Hi everyone
And welcome to the Forum to those of you who are first posters.
It isn’t too soon to start hibernation, especially for the males. They tend to hibernate earlier than the females who often still have hoglet rearing duties. (male hedgehogs have nothing to do with rearing hoglets and leave that completely to the females.) The males then normally emerge from hibernation first in the Spring, which gives them a chance to feed up before the females return.
There are usually still some females around at this stage but they tend to be next to hibernate leaving some hoglets around until later in the year.
I would keep offering food until at least 2 weeks after you see the last hog and many people leave some food out all winter – dry food (i.e. kitten biscuits) is best for that. Do continue to look out for hoglets – they sometimes appear after all the adults seem to have disappeared and may welcome some supplementary food to get them fit and up to weight for hibernation. Be aware that although most probably do, some hoglets choose not to hibernate at all and may find it hard to find enough wild food and so rely on supplementary feeding through the winter.
It’s very important to leave water available all day every day, including during winter. Hogs do tend to move nests during hibernation time and may welcome a drink. They are usually thirsty when they first emerge from hibernation, too.
It’s always a bit sad when the hogs all disappear to hibernate – but such a treat to see them back again in the Spring!
Good luck everyone. Here’s hoping for a safe hibernation for all the hogs.
