

Willpar.

[Jan-Marie]

Hi Kathy,

I would tend to agree with William on the leave be front – but some food and water will certainly be helpful for them at this time – you may need to be prepared to continue this support through the winter if they are hoglets – in which case you may need to be ready to switch to a dry food alternative on those frosty nights. But keep an eye on food being taken it can stop and start intermittently through the winter as well.
It could be that mum has gone off and left them to fend already if they all looked small or about the same size? – once the females have weaned the babies, they tend to not stick around too long and will abandon them in order to look after themselves – if they are hoglets and mum is still around, the food will obvious help her too as she will be fairly depleted after the ordeal of birth and feeding etc. she did a good job of finding a quiet cosy nest to have them in though, and if there are 5 from one litter, then that’s a great start for them. Probably a good idea to find out who your local carers and hog experts are through BHPS website and Hedgehog bottom also, which has a link on BHPS – just in case you need them pronto. Even a call to answer a question can be a lifesaver for these little critters.
Hope it all works out – let us know!

[Nic]

If you need to get hold of a carer quickly, you can also ring the BHPS to find your nearest one on 01584 890801.

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