Attracting Hedgehogs

[citychick]

Is this something I could do living in a city? And is there anything you can do to encourage them. When I used to live with my parents in the countryside we always had hedgies. I have never seen, or seen evidence of them here?

[Jandy]

Welcome to the forum, citychick. To encourage hedgehogs, try this site: http://www.wildlifegardener.co.uk/CaringForHedgehogsinTheGarden.html

[Lisa]

Hi citychick, welcome to the forum.

BHPS offer some excellent advice on hedgehogs, here are some of our recommended links:

http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/FAQS/helping_hedgehogs.htm

http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/FAQS/wildlife_garden.htm

http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/FAQS/Gardening.htm

Hope this helps :-)

[squeek]

wish we had hedgehogs

[Keith D.]

wish we had hedgehogs

Hi

there are several ways to attract hedgehogs

you must have an entry point or points into your garden
they need a gap under /thru the fence approx. 5 inches by 5 inches

now most important a bowl of water they can get there heads into
is vital hogs can smell water and drink a lot of it

as for food there are many offerings

1] Kitten biscuits [not cat //too big for them]

2] Cat or dog food cut into small bits
NO fish flavor --chicken is best

3] crunched up peanuts

i have seen mention of not too much milk
truth is milk is a complete no no
they cannot digest Lacto it makes them ill

i know the RSPB backed a book which shows a hog being fed bread and milk. many have tried to get them to remove the book or at the least
place inside a piece of paper correcting the error all of which have failed

as a last if you ever see a hog out in the day time something is very wrong it needs to be grabbed and placed into a box with an old towel
or the like to get under

you should then contact a wildlife centre who will get someone to collect it and check it over

you can find and read much more on this site

http://www.hedgehoghelp.co.uk/index.php

there is endless advise and help if needed from some very experienced people

good luck

we have 4 still in hibernation in the garden here
and another 2 already visiting from outside the garden
coming to our purpose built feeding station already this year

cheers for now

Keith D.

[Nature__Lover]

DON'T use bread and milk.
It upsets their stomachs.

Tinned Cat, Dog, Puppy or Kitten food. They prefer Chicken flavours best. Do not give Fish flavours
Cat or Kitten Biscuits. Only give meat flavoured biscuits. Do not give Fish flavours. The premium brands like Royal Canin, Burns, Hills, James Wellbeloved, or Iams are much better for them (The "cheaper" common brands contain much more cereal and are not so nutritious)
Spike’s Dinner hedgehog food either tinned or dry available from good pet shops or Direct from Spikes World who also have other quality hedgehog foods in their online store
Garden Bird Hedgehog food
Wildthings Hedgehog Food
Any cooked meat leftovers like chicken or mince. Chop all meat in very small pieces. Hedgehogs only have tiny teeth and cannot chew or tear big pieces.
Small pieces of chopped mild or medium cheddar cheese
Chopped Peanuts ( the same peanuts you feed the birds on. NOT SALTED NUTS)
Sultanas & Raisins
Lots of Water, especially in hot weather. Hedgehogs drink a lot of water.
DO NOT give salty foods like bacon and corned beef
In winter or cold weather use biscuits, peanuts, cheese etc instead of tinned meat which freezes quickly
Feed at night after the flies have gone and remove the food in the early morning, before the flies arrive. Fly maggots cause serious harm to hedgehogs.

ALSO
make a log/twig/dead leaves/grass pile in one part of the garden and they'll hibernate.

good luck

[squeek]

thanks Keith, its a shame the RSPB wont listen

thanks Nature Lover.

lots of advice from you both :)

we may wait a bit tho as we now have a family of foxes and im not sure if they mix well. we do have pheasants and they seem to be ok, they keep a distance. and the fox dont bother them.

[Nature__Lover]

Amazing! Its always great to have foxes in the garden.
I have always wanted fox visitors but have never had them.
Infact, i only ever saw a fox once!

[squeek]

you probably have had them, you just got to be around at the right time,hope you get to see one again soon.:)

with the election coming up, just hope the conservatives dont get in, they will bring back hunting with dogs and animals like the fox will be under this cruel threat once again.

[Jandy]

If you look in Members' Photos, you'll find my picture of the poor wee dead fox cub we found around the corner from here:- "Fox Cub Tragedy". We are in a suburban area, and see foxes now and then (and also hear them at night in wintertime). I have more than once seen them in the back garden in broad daylight.

[squeek]

hi Jandy,
im sorry to hear about your fox cub :(
i wont look as i dont want to see, too upsetting, hope you understand.
do you know what happened to the cub ?

we have a fox family in our garden, the cubs are tiny, so cute :)

[Nature__Lover]

I saw two hedgies in my garden yesterday for the first time!
and all i have been doing is putting seed on the tray! and they enjoyed slurping from the pond!

[Jandy]

Hi, Squeek - I'm not sure what happened to the fox cub, but it definitely looked like a puncture wound that might result from a bite, rather than being run over. If it weren't for that, you would almost think it was asleep. I would think it was 1-2 months old.

[Pine Marten]

Here is a pic of one of my hedgehogs that come in to my garden. They look forward am sure to the goodies put out for them each night.

http://i48.tinypic.com/b3nb5x.jpg

Pine Marten.

[Hevva]

What a smashing photo - how lucky you are. We used to have them on a regular basis but I haven't seen one in the garden for a couple of years now. I always leave treats out, but I think the fox is usually first at the scene!

[Nature__Lover]

wow, hevva. Feel lucky! I've had hedgies in the garden once, but never seen a fox properly. A few flashes of a red bottom and tail , is about it!

[Hevva]

We've had an old dog fox for several years who always ate his meal off the drive. He was quite happy for us to watch too, which was lovely. Now we appear to have a very young vixen who trots up the lawn in the late afternoon, has a good look round - especially at my dog's toys and bones - and then trots back down the garden. She is in beautiful condition, whereas the old dog fox had quite a bit of mange.
We are on the edge of town, with a large garden and lots of hedge and shrubs to hide under, so ideal I suppose.
I must say that when the dog goes down the garden last thing at night, she is very spooked and can't get back in quickly enough so I would imagine the fox is lying up under the bushes or under the shed.
We've had badgers too but I've only heard them and seen the evidence on my lawn that their claws have made - not something to encourage if you're proud of your garden!

[Jandy]

I'm reproducing one of my pics of the poor foxcub that I found. It was so lovely, and apart from the smallish chest wound, one would almost think it was sleeping.

I would so love to see a wild badger. My mother reckons she is plagued with them from the holes in her lawn, but no-one's ever seen them.