BENSON has gone for release. He's a big boy now and really wants to get out there.
We were pleased to release TWIGG a couple of nights ago too. We are slowly working through all of last year's hogs still resident. Here he is really excited about new smells and tastes so he is self-anointing.
Look at this wonderful video taken last night from Sandra in our village who feeds her visiting hedgehogs every single day.
Keep feeding your hedgehogs especially through this cold snap. Not all hedgehogs hibernate anyway, but these hogs may not be big enough yet to hibernate.
The smallest size to hibernate successfully varies but most people think 600g for around here.
If you can't feed visiting hogs, please put out a large saucer of water and defreeze it when you can by adding warm water and putting it somewhere with no visible frost.
Lovely new baby BLUEBELL tucking into her puppy mousse.
It is so important not to ignore hoglets who are out in the day. Bluebell was just on her last bit of energy with shaking legs, too small to survive. Many thanks to the Team at Churwell and Morley Hedgehog rescue advice and information for sorting her out; Nikki, Immie, Jonny, Trisha.
Update - Bluebell is up by 13g overnight and looking super healthy ๐ Nikki Imi Trisha
This is DENZIL, who I released recently, fighting again. There are much more savage bits but I have chosen quite a mild bit of fighting. They charge at each other like bulls. Denzil's last injury was to his leg so this was a bit of a worry, but he was walking fine afterwards.
We have had lovely hoggie Button here for a week or so, as he had a very nasty and unusual sounding cough - listen to the video. He is all fixed up now and very ready to release into his fully supported garden, and has just been collected by his finders.
He has been a well behaved hog for his stay, eating his meds really well, but he is very desperate to go back outside.
JIMMY has been released today back to his own native garden (with Nikki), because he was awake, over 800g and a bit stressed. Plus it is really quite warm outside. We wouldn't have considered it with an unsupported release site but at Nikki's he has hedgehog houses prefilled with straw and food/water.
What I hadn't anticipated was fireworks at 8pm...he pops out or the first time and then (right at the beginning of the clip) !Boom! and he is scared and runs back inside. Nikki asked the neighbour to not set off any more which they kindly responded to so Jimmy enjoyed his first evening out.
I love releasing in Nikki's garden (backs onto woodland) because of the excellent post-release video follow up they get.
Deb is doing the clean out duties this morning...here is OZZY peeking out and gruntling about being disturbed.
TYLER and ROSS have been released - it was an unusual one in that the hogs are from Doncaster which is generally out-of-area, and they have been released before the good weather is due to arrive, but for their own good.
More releases will follow with Blush, Lorenzo and others lined up to be released as big bouncing adults (over 750g).
They are only being released to 'supported gardens' i.e. hedgehog friendly gardens with food, water and at least one hedgehog house stuffed with straw.
Baby George, who is now with the brilliant baby fosterer Louise, finally enjoying some puppy mousse. He is in one of Louise's icu's, being given special formula to boost him up, because he is very light for his age.
Newly released Aqua spent hours collecting leaves to make her winter nest just perfect, which is why you should Leave the Leaves! Her brother River made off out of the garden following other hedgehog's scent trails...
Three of our orphans just having breakfast this morning. These are unusual in that they are dwarfed for some reason. They are over 6 weeks old and should be much bigger and more developed. The small one is Tiny (her name) and she is no pushover. When she wants some biscuits she will just go underneath her bigger (but still dwarfed) sister.
Yes you are very cute, little one, but you have been in your clean fresh home for two seconds and that is a fresh poop and wee...
Yes we use lemon squeezers to feed them baby mousse, formula and tiny kitten biscuits. Very whiffy in the heat.
New older boy Wilf has come to us today with a poorly foot and a head injury. Looks like he has been battling with sharp things...this is Wilf on night vision cam showing a clearly painful back leg. He will hopefully be fixed and functional very soon. We like our hogs out in the wild.
Fiona's tiny pond is perfect for wildlife
What is the NUMBER 1 TOP thing you can do for wildlife in your garden?
Put in a source of water for hedgehogs (and birds and other mammals and insects) to drink from!
Use a dish, a shallow flexi-tub, a sink or some pond liner to create a shallow small pond.
This is a delightful tiny pond, only just put in, and getting visitors every night (thanks to Fiona for the video). If you want to make one, I have some left over bits of pond liner, or buy a flexi-tub online.
Hulk finding bugs among stone chippings
Gardens mainly covered in gravel, paving and stone chippings are a surprisingly good food source for hedgehogs, especially if they are damp or shaded by trees.
Even if you think your garden isn't wildlife friendly, hedgehogs need access so they can find bugs, just like Hulk here (one of Nikki's who has been to us for treatment) who found lots of snacks in the gravel last night.
Hedgehog using Gravel board hedgehog highway
Gravel boards are a nightmare for hedgehogs. They prevent access to gardens. This video shows how successful Hedgehog Highway holes are as soon as they have been installed!
