I heard a hedgehog.
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Hello everyone. I’ve just joined so I’m new here. I’ve always loved hedgehogs but never bothered much about them until I heard a grunting sound not so long ago as I lay in my conservatory one evening and never knew what it was until someone told me.
So now I’ve built a house for them and left out some food and I’m waiting to see an hedgehog in eager anticipation.Good Luck, berty. I hope you see the hedgehog(s) soon. Lucky hogs – having a hog house built for them already!
Hello Nic. Just lately, and especially this morning I have seen loads of hedgehog poo. Not in my garden but on the street nearby my house. So they are about somewhere. I’ve even made a feeding station only yesterday, but as yet it as not been touched. I await in eager anticipation.
Hi berty
The signs sound promising, so hopefully they will turn up to your feeding station soon. I would be inclined to leave some food outside to start with to make it easier for them to find. That is assuming you don’t have loads of cats, etc. who might eat it and it’s not raining.
Sounds like the hogs have already got you well and truly under their spell!
I found the feeding station empty this morning but no droppings to be found, and the house has not been used. I know that because the twigs I put in front have not been moved. The boiled potatoes I laid out too have gone. So it all sounds positive so far.
Hi berty
Good to hear someone has been to your feeding station, but boiled potatoes aren’t really a very good diet for hogs. They really need something with protein in it. The recommended foods are cat/dog food, cat/kitten biscuits or hedgehog food from a reputable source. (But not dried mealworms as they have the wrong Calcium/Phosphorous ratio and can cause bone problems, particularly to hoglets – which are around now.) None of this, of course, totally replicates what they would find in the wild – beetles, earthworms, caterpillars, etc. but, the the best we have at present. You may not want to go to too much expense, especially as you aren’t certain, yet, that the hedgehogs are coming to you for food, so I would suggest getting a small bag of cat or kitten biscuits to start with, or a small ‘sample’ sized bag of hedgehog food, so there isn’t too much waste. The hogs might be more attracted to it too. Even more than food, water is very important, and they would welcome a constant source of water in your garden – absolutely essential if you are feeding dry food.
I am guessing you don’t have a night cam, so wonder whether you might find it interesting to try out a footprint tunnel. It would prove whether the hogs are really coming into your garden, and you might see what else has been there as well. The following are some links about them. As you are obviously handy at making things, you may even be able to make your own.
Good luck.
Thanks Nic for that information. Most useful. Some of the food I have been leaving out for them, ie, boiled potatoes and tomatoes is what I got from YouTube. And I must admit I did think the idea of the potatoes were a little sceptical. Anyway you’ve confirmed that and I’ll stick to the cat food like pellets until I get proper confirmation of an actual sighting. Then I can leave out the cat food. I do like the idea of the tunnel and I’m going to work on that as soon as I get the time because I am rebuilding a stone wall and leaving a gap or two at the bottom for the hedgehog to go through. Tonight I’m sleeping in my conservatory and as I’ve no need to get up early in the morning I hope to stay up till the early hours hoping I might get a sighting.
I was intending to stay up late tonight but I didn’t to as I heard a noise at about 21.45. And my suspicions were confirmed. A hedgehog came to feed at the station, and even have a drink as well. But that wasn’t just the once. He,..or she came back another 3 times within a space of 15 minutes of each other.
So for their reward, tomorrow they will get a tasty treat of real cat food.That’s really good news berty! Persistence rewarded. So, the next task, after the wall and the tunnel, is to make your garden even more of a hedgehog haven than it possibly already is, so they can find more wild food for themselves as well! Some tips on:
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/helpful-garden-features/
Enjoy watching the hogs.Thanks Nic. Now the next step is, is the house being used. Well I looked this morning and the twigs have been moved, but that doesn’t really confirm anything until I see it with my own hedgehog radar eyes. Watch out for confirmation hopefully coming soon.
It is so exciting when you realise hedgehogs are visitors to your garden. I accidentally came across my garden hedgehog whilst hibernating. I left him food out each night & when he came out of hibernation he had his food & now comes back each night to feed. So obsessed was I that I had cctv fitted just so I could watch them. I have found they come back several times a night. Sometimes 2, which is lovely. They are huge. I tend to leave hedgehog food out & sometimes cat or dog food.
Hope you have lots more sightingsHello Annie. Yes isn’t it exciting interacting with wildlife and watching their habits. I’m now keeping a watchful eye on them and noting everything they do and times they come and feed. As far as I can tell they are coming to the feeding station between 10 pm and midnight, coming in spaces of 15 to 20 minutes one at a time which I find very interesting. All I’m waiting for now is to see one in the day to get a better observation of it.
Hi Berty
Mine are so huge I thought there might be a pregnancy but no hoglet sightings. The earliest I’ve seen them in the garden is 5am just before it goes light. They say if you see one in the day they could be dehydrated or ill so in the nicest possible way I hope you dont. 🙈 😊Yes that’s a good point. If I did I would straight away be out with the water. It seems from what I can gather, they are prone to get dehydrated pretty quickly, but I don’t see that in the evening as they don’t seem to touch the water left out for them. Maybe it’s the good choice of dog food which they devour.
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