Hi Georgie120
It sounds very likely that they are hoglets, possibly of different litters, hence their size. However, their growth rate can sometimes be a bit variable so, depending how different the size is, it’s possible they are siblings.
I wouldn’t be worried about 6.30 in the morning at this time of year. Sometimes my last hoglet visitor is only disappearing about that time, and it isn’t very light then (according to my camera!).
Re. The hog box. Personally, I wouldn’t use shredded paper, because if water gets in that tends to retain the damp. So straw or hay would be better. Hogs are often very fussy about what they put in their nests, so I would put a small amount of stuff in, just to give them the idea, but leave loads of leaves, long grasses, moss, (and hay/straw if you wish) nearby so that they can select what they like. Hogs are experts at building nests and have been doing it for millions of years without our help, so we could never make one as well as they do.
Even the hoglets seem to miraculously know exactly what to do. I had the privilege of seeing a young hoglet here last year (on video) building a nest from scratch in my feedbox. Fascinating to watch. Endless mouthfuls of vegetation went in. (mostly dried vegetation, but some green stuff was ‘picked’ as well). They prefer medium sized leaves (here there was a weigela bush nearby so leaves from that were used quite a bit). Much later when the hoglet was no longer using it, I was able to get a good look at the construction. Leaves and long grasses were intricately woven together in the most amazing way. There was a snug space in the centre, just big enough for a hog to curl up in. It must have been really well insulated and that, with a hibernation nest, is important. As it turned out, that particular hog decided not to hibernate, but made good use of his nest when he came for food and sometimes spent the day there.
Good luck. I hope a hog uses your box, but if not this year, maybe next.
