Small hedgehog feeding in my garden
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The theory came from a rehab centre that has unfortunately had to take in females with very small young still blind when the nests had been disturbed.
They noticed on every occasion when these had been cared for that when the females came out to feed the amount of time spent outside the nest was minimal they took on a lot of food in a short time and their poo’s were huge. not just your everyday poo size variation but 4 to 5 inch long poo. Its their theoryHi Baldwin hedghog
I can see where you and they are coming from, but I’m stilll not completely convinced it is a reliable indicator in the wild. Although, I had thought you were talking about the poos being bigger and not just longer. I think I have read something similar somewhere, but, not sure you can always equate what happens in the wild to what happens in captivity. In the wild, they wouldn’t necessarily have food right on their doorstep, be in a safe space, etc. Also there are other hogs around, to potentially confuse the picture. However, always open to new evidence. There is still so much to learn about wild hedgehogs, much of which I suspect we will never know for sure. Perhaps that is part of their attraction – that they retain an element of mystery.
Whether you are anticipating them or not, I always think the first sighting of a new hoglet arriving at the feeding area is magical.
Hi Nic,
Yes i hope we do see some more babies, it all adds to the local population. the smallest hog i’ve seen was about the size of an orange and that was in June i think. I guessing they come out much smaller than that so i’ll get the night cam primed in another 2 weeks or so. It would be nice to see mum being followed along by a few babies. if i can get that on film i’ll try to post it on here.
On a more sad note the rescue lady locally had a hedgehog in with strimmer injuries today. what she described i wouldn’t want to see. the poor thing was put to sleep.
At least the people who partake in this forum are looking out for hedgehogs, keeping them fed and watered and out of harms wayHi Baldwin hedgehog
I have always wanted to see a Mum with her little train of hoglets, but never have. The most I have seen is a mum with two. They usually arrive here on their own, already independent, but still, just seeing them is a real treat. There haven’t been any new ones here since July. Still hoping.
So sorry to hear about yet another poor strimmed hog. I don’t’ think I will ever forget the day when a poor chap made his way to my garden with a terrible strimmer injury – I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and don’t know how he managed to get here. Sadly he too had to be put to sleep, but I can still ‘see’ his bright little eyes looking at me.
But, as you say, we all do our best to try to keep the hogs as safe as we can, whilst at the same time helping them to be wild and free.
Hello ipscloud, so pleased to hear you’ve got a little hoggie in the garden. I’m sure he’ll visit your hogilos too, especially the way the weather has been recently, somewhere nice and dry is certainly appreciated by the hedgehogs.
I can tell you that you’ll get so much fun out of your wildlife camera – it’s priceless. We have had ours since this April and it has been the best gadget ever! You might see more than just hedgehogs, when there’s food out other wildlife will come too.
Great to hear that you planted native shrubs in your garden – you are doing a lot for your local wildlife. Ivy is late flowering and will really help the bees with finding nectar late in the year and the other plants will provide a lot of nectar during spring and summer. We have a Cottoneaster at the back of our garden and the bees enjoy the flowers in the summer and in winter, when the berries are ripe, they are picked by groups of fieldfare.
Thanks for the advice re. biscuits, nic… I am looking out for kitten biscuits but will have to drop by the pet superstore I think, my local supermarket doesn’t stock them. I can’t manage wet food as I am really pushed for time just now!
The biscuits have been going very well, so I’m keeping it up.
Hi leafy, thanks… I’ve been a wildlife gardener for 20 years now, but I’m not a purist… I also have a few things in my garden that are just for fun or show! I do however make sure there’s always a good stretch of mature hedge, which means doing fencing in stages now that most of it needs replacing. Suits the bank as well as the wildlife!
I have a great fondness for ivy, and always try to persuade people to allow some to mature in their garden. My initial motivation was for holly blue butterflies, which can’t complete their life cycle unless mature holly and mature ivy are around. People have a fear of ivy which I think is irrational – it does grow fast once it’s established but it’s not hard to control it by trimming in rotation to allow some parts to flower and fruit.
I think it’s essential in a dense hedgerow as well, for hoggies and birds!
Hi leafy321 and jpscloud
I agree with you both about ivy. I know a tree which was originally a hawthorn but now is more of an ivy tree. The stems of the ivy look like the trunk of the tree they are so wide. Although, this particular one is not, strictly, all that useful for hedgehogs, it is brilliant for all sorts of wildlife. Absolutely buzzes with bees, mostly solitary, when the flowers are out. Despite the ivy being so large, the hawthorn is still alive and peaks through in various places, complete with berries (for the birds) in season. It has certainly not been strangled by the ivy (which is what some people fear). The ivy is helping to support it. It also provides a very good canopy for sheep or other animals to shelter from the sun underneath. It has already provided very many years of food and support for wildlife and hopefully will have many more.
I realise not everyone would want an ivy tree so large – this one is in a wildlife friendly field, and certainly wouldn’t fit easily into my garden – but as you say, it is easy to keep ivy trimmed back in rotation. I am lucky that, being near a railway line, there is a fair amount of mature ivy here too, which, from what you say, may be why I see holly blues in my garden from time to time.
Hi Baldwinhedgehog,
Back to the subject of poo, (sorry!). I think you may be right about your mother with hoglets theory. I’ve just been summoned to a meeting on the lawn with my other half to discuss the appearance of four large number two’s all within a few square feet of each other. They were so large that you could have been mistaken for thinking that the local cats had started using our lawn as a toilet again, but no, they are definitely hedgehog. At the same time our monster hog Brenda has gone from patrolling the patio and being recorded on camera for most of the evening, to being almost completely absent with the odd fleeting glimpse here and there. This is the same behaviour that our last female with hoglets showed, a quick dash to feeding station and water bowl, then back through the hedgehog hole to check on the youngsters. Fingers crossed…
Now I’ll go and get busy with the shovel!
Hi Willpar
Love your video of the little hog. Illustrates well what sort of places they can get in and out of. Couldn’t quite make out – is that a feeder the hog was in?
Hi Nic, yes that is a feeder I made some years ago with plant pot saucers. Has a threaded bar so I can lower the roof to deter cats. I have wooden box feeders as well. But in the winter I can use that feeder for blackbird food.
Plastic is getting brittle now, so during hibernation I will make another one. Will be good for several years. I reckon that one is 5 years plus old.Willpar.
Over the past week or so I’ve been checking my garden for autumn juveniles and I have found 6 (3 at the same time). They were quite small so I weighed them and they were all under 250g. I phoned my local carer and she suggested that they were still very small for this time of year and might not reach a good weight to hibernate, especially if it goes cold suddenly! So they are now being looked after by a very dedicated carer. 5 females and one male. Hoping they all survive the winter so they can be set free to roam next year.
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