Happy Event!
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Since March we have had two female hedgehogs regularly visiting the two feeding stations in the garden. On the 12th of April we caught camera footage of one of the females mating with a male that occasionally visits.
Recently that female has been visiting to feed as early as 7pm, well before darkness, so I hoped she was possibly raising a litter….
Two nights ago, we were delighted to see her with two hoglets, both active, already eating the biscuits we put out, but also copying mum by digging in one of the borders, presumeably for worms.
Just really pleased to see these new hoglets, especially as we live in a busy housing estate.Hi Scratch
That’s brillliant news! So lovely – you are lucky. Fingers crossed the other one turns up with hoglets, too!
Housing estates are actually good places for hogs these days, as long as they have access to plenty of gardens via hog holes in fences, etc.
You may be already, but in case not, make sure there are sources of water around. Wide but shallow plant saucers are ideal, but not so deep that the hoglets could get into trouble.
Let us know how they progress. Good luck and happpy hog watching!
Update on the two hoglets progess….. Fascinating to observe all this not only on trail cam, but also by quietly sitting out for an hour or so before last light.
Mum would usually emerge through the hole in the fence first, about 8pm, have a good feed, then re-emerge with hoglets in tow an hour later.
Right from the start, 1 hoglet stayed mostly with mum, while the other explored on its own.
After only 5 nights, the adventurous hoglet spent a night alone in a nestbox in the garden.
Nights 7&8 a large male tried repeatedly to mate with the mother, frequently biffing the hoglets out of the way.
By now, both hoglets were foraging widely and responding to the male with snorts and raised spines. They were also using both feeding stations.
This evening, 11 nights after first sighting, my neighbour brought me one of the hoglets, that his dog found hiding in his garage!! It was a male, weighed 221 grams, it was the same hoglet that was spotted spending a night alone 6 days before!! (As I write this he is in a nest box having had a feed & drink).
I really don’t know if the hoglets are truly independent yet, but it has been an education watching their progress…. they certainly grow up rapidly!!Hi Scratch
It’s lovely to hear about the progress of the hoglets. Thanks for letting us know about their antics. One will often be more adventurous than another, but it’s always interesting to see. You are so lucky having the chance to watch them growing up. Yes, you’re right – they do grow incredibly quickly, but that means that, hopefully, they will be a good size before hibernation time.
I’m slightly worried about the hoglet the dog found. Do you know if the dog had it in its mouth? If it did it could easily have a puncture hole – which are incredibly difficult to find if you aren’t used it. If the dog did have the hoglet in its mouth, it would be a good idea to contact a hog rescue as it might need an antibiotic. You can get contact details by ringing the number bottom left of this page. A hog carer/rehabilitator would be able to advise. Fingers crossed the dog only barked and didn’t bite!
Good luck to all the hogs and hoglets.
Hi Nic
Actually, i never thought to ask if the hedgehog had been mouthed by the dog….. so thanks for raising that point.
Happily, I checked this morning and the neighbour told me the dog was on the lead. As they returned from a walk, it pulled and barked towards the hoglet but didn’t make contact.
The hoglet was seen on camera feeding and foraging as normal last night and also dragging grass and leaves into its nest box.
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