Hedgehogs in Stocksbridge
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We are still seeing at around 9:30pm each night at least 2 to 4 hedgehogs.
They are fed and watered around this time each evening.Last night there were two getting romantic with each other I think?
We have 4 hedgehog houses but we used straw no show for hedgehogs during winter so guess they are under foliage at back of the garden or other gardens.
I have changed the bedding from straw to dried leaves, so hopefully they will start nesting?
It is so heartening to see them return every evening. My hubby says he saw at least 3 on the lawn at around 11:30pm the other evening.
Hi Jennifer
Sounds like you have quite a hub of hog activity there! It’s such a delight when they all return.
The hogs normally become involved in a circling sort of dance during ‘courtship’. (If that’s the sort of thing you mean) The male circles the female and she goes round and round in the middle of the circle, huffing as she goes. This can go on for hours, but doesn’t always lead to anything. Sometimes one or other just gets fed up and wanders off! But at least it indicates there is a male and female and they are showing some interest in each other, which is a start.
Some hogs like to do their own interior decorations for their nests, so it’s quite a good idea to put a little bedding in – to give them the idea – and provide piles of other suitable material nearby. Then they can select whatever they prefer. Fingers crossed someone moves in soon.
Good luck and happy hog watching!
Hi! I’m over in Liberton, South Edinburgh, and was delighted to see two hedggies in my garden last night, I think mating. They were making quite noise but wasn’t sure what it was.
I’m now wondering if I should try building a nest for them and start giving a bit of food? My garden is usually festooned with snails and slugs, so I’m delighted to have such lovely visitors!
Not sure if trying to build a nest is a good idea. I have a cat and lots of cat visitors at the moment, toms mainly, trying their luck with Bella, to no avail I might add!
I will try a little corner under the hedge and leave some water and food out tonight and see how it goes. However I do feed the birds on my hut roof and saw a rat there a few weeks ago. I’m working through the bird seed – have a lot of birds and squirrels feeding. Have a feeling I might be helping the rat population. I saw the posts about rats so that’s helpful advice.Hi IzzyH
How lovely that you have hogs in the garden. The noise was probably the female ‘huffing’ during the courtship circling procedure.
You could try to build a hog house for them. There’s some information in this link https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/hedgehog-homes/
It’s really important for hogs to have access to water all day every day, because they often cannot find it elsewhere. I use large (approx. at least 10″ across) plant sauchers. Hogs are very good at spilling water if the saucers are too small – they have a habit of just walking through it – why waste all that energy walking round! The saucers double up for baths for the birds, during the day.
If you are going to feed the hogs, most bird food isn’t good for them. It’s best to give them either cat/dog food, cat/kitten bisuits or hedgehog food. I recently discovered that a rat visiting here didn’t like kitten biscuits, which I was quite pleased about. Although with all those cats, that might be a problem – but you may be able to make a cat proof feeding station. The cats won’t bother the hogs, other than potentially eating their food.
Good luck. I hope you continue to enjoy the hogs’ visits. Happy hog watching!
This is a link about feeding and ideas for cat proof feeding stations.
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/feed-hedgehogs/
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