Hi Alfie 2017
There are various possibilities, but you might never know for sure. The hogs may have disappeared to find new nests. They do change nests from time to time anyway, but some may be heading off to hibernate now.
Sometimes hogs take bedding out of one house to use to make a nest elsewhere. They may have started and decided against it. Maybe they didn’t like that bedding in the houses any more, for some reason, but hadn’t got round to refilling them. I think they prefer leaves for hibernation, for instance. They can layer them and make a really waterproof well insulated nest, which wouldn’t be so easy with straw. They sometimes chuck bedding out as well if it isn’t to their liking. But these are all guesses. I doubt if the rain would have bothered them. They may already have other nests elsewhere.
