Hi Annie
Good to hear from you. Glad to hear you still have hogs there. Still none here. I’m still putting a small amount of food. A cat turns up now and then and does various acrobatics to try to get at the food without touching the water – quite funny to watch on the video!
I think it’s very unfortunate that people are wasting their time on Twitter slating Jacobi Jayne (who are reputable hedgehog food makers and do go to the trouble of not only changing their recipes as scientific knowledge advances, but taking notice of such things as phosphorous calcium ratios) when there appear to be plenty of hedgehog food makers who may not do any of that at all. Jacobi Jayne were one of the earlier people to have sold hedgehog food, so weren’t one of the ones who jumped on the bandwagon when hedgehog foods became more popular.
They stopped using sultanas and mealworms quite a long time ago, when the problems with them started to be talked about and also reduced the honey. Even when there were mealworms in the food, in the past, there were comparatively small amounts of them. I believe only a very small amount of honey is now used, and it seems likely that it is serving the purpose of potentially some other less natural substance. Sunflower hearts and peanuts may not be ideal to feed in isolation, but are alright in a balanced mix.
In case anyone is interested, this is a statement which Jacobi Jayne prepared. file:///C:/Users/User/AppData/Local/Temp/ILH%20Q&A.pdf Unfortunately on social media there are some people all too willing to ‘slate’ people or firms when they haven’t actually bothered to find out the true facts.
But I really wish people would focus more attention to making hog friendly gardens and linking them, so that they can find natural food, rather focusing so much on supplementary feeding and potentially seeing it as not only supplementary. Natural food is going to be better for hogs than any of the alternatives.
Anyway, enough of that!
Yes, I do seem to have quite a lot of big birds visiting – one of the hazards of living in the countryside! But also someone nearby used to put bread out for them which encouraged them into the gardens (some rooks nest in a nearby tree) and now that person has moved, so they seem to come here instead. I suppose when some of those big birds live such a long time, they are probably the same birds. But I do get smaller ones as well – once the big ones have disappeared. A little wren and some dunnocks are quite regular visitors around the patio and the usual suspects like blue tits, and finches, etc. visit the feeder. Loads of sparrows, too, of course. But I see red kites occasionally, which is nice. As well as buzzards and sparrow hawks.
I stopped getting seed mixes years ago – like with you, too much was being wasted – and now I just have sunflower hearts, which most birds seem to like and also suet pellets – fed in bowls on a bird table (of sorts). I well remember the days before sunflower hearts, when I was feeding sunflower seed and used to have to clear up piles of sunflower seed coating from underneath the feeders! Sunflower hearts are such a treat in comparison. I’ve always had my bird food delivered. I just ring up and order it and it usually turns up the next day. I haven’t got into ordering on the internet yet, but suppose I might have to eventually!
That’s so disgusting people not clearing the dog mess up in their gardens! I can never understand it. You’d be worried where you walked in case you trod in it! Yuk! But so sad for any animals which might have set up home in the long grass when it is strimmed. Although I think the hogs like to have some fairly short grass to forage on as well. I got quite a good video this year of a hog catching a worm on my ‘lawn’.
I still see the mouse occasionally, although not so often, and haven’t seen any of the frogs for ages – not sure what they do when it gets colder.
But yes, just have to hang on until the Spring and hope that some hogs return. I hope you continue to enjoy the hogs there. Hope you stay safe, too.
