Where have they gone
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Hedgehogs started feeding in the garden 28th February this year. Numbers increased to up to 7 a night..
18th April at 12.30pm was the last time the trail camera picked one up. Next door had blocked their route but this was cleared the following day but still no sign of them.
We have a fox family living 2 doors down the other side of the house but in 20 years we have only seen a badger once.
Any ideas please anyone?Hi deb
There are all sorts of possible reasons why the hogs aren’t visiting there at the moment. The ones you had there may have been youngsters. (I have found, usually, the hogs earliest out of hibernation are the males and the youngsters from the previous year.) The males have larger ranges than the females, and I have found here that the young males tend to gradually disburse – presumably having found ranges away from here. Their visits tend to gradually become less and less frequent. So that could be a contributing factor.
There is also the possibility that someone else is feeding on their former route to your garden, or even that their route has been blocked further back.
Some foxes do eat hogs, so unfortunately, that is a possibility. But from what I understand it is usually certain foxes who become specialists in killing hedgehogs. That behaviour would probably be passed on to their young, but, in that case, it seems unlikely that you would have had so many hogs there before. But I would certainly not want to encourage foxes and hedgehogs to feed side by side.
But it is possible that some young hogs from other areas will find you and your garden may become part of their new range. And there is also still a chance for more females to return after hibernation.
Good luck. Hope some hogs find your garden again, soon.
Many thanks for that. I did have one on the camera last weekend but nothing since.
Food and water ready and waiting.Hi, great start to the week, we have a baby hog! Still small, but out for a drink and eaten some biscuits before running off back to where they hibernate. No idea how old it is, but got all spines and is black, but still small. No wonder not seen the girls. What a good week. Best of luck to you all, I’m so happy!
Great to hear you have a young one. Something I always look forward to. Never tire of the hogs and hoglets that come to my garden.
Wow!
Is it quite early for a hoglet?
We have one that has been furiously adding more stuff to her nest. We really wanted to clean her house out but she just won’t go even though we have built her a lovely palace next door. (It hasn’t been cleaned since she came out of hibernation)
I think there are ticks in there but don’t want to disturb her now. Will hope she has hoglets and that nature is kind to her.
Lots of updates on your hoglet please.Hi simbo65
It is early for a this year’s hoglet, especially out and about alone. It’s possible it may be a late one from last year, who managed to survive hibernation. Alternatively, if a female didn’t hibernate she could have had some early – but still seems early for it to be out and about on it’s own.
Hi, sorry for silence, think I’m going gaga… This little hoglet is being courted every night by Kitty in my photo, who’s now called Kit as obviously male. Nic is probably right and she was born end of last year. Pippa, as now named, is so small but is welcoming Kits advances. I want to run out, pick her up and protect her, but who am I to interfere. I had thought things had gone mad after a rather hot spell in early March. Dinky Minky has disappeared, the small hog who survived winter, but Benny is still around every night. My white tail bumble bees, outside the front door, are frightening off visitors! A lot are dieing, tried sugar water but they aren’t interested and just die, all over the path and doorstep. It’s a mad house. By by.
Hello, I was wondering the same about my usual visitors. 3 of them started visiting, I posted some time abo about them even being quite feisty with each other (maybe fighting for feeding spots inside the feeding station). However for the past week only one continued to come and only sparcely (at 11pm and then 5am). Now for 2 nights not even him/her is clocking in. I know there is nothing else we can do besides continue leaving food and fresh water, just checking if it is usual for them to not come? We only found out we had hogs visiting last September, so we don’t onow how June would be in terms of visits 🙂
Hi the Gallaghers
Yes, it is a problem we see talked about on the Forum every year – disappearing hogs. Many possible reasons for them missing, as mentioned above, but it may be as simple as that there is more food available in the wild. I have reduced visits here, too. The hope always is, with the females, that they are busy on hoglet duties. But, of course, it’s difficult to know for sure, when their range – for the males – can be up to 2 miles. So that there is so much of their lives which happens in other places.
All we can hope is that they all eventually return and if there are some hoglets in tow, that is a bonus.
Hi, think I’m ” hogging” this sight! Sorry. Right, The male courting little Pippa is not Kit, former Kitty, so another name to find! Or should I bother at all naming them? Kitty and Dinky Minky have disappeared, so hopefully breading with a nest. Big Benny who was coming every night, now misses some nights and only eats wet cat food. The only regular one is little Pippa who comes to the front garden every night between 11 and 11-30pm. I have noticed when it has rained a lot they are more absent, so there must be lots of juicy things to eat, so don’t worry too much. My poor white tail bumble bees are having an awful time, sodden with rain, staying in the bird box or dead and dieing all over the path. My unkempt garden has lots of tops off washing liquid with leaves and flowers in covered in sugar water and I’m running round picking them up half the time. The baby Bluetits will be out of their box soon, lots of baby sparrows and some Goldfinches babies. Glad to say I don’t have a wood mouse this year that sneaked in through the front door! It took 4 months to catch it and release it in a wood a few miles away. It sat on the dresser at night watching us, as soon as I opened my eyes all I saw was a tail disappear! All we need now is for it to rain frogs.. Let’s hope hhogs are back soon with babes in tow, good luck all.
Question, as our resident hog has done a runner for now, should I remove the hay that was its bedding and put fresh stuff in? Wondered if old bedding would put off another hog that wanted to move in? Can they smell other hog’s scent off old bedding? It is clean enough but just wondered??
Anyone else had this scenario out there?
Hi ElsieD, thought I’d drop a line as experts must be busy. I think they can smell another hog as they wee an awful lot and watching on the cctv, they do sniff around on the ground a lot. I’d say, (from inexperience) if the hog is definitely not there and you are sure it isn’t, then take the opportunity to clear out old bedding and scald the box with boiling water to removed ticks and flees that maybe in there. Please wear good long gloves as we don’t want them attaching to you (the ticks that is) and when dry, put some clean bedding in. I’ve heard they like to do this themselves, but a start by you may encourage them. Best wishes.
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