First sighting of this year
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First sighting about 30 minutes ago in our garden. Nothing special you say but it is Lancashire, 4C and raining!
So excited, we have had our resident hedgehog in the garden since last autumn, he/she hibernated in our hog hotel and now has been out and about for a few weeks, hog dirt everywhere, eating all the food we put out. Last night another hog was also eating the food, definitely a different one as its quite small, wonder how it survived winter? So now seconds have to be put out for ‘our’ hog as he/she arrives later in the evening! Word has obviously got round.
That’s brilliant news, BaileyG. The little one probably started the winter heavier than it is now. If it is really tiny, it might need help from a carer. Not always easy to tell from descriptions on the Forum. But if you are worried about it you could always have a chat with your nearest carer/rehabilitator and take their advice. You can get contact details of your nearest carers from BHPS on 01584 890801
I’m guessing you are leaving water out for them as well. Very imortant for hogs. Availability to water all day every day is best.
Good luck. Hope all goes well with the hogs. Happy hog watching!
Thanks Nic, hog number two is not really tiny just smaller than our other hog, he/she was really enjoying the hog biscuits and looks healthy, I may leave a bit of cat food out as well to help it bulk up! I always have water left out for them day and night.
That’s good news, BaileyG, that the hog is not really small. Hopefully it will soon put on weight with the supplementary food you are offering. Brilliant about the water, too. Never know when a thirsty hog is going to turn up!
On the 16th March we saw a hedgehog on our night camera for the first time this year. We were pleased to see it was back last night as well and all the food had gone. We had a hedgehog last year that we loved watching on the video in the morning, taking leaves into the hog house and watching it eat and drink. Whether this is the same hedgehog I don’t know as we never saw it come out of it’s house, but it looked healthy and quite big.
I know you say you should clear out the hog house in April, would it be too early to look and if it’s empty do it now?Hi Sawbohog
Great news about the hog! I would leave the hog house for now and until you are absolutely certain that the hog has completely vacated. The hog may still be returning there from time to time and it’s possible it’s a different hog and one is still hibernating there. So it’s best not to disturb.
Hibernating nests are likely to completely fill a hog box and so you would probably not even be able to easily see whether a hog was in there or not.
The real reason for cleanng out boxes, as well as helping to minimise external parasitses, is to make them availalble for potential re-use in the Summer, so there is no real hurry yet.
Good luck with the hogs. I hope all goes well. Happy hog watching!
I’ve been feeding a hedgehog since November, when I saw a rather small one wander across my grass towards the bird feeders – in daylight. I cobbled up a hedgehog feeding house of bricks and wood. It has fed almost every night throughout winter. I have just got a trail camera and set it up last night. I was thrilled this morning to look at the pictures of it going in and out of the feeding house! I have lots of piles of sticks, so may set the camera up to see where it hangs out.
Hi SheilaMorrisey
Really good news that the little one made it through and great that you managed to get some images on your camera. It can be really interesting seeing what they are getting up to in the middle of the night.
I hope the hog continues to flourish. Happy hog watching!
We now have yet another hedgehog, our original one, who is quite distinctive with a couple of light patches on its back, the smaller one that suddenly turned up on 16th March and now tonight another one! This is about the same size as the second hog. Must get some larger feeding dishes!
Hi BaileyG
Brilliant news that there are more hogs there. Still only one here, last night.
They might like it if you got them some more normal sized dishes, so they can have one each. The youngsters quite like sharing, but when they get older tend to prefer a dish to themselves.
Good luck with them all.
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