hogs this year are refusing to use the hog homes

[Hedgie Lover]

However, I’m not worried yet – as when I spoke to the foster carer – she said all her wild hogs disappear in the summer as they go off on their travels, but reassured me saying they will be back.

However, lately, it seems to be picking up a bit more now – but as they don’t come out til after 10 – I only get a chance to see one hog per night – but I feel many more return during the night as most of the food gets eaten every night.

For me, it was fairly busy with hogs in the spring time, when they had obviously woken up from their big sleep and decided to fill up on food, and perhaps because the wild food was scarcer back then, with it being spring and a very dry spring. There was lots of action back then, lots of courting behaviour, lots of huffing, which would go on all night long sometimes. Even had a male hog which took a liking to climbing on top of the feeding station each night – but haven’t seen him around since the start of the summer.

I can remember last year, there was quite a few posts of people saying ‘my hogs have disappeared’, so anyway, I have been reassured that this is normal this time of year.

I haven’t seen any hoglets at all. But sure they must be around somewhere with all the courting that went on. Perhaps they will make an appearance when they get a little bit bigger.

So last year, from August onwards, my hog house was getting permanently used, but now nothing – I think someone might have taken a look inside on one of the nights, but changed their minds.

But I’m not moving them, as if they have the reassurance all summer long that the houses are staying there – then they might feel safe to use them towards the end of the summer. I haven’t moved the hog houses from the position they where in last year – so I think they like where they are positioned.

The foster carer said that hogs, in the summer, sleep in a nest a few nights and move on – so perhaps they view the wooden hog houses as hibernation houses for the winter.

[Annker]

Hi Hedgie Lover, long time no speak! Gosh, it’s been horrendous here! I had such high hopes after hearing it was forecast a good year for hogs breading as it was so quiet!
My hogs came out and disappeared, had a good scoff at food and gone. I saw Heidi for a while, then Tommy, then Louie, who was born last Autumn. Tommy died in someone’s garden, after hearing kids screaming they found a dead hog after parents had a mad gardening day. Young Louie, we scraped him/her off the road the other evening. I was devastated. It was still living in the hibernation shed, had some food and water every night then went to for rage. Must have been on the way back home when someone ran over it.
No food gone for 1 night, but some had gone the next, so maybe Heidi back. Just like you, I hope they are somewhere safe. We all had a struggle last year with them disappearing. This year seems worse. We just have to live in hope. So glad to read your post and know you are OK, we are living through awful times aren’t we. We haven’t been out for 3 months. We may have struggled through with limited supplies, but the hogs and birds have had plenty of food! Made sure of that. Best wishes.

[Hedgie Lover]

How devastating for you Annker – I’m really lucky that I haven’t yet seen a dead hedgehog, but the school next to me said they saw a dead hog once (not this year). I have been told that they’ll all come back to fatten up nearer autumn.

But having said that, it’s hard to say how busy it actually is in my garden at the mo, as I’m sleeping a lot earlier and rising earlier than last year, so I only get to see a small portion of the action.

[Hedgie Lover]

I heard some huffing earlier, sounded to me a lot like the courting huffing – but wasn’t able to see the hogs as they were hiding somewhere – but anyway, I now seem to have a regular visitor who I think could be (I’m hoping) a pregnant lady – as she seems to be a bit fat (I hope she isn’t obese).

She came last night and twice tonight – I only put one dish of cat biscuits down mixed with Spikes – and one small bowl of wet dog meat, (2 cans of dog meat last a bit longer than a week, A bag 450g bag of spikes last me 2 weeks, sometimes 3, and a box of cat biscuits lasts me almost a month, just short of).

So, seen as I get a few visitors, I don’t think that’s an excessive amount of food – so hopefully she is just pregnant.

[Annker]

Hi, I’m glad you’ve got some hogs back and hope you get lots of babies. We have got one hog coming, as been out to check feeding station and food going as well as water. I’ve been told now that as more people are going out now the hogs are getting run over as not used to cars on the road as its been quiet for them the last 3 months, can’t win can you! I’m sure your hog isn’t overweight as we are only supplementing their diet. They seem to eat as much as they want. Louie was the second hog we’ve had that sat under the Hawthorn crunching away at the shoots. Not something I’d have thought they would eat, but seemed to enjoy it. Best wishes.

[Hedgie Lover]

Thanks Annker x

I hate the fact that the hogs are getting run over – mine don’t tend to go towards the road, they come in from the large school grounds – however, I do appreciate they can cover large distances, so some of my hogs might be at risk of getting run over at some point.

I’m not as concerned about overfeeding them as much as I was last year – as, after seeing the amount of food the hog hospital and foster carer gives there hogs, what I give them is very small in comparison (it wouldn’t be if just one hog was eating all the food) – and there is always a bit of dried food left over, but never the dog food).

when I picked up walter from the foster carer a while ago, she put about half a can of wet dog food on a paper plate in with his release box – probably because they tend to go exploring on their first night of freedom, rather than stay around – so that might be why they are allowed such a big dinner on the first big night.

[Hedgie Lover]

Pretty convinced now that my fat hog is a pregnant lady – as I’ve just read a website that tells you how to tell if one is pregnant and she seems to tick all the boxes.

so, as I’ve noticed she’s pregnant, she might give birth any day now. Glad she’s found the food so she can get enough to eat before her babies are due – I wonder if that’s why more dried food is getting eaten in the last few days – as last week (and for a while now) quite a lot of dried food was getting left – but just recently, most of it is getting eaten – I thought it might be because they’ve decided to start coming back again, but it might be my pregnant lady with the pre-birth munchies.

Hope she’s found a decent dry nest – thankfully it looks like it’s going to be a lot drier from now on for a while (managed to get my face burnt today – even though temp was low, and UV rating was medium – wasn’t expecting that after the weather we’ve had so didn’t protect myself).

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