discussion Hedgehog

[Si Benson]

I Mentioned that we have a family of hedgehogs, resident in our garden.

Here’s a video I took On Friday night

 

[Tim Marlow]

Pretty cool Si, don’t forget to reward him/her with cat food :thumb2:

 

[PaulTRose]

Dinsdale! :smiling6:

 

[Tim Marlow]

Blimey, spiny Norman already....

 

[Si Benson]

Pretty cool Si, don’t forget to reward him/her with cat food :thumb2:

The Mrs got some proper hedgehog food from Tesco. We also read that the biscuits made for kittens are suitable.
But never bread and milk....can make them unwell.
Si

 

[Steve O]

Your very lucky Si not seen one around here for years, i believe they like tinned dog food sure i saw it on the tv.

Steve.

 

[Allen Dewire]

Cool vid Si,
Over here, they are called Igels and they are very common. I had a few living in my garden some years ago. They would come and check out my rabbit once in a while as the rabbit was huge. At least 8 - 10 times larger than the little fellas!

Prost
Allen

 

[Guest]

We had one come into the garden almost every night last summer, so we ended up putting cat food out for it too:

View attachment 309928

And the cat (now unfortunately †) that came to check it out:

View attachment 309927

The first time she saw the hedgehog, she tested this strange creature with her front paw a couple of times, but quickly gave up when she found out how prickly it was

 

[stillp]

We had a family breeding in our garden two or three years ago, but they moved out, though we still get visited by hedgehogs most nights. I made a tunnel with a chamber at the end where we put hedgehog food, or any cat food that our fussy feline won't eat. That stops the neighbours' cats getting at it. The main thing they've needed recently is water, so there's always a shallow dish for them.

Pete

 

[Si Benson]

Your very lucky Si not seen one around here for years, i believe they like tinned dog food sure i saw it on the tv.

Steve.

We do concider ourselves very fortunate, especially for the children to be able to be around these lovely little creatures. I think you right about the tinned pet food for cats or dogs:thumb2:

 

[Si Benson]

Allen....Igels ehh, I’ll have to check out the translation. You learn something new every day:thumb2:

Jakko.....Brilliant pictures, hedgehog looks happy with his face in food:smiling4:

Peter....I already have ideas brewing for creating a proper ‘chog-home’ with a night vision camera inside. A freind of mine has bird boxes with cameras in, his kids love watching their goings on:smiling4:. We’ve been leaving a saucer of fresh water out for a few weeks now to help them in this heat:thumb2:

 

[Jim R]

Hi Si
How cute is that. Hedgehogs generally are becoming far less common so all of you with hedgehog friendly gardens are doing a great job.
We used to live on the Outer Hebrides where hedgehogs are not native. Many years ago a local doctor brought some over from the mainland - he thought they would rid his garden of slugs. Big mistake. No natural predators so there was a population explosion and they ate the eggs of ground nesting birds. About 10 years ago they had a drive to get rid of the hedgehogs. Nobody wanted them killed and so they were caught and released on the mainland. The project was very successful. As an aside mink were also released/escaped from a fur farm many, many years ago and there was an eradication programme as they were devastating the nests of the ground nesting birds. I went out many times with the warden on Harris to check and set traps. Unlike the hedgehogs the mink were not released but destroyed. The programme took many years to eradicate the mink but earlier this year the islands were declared mink free. Already there has been a significant increase in the breeding success of many birds.
Jim

 

[Si Benson]

Hi Jim,
I have a 12ft by 12ft patch of untouched garden up the end out the way so it’s ideal for them. My shed is up on blocks and they live under it. I had planned on reclaiming this patch but now we know the hedgehogs are residents, its going to be a wildlife patch.
Interesting story about the hedgehogs...I’d heard about the mink issue from a tv documentary but hadn’t heard about hedgehogs becoming a problem.
I suppose it’s not the first time mankind has created problem by introducing animals that aren’t natural inhabitants. I’ve heard of entire Australian areas that have banned domestic cats due to the harm they cause!
Si

 

[Jon Heptonstall]

Haven't seen a hedgehog for a few years now.Lucky boy Si.
Jon.

 

[Gern]

It's no wonder they're becoming a rare sight! They're FAR too trusting .....

 

[Peter Gillson]

My daughter volunteered at our hedgehog charity for part of her Duke of E and i recall that any dog or cat food is fine as well as a good supply of water.

Normally any hedgehog seen put in daytime is likely to be ill, the exception is in drougth conditions when mother hogs may be out looking for food for their young.

Peter

 

[Kelly McFadden]

When I saw the title of this post I thought it was about this;
View attachment 309946

 

[Guest]

Pretty amazing Si. Lovely that the one in the video (a youngster?) is so friendly.

We also have hedgehogs, but unfortunately for them we also have a Jack Russell. He doesn't normally bark in the garden, but when he does we know he's found a hedgehog. Their defences always defeat him - the last one I rescued from the bottom of a trench the dog had dug trying to get at it. Before the dog, I used to don a pair of garden gloves and bring them in briefly to show the children when they were little.
Another time, camping in the south of France, I was woken up by something grunting and pushing at my head from outside. Investigation revealed the biggest hedgehog I've ever seen - it had obviously taken a shine to me.

 

[Guest]

I used to don a pair of garden gloves and bring them in briefly to show the children when they were little.

You can pick up a hedgehog without gloves easily enough if you scoop it up with both hands at the same time. I discovered this a few years ago when I came across what looked to be a a fairly young one rolled up in the middle of a bicycle track. Figuring it was just a matter of time before it would get run over, I decided to try picking it up like that and putting it underneath the bushes off to the side. It worked really well, you hardly feel the prick of its hairs if you make sure to support it with as much of your hands as possible. (Two people stopped as I was doing this, one of them commenting that he “would never have dared to do that” … WTF?! It’s a hedgehog, not a tiger!)

 

[Si Benson]

Hi all,
It’s really nice to read your positive input, see your pictures and read your hedgehog based anecdotes.

I wasn’t sure how the video would be received, being it’s a modelling forum but it’s heart warming to have you guys comment in such a positive manner :thumb2:

I’ve uploaded another video to YouTube from last nights dinner date with our prickly friend.
I can put a link if anyone would like to see?
Cheers
Si