Hedgehog Hibernation - when and how?

[Georgie6]

Yesterday, I purchased a Hedgehog House. I would love to think I might be able to persuade a hedgehog to use it this winter.
I live in rural Shropshire. Can anyone advise me as to when the LAST date might be that a hedgehog might still be looking for a place to hibernate?
Ideally, I would try to tempt one in by putting cat food in the vicinity. However, my friend next door has several cats; does anyone know an alternative way of advertising this "des res"?

[shirl]

You might try this site, some useful information about hedgehogs in your garden, hope it won't be long before they move in.

Shirl

British Hedgehog Preservation Society

[Georgie6]

Thanks Shirl, I'll try that site. Georgie6.

[Georgie6]

I've filled the hedgehog home with fresh hay/straw. I've also left some just outside to tempt a visitor and hopefully get said visitor to pull spare in after itself. I've put pear, apple and cat food around the area where hedgehogs visit in the summer. What else can I do please? Georgie6

[posie]

Hi Georgie6, our hedgehogs went into hibernation 10 days ago, but I was surprised because we hadn't had any really cold weather here (south coast). Have you seen a hoggie in your garden. If not they have to have a way in round the perimeter, which you could bait with dried meal worms, they LURVE them.You have to put them down after the birds have roosted for the night or they'll have them, but hedgehogs mostly feed at night and you could place a sparce trail from outside the gap in the fence right up to and into the hedgehog house.I say sparce trail because otherwise it'll be full up before it gets to the house and fall asleep .Ha Ha..Having said 'mealworms' I would suggest VERY small pieces of cooked chicken as well because hedgehogs hunt by smell sometimes and mealworms don't have such a noticeable smell as chicken. you could use chicken to get it's interest...but don't overfeed it as it will get a belly-ache and the runs and you will be doing it harm just before it hibernates.If it works then thanks to you one lucky hedgie will have a lovely warm cosy home for the winter.psDon't forget dish of water,they drink and also love to paddle in it so it has to be changed daily as it gets dirt in it from their feet. Good Luck, I'm sure they havn't all hibernated yet, could be because ours were well fed (they'd been eating our 3 farmcats' food all year) posie..

[Georgie6]

Thankyou Posie, On the 26th I collected some large laurel leaves, staked them with a 4" twig, into the lawn, and laid the cat food on them, in a trail from where I've seen hedgehogs, towards the hedgehog home. I thought the green laurel leaves on the green grass would be less obvious from the air than a plate or dish. What you wrote about boundaries rang a bell - my neighbour has recently fenced part of the garden (near where the hedgehog used to appear from), in order to keep her dog in her own garden. That could be why I've not seen the hedgehog lately, so thankyou for that. I'll investigate. Georgie6.

[posie]

Don't know how big your neighbour's dog is but maybe you could make some gaps big enough for a hedghog but not big enough for the dog. Let us know how you get on. posie.

[Georgie6]

HEDGEHOG LOVERS, More help needed please, I am desperate to home a hedgehog in my new hedgehog house. I have tried cat food, ripe pear, and ripe apple. What else can I do please. There are five cats next door and amazingly, they have neither touched the home or eaten the food. The home already has a good supply of clean sweet smelling hay/straw. What do you folks do to attract hedgehogs ? Georgie6

[posie]

Hi again Georgie , Make sure there is entry into your garden for hedgehogs. then lay a trail of soaked dried meal-worms leading from a fair distance outside the entry point, to the entry point and through it and across to the house. I don't think the cats will bother with mealworms, thats why I suggest them instead of tiny bits of cooked chicken . If all else fails you could try a hedgehog rescue place and ask what their policies are regarding you adopting a hedgehog that is fit enough to hibernare this winter. Or if they can't do that they would probably know all the little secret ploys that you could use to attract your own. I suspect that hedgehogs decide on their hibernation nest well before the time, they wouldn't leave it to chance in case the weather suddenly changed for the worse and they couldn't find anywhere suitable at short notice.******Well the FEMALES would,not sure about the
MALES though **HeHe Good Luck and keep us up to date with what you do.......POSIE........

[Hedgehoggy]

Hi Georgie6, if you already have hogs visiting your garden for food, then there's still time for a hedgehog to use your new hog house, but there's no guarantee it will be used for hibernation. Indeed, of the 6 hog houses I have in my garden, only 1 is currently being used! Ensure your hog house is placed somewhere safe and hidden and protected from the elements (e.g. under a hedge, shrub, etc). To lure a hedgehog into your new house, initially leave a small handful of food that won't be attractive to cats, such as chopped unsalted peanuts or dried mealworms. Once you know you have a hog residing in the house, stop placing food right next to the house to avoid attracting any other unwanted visitors, so hoggy can feel safe and sleep soundly. Above all, don't be tempted to keep checking the house, your scent may deter them. Instead, place a twig/similar across the entrance to the house and simply monitor if the twig has been pushed out of the way.

Large males tend to hibernate first, followed by the larger females (many of which will have reared an autumn litter, so will be busy fattening up now), then last but not least the smaller hogs/juveniles will follow - these are the ones who need help with supplementary feeding in order to reach a safe weight of 600g. Of course, some hogs don't hibernate at all, while others will periodically wake up in search of food/water.

I still had hogs visiting my garden well into December last year, then it all went quiet in January right through until late April.

Good luck with your mission, Georgie, I hope you're successful


EDIT: Don't know if you have already done this, but line the hog house with a wad of newspaper and stuff to the brim with fresh hay/straw and dried leaves - the smell of fresh bedding should also act as an attractant for a hedgehog.