Let sleeping Hogs Lie
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Just clearing the borders ready for spring, found a sleeping hedgehog in the border, which now looks pristine except for a large pile of leaves. When he/she gets up I will know that spring really has arrived.
That is wonderful to hear! We have two houses and a “feed house”! Because of the “mild” winder we’ve added food to this food house and some nights it gets taken and others it’s not. Hay has been put under a shelter of slates and has been pulled into said houses. I assume that’s ok to do….There is also evidence of “nesting in the hay under the slates….
Just two nights ago I walked to the “house area” and very nearly stepped on a large hedgie looking for food.
The “evidence” of their presence is around the garden, on the lawn, so I HOPE we’re doing the right things…..
Cold weather never put the hedgehogs off last night. Two came in and ate all the food. I put out quite a bit for them just in case.
Never had as much snow as forecast even though there was an orange warning. Caught the edge of it, as it was farther north.Willpar.
Hi Willpar
I think the snow you were supposed to have must have landed here on the way. We weren’t supposed to have much and had a fair bit. Not as much as last time, though, and the ‘winter’ hog managed to get through. He didn’t hang around as much as usual though.
It’s a bit worrying that none of the old regulars have returned, here, yet. This time last year there were several of them back. The first one on 3rd March. I know the weather has been funny, but I can’t help worrying about those hog killing traps.
We put a rescue hog out towards the end of last year – as she had been treated, was a very substantial weight and we had a sheltered hog house to put her in at he bottom of the garden, hidden away. she kept appearing to the feeding station until between Christmas and New Year and then went to ground. we’ve kept refreshing the feeding station with food and water on and off for last few months and noticed the food was disappearing again over the weekend just gone.
Hedgehog poo being left in the food bowl once emptied – which we have taken as being a sign of appreciation!
suspect we may need another feeding station set up as we may have other resident hogs also now appearing for food as the stores have been completely raided for the last couple of nights!
Good to know they are back though.
Please support your local hog rescue carers – they will be seeing an influx again soon with hogs emerging and some emergency cases no doubt.Hi, can anyone please advise ?
For the first time in 20 years of living here in urban Manchester, I was delighted to find a hedgehog in my garden last Autumn so I started leaving food and water out each evening and ended up with 3 hogs visiting regularly. My husband built a hedgehog house and to our delight, they started to use it and we have left it alone since then. However, last night at 8.30pm, I saw a really big hedgehog out, taking the food. This morning, I carefully lifted the lid of our hog house and found a large hog in there, buried under the hay. I couldn’t see any movement so I don’t know if it is asleep or dead. I am assuming it is the same one I saw last night out and about in our garden because of it’s size. Should I check the hog house tonight to see if it is unoccupied and if so, should I clean it out and replace the hay with fresh ?Hi Lisa
Personally, I wouldn’t clean it out just yet. It is possible that it could be a female in the box and they tend to stay hibernating for as much as a month after the males have returned.
If you’re really careful it probably wouldn’t do any harm to have a peek this evening, especially as you think he is probably the hog who has visited.
A lot of hogs are very particular about their nests and much prefer to make them themselves, so when you do clean it out it is best to leave some bedding nearby for the hog to take in itself.Thank you Nic. I actually set up a trail camera last night and checked the videos this morning. The big hedgehog is alive and well and has spent the night popping in and out of the hog house, taking the food and water and roaming around. Great to know it is alive and doing well. I will leave the hedgehog house alone for a while longer and then change the hay we had originally put in there. Hope it gets used again as I am really enjoying seeing these hedgehogs in the garden after such a long time.
That’s really good news, Lisa. At this time of year, they do seem to like having naps in between snacks. Don’t worry if the hog house doesn’t get used as a nest for a while after this time. You were really lucky it was used so quickly. I had mine for a few years before a nest was built in it, although I had occasionally used it for feeding. They did a survey about hog houses last year and I think the results should be out fairly soon, so something to look out for.
Glad to hear you are enjoying seeing the hogs. If you aren’t already, you will probably be totally under their spell before long!
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