Hi nancaz2325
Welcome to the Forum! It’s good to hear you have hogs in the garden.
I’m afraid you have been, sadly, misinformed about feeding seeds and mealworms to the hogs. Neither are good nutritionally and mealworms particularly can be bad for them and should only be given in very small amounts very occasionally (if at all). (think of them like children with crisps or sweets). The hogs love mealworms but can become addicted to them and not want to eat anything else, so it would be best if you try to wean them off them gradually. They are particularly bad for hoglets who could be around any time now. They have an inbalance of phosphorous and calcium which means that calcium is leached from the bones which can lead to deformities.
The best things to feed hogs are hedgehog food, of which there are lots of varieties, dog/cat food or cat/kitten biscuits and nothing else. You have been putting out fresh water which is brilliant as that is essential to them, especially in this hot weather.
I would suggest you get one of the foods, such as I Love Hedgehogs (there are similar ones available – check online) which has a few sunflower hearts in it and calciworms. It is probably slightly similar to what you have been feeding and I have heard of other people who have weaned hogs off mealworms very easily using it. Crucially, it has other ingredients as well which means that the hogs get a more balanced diet.
I am sorry to have to tell you all this when, you are new to the forum, but you had no way of knowing, so please don’t feel bad about it. I am sure you will find one of the foods I mentioned, that they will eat and will be healthier as a result.
I hope the hogs continue to visit and I wish you the very best of luck and happy hog watching. Let us know how you get on.
