Hi antiguaannie
Sadly badgers are the main wild predator of hedgehogs and the hogs will often move away when badgers are around. Sometimes, if there is sufficient habitat they probably could co-exist to some extent, but the hogs would always be at risk of potential predation. I have heard of people feeding hogs and badgers side by side and others saying that the badgers ignore the hogs, but the badgers can’t be trusted with hogs – I have also heard of a situation where they had been fed side by side where a badger suddenly turned on a hog and killed it, despite there being plenty of other food around.
So I don’t really think there is anything you can do to get the hogs back. It might have been a case of self preservation that they moved away. If they do come back, I would consider carefully whether to feed them or not and make sure there are places they can escape to. Bearing in mind that badgers claws can make short work of a hog box.
I have nothing against badgers, if anything, it is habitat problem. We humans have damaged the habitat of them and hedgehogs, so that there is not as much available and therefore more likely to be conflicts between the two species.
On a more positive note, sometimes badgers are only passing through an area, so you never know big bertie might move on, giving the hogs more of a chance of coming back.
