Hi James
The poo pretty much varies according to what the hog has been eating. So a normal wild hog who is eating lots of beetles, etc. tends to have dark poos with, often, shiny beetle wings visible.
For many years when I was feeding the hogs round here, the poos remained looking like normal wild hog poos. The feeding is supposed to be supplementary. I only leave food out for a few hours each night. But, recently, when it appears more people in the area are feeding as well, I am noticing that the poos are becoming paler and, if broken open, look to contain the remains of artificial food. This indicates to me that the hogs have access to too much artificial food, for too much of the time. This is a problem – anything we feed the hogs is far from ideal and they would be better off if they ate more wild food. You cannot blame the hogs – if they have access to easy food for all hours, why would they not take advantage of it.
So, it may not be you, alone, who is giving them access to too much artificial food – there may be others as well, feeding the same hogs. With all night access to artificial food, it seems to me, the hogs could become reliant on it. That is not what is meant by supplementary feeding. We should just be supplementing the wild food they can find for themselves. That is where Hedgehog Street comes in. The point of Hedgehog Street, as I see it, is to try to increase and improve the habitat for hedgehogs, so that they can find their own wild food. To this end, we could all take advantage of hibernation time to improve the habitat for the hogs. I like to think my garden is reasonably wildlife and hog friendly, but know there is always more I could do.
Having said all that, there are times when the hedgehogs are more in need of help from supplementary feeding – and one of them is now, in the run up to hibernation.
Now is not a time to make reductions in the amount we are feeding.
