Hi Kathy,
I would tend to agree with William on the leave be front – but some food and water will certainly be helpful for them at this time – you may need to be prepared to continue this support through the winter if they are hoglets – in which case you may need to be ready to switch to a dry food alternative on those frosty nights. But keep an eye on food being taken it can stop and start intermittently through the winter as well.
It could be that mum has gone off and left them to fend already if they all looked small or about the same size? – once the females have weaned the babies, they tend to not stick around too long and will abandon them in order to look after themselves – if they are hoglets and mum is still around, the food will obvious help her too as she will be fairly depleted after the ordeal of birth and feeding etc. she did a good job of finding a quiet cosy nest to have them in though, and if there are 5 from one litter, then that’s a great start for them. Probably a good idea to find out who your local carers and hog experts are through BHPS website and Hedgehog bottom also, which has a link on BHPS – just in case you need them pronto. Even a call to answer a question can be a lifesaver for these little critters.
Hope it all works out – let us know!
