Hedgehog by my front door!!

Froglet

Chicken is fine,yes,but there are better foods that will deter cats from eating it! such as hog biscuits that you can buy from any wildlife food provider.Have a look here and see what you think.A variation of foods is a good idea too.They love a whole host of things.

http://www.thehedgehog.co.uk/diet.htm

Food and water is really essential for hogs and yes,it will encourage it to stay around.A hedgehog house will give it somewhere to nest in summer and hibernate in winter too.

shazzle

Awesome Froglet, thank you for your knowledgeable reply xx He/she came back again last night and made a beeline for the food so we hope our hog will stick around. We were looking at the houses last night too... can you coax them to stay?

margaretclare

Well done and congratulations! Hedgehogs are getting scarce. A lot of causes are blamed - the usual suspects: habitats destroyed, too-tidy gardens, dry summers, road deaths, gardens blocked off from one another by concrete at bottom of fences so no pathways for hedgehogs, also, increased badger numbers (badgers may be a predator). Feed him by all means - dog-food, cat-food, but DO NOT give milk, or bread-and-milk. He will love the present damp conditions - plenty of slugs and snails - but when it starts to get colder he will need a place to hibernate. Yes, they do hide under piles of leaves, in sheltered corners, anywhere they can get away from inquisitive nosy dogs or any other threats. You can read up about hedgehogs and their needs. BBC Springwatch might be interested?

I haven't seen a hedgehog in my garden for a few years now although the conditions should be ideal for them. I haven't even seen a dead one by the roadside, and others have said similar.

Froglet

shazzle wrote: »

Awesome Froglet, thank you for your knowledgeable reply xx He/she came back again last night and made a beeline for the food so we hope our hog will stick around. We were looking at the houses last night too... can you coax them to stay?

Food and shelter will most definitely encourage them to keep visiting.One thing i would suggest is to find out if you have a local carer in case you do find a hoggie out in the daytime,or a wildlife friendly vet.As one of my previous posts stated,it is a nightmare when suddenly faced with a sick hog and you don't know what to do or where to get help.These creatures can go downhill fast.Forewarned is forearmed.

shazzle

OMG not one but two came last night.. It upset us tho as the one bullied the other way from the food (like hungry humans I guess) BUT after a quick fridge raid and the loaction of another feeding bowl, we split then up and all was well.
I am concerned tho, the one appears to have found the hole in our shed door and is in there (no issue with this unless a health risk to us), the other we can see travel to our garden (across gardens) to feed... if I split them up with two feed bowls, will this work? The initial fighting last night was quite stressful!!! (wow all this is a week!!) what is hog behaivour like?
( I look forward to 10 o clock sooo much now xx)
Any tips most welcome

Froglet

Have you taken a look in depth at the hedgehog help website?

http://www.hedgehoghelp.co.uk/index.php?board=2.0

Every fact is there,and if you have any questions,register and ask away.Very friendly and very knowledgable people,much more so than me,so please do take look and you will enjoy helping our little prickly friends even more.

shazzle

Thank you for your advice, the nice hedgehog is now a regular visitor and I cook extra chicken every night .. I LOVE the little thing xx