Hedgehog Feeding

[misty tinker]

I have currently got an obsession or Hedgehogs after reading about them and after visiting a few sites and reading about them, i realised they are a lot of work
I was not considering owning one as a pet or confining it to the space of my garden(unless: young, weak, ill or disabled) that would be cruel, they are after all wild animals
I was however thinking about putting out food, water and a nice comfy shelter to help them
One problem, i have no idea if we are going to be moving soon (if work doesnt pick up)
If we have to move i have read that so Hedgehogs become depandant on the food yo put out, what would happen if we moved?

thankyou(i am very new to the site so hi everyone)

[ron1863]

Hi and welcome to WAB. Good question and I don't know the answer but someone on here will help you. I would have thought that they would be fine if you suddenly moved, they are wild creatures after all.

[wildlifesnapper]

Hi

I think that if you are only putting food out to attract them so you can watch them , then if you only put a very small amount of food out , just a snack if you like, then they will wander off and hunt for their beetles and slugs etc for the rest of the night. This way if you do move then what little bit you did put out would not be missed.

neil

[Jez]

Hi

Putting a little food out shouldn't be no trouble and if you have to up & leave then let the new home owners tknow hat you have visiting hoggies!

[Stewy]

I just attract the local cats when I put out food!

[Kayleigh]

The Hedgehogs eat what drops from the bird feeders in my garden. So I don't feed them.
I would do like the others have said and just put a small amount of food out.

[ratscat13]

all wild animals will benefit from some supplementary feeding. However this should be as close to the natural diet as possible and should not be regular. I would suggest feeding tinned cat food and providing water and feeding no more than a couple of nights a week. Also make them random nights so that the hog doesn't become dependant on the food you provide.
They are fascinating creatures - enjoy your watching of them.

[ellen h]

If you feed it cat food make sure its not fish based !!
ellen

[oxycera]

Our hogs eat birdseed, won't touch catfood.

[djackso]

Originally Posted by ellen h

If you feed it cat food make sure its not fish based !!
ellen

I heard this, but does anybody know why?

[Ringleywood]

Hogs live tinned cat or dogfood and some drinking water, never give them milk it's bad for them. Just give them small amounts to encourage them into your garden, they'll eat all your slugs!

[Rob_D]

Catfood does get eaten, but mostly by the local cats!

I wish Hedgehogs would eat all the slugs. I put out "Wild Things Hedghog Food" which my local hog seem to like - she's been coming for about 4 years now. The slugs also love this food, but I've never seen the hog touch the slugs, even when the bowl is empty. She's keeps checking every few minutes to see if it has got more food in it! I often hear her crunching away in the garden at night, so I assume that's a beetle or snail maybe?

I only put out a token amount of food in the summer, but I make sure there's more when they wake from hibernation in the Spring, and in the Autumn when they need to put on all that fat.

[misty tinker]

thankyou everyone for the help.

[snake]

Don't encourage Hedgehogs into the garden if you keep chickens.
I had a pair of Silver Seabrights in a small chicken ark.
One night the chickens were making a lot of noise, when I investigated I found one of the chickens dead and a Hedgehog biting into the neck of the other one.
They are partial to a bit of fresh meat.

Be warned.

[misty tinker]

ok luckily i dont keep chickens, i would never imagine a Hedgehog doing that wow i am shocked, thanks all

[Stewy]

Originally Posted by Stewy

I just attract the local cats when I put out food!

I've just put some food out again to see if I can attract one of the critters, had a massive one in the garden a few weeks ago so let's see!!!!!!!

I'm sure one of the local cats will scoff it though!