Hedgehog.

dreamdaisy

Some of you may remember that last year I discovered we had a hedgehog - me being me I went out and bought him a lovely wooden house which was placed in a quiet and secret place of the garden but he didn't move in. I named him Mr Pinsvind (the Danish for hedgehog) and I have been wondering where he is and what he's been up to. There has been evidence left on the lawn that he (or another) is about but no sighting - until last night.

I was on the phone with a friend when I went to turn off the fairy lights which are festooned on the foliage outside the kitchen window. A movement caught my eye; at first I thought it might be a rabbit because in the gloaming the shape was curved and apparently furry but then it straightened and I could see it was a hedgehog. He scuttled off round the corner and down the back of the bungalow so I hurried out of the door at the front with a little bowl of water, which I placed near the wooden house. This morning the water level has dropped, either thanks to him (and maybe others) or the local fox or (even worse) the local rats (the neighbours have chickens and something is gnawing the newly-erected fence between our two gardens :shock: ).

I shall be keeping an eye open from now on, around 9.30pm, and I shall report the sighting to our local Wildlife Trust who are trying to assess hedgehog numbers throughout the county. Have you spotted any this year? DD

barbara12

The poor things are in decline ,its such a shame they are lovely..we made an hole in the back fence with a little ramp and logs to form shelter..but haven't seen any yet , I am thinking of getting a little wireless camera to see what it picks up..

stickywicket

Oddly enough, yesterday was my dil's birthday and guess what I'd bought her? A hedgehog house. Well, not for her personal use

They are, sadly in decline. For three years running we used to find a little juvenile out in daylight in our garden in September. Each time we took them to the local Hedgehog Preservation Society. A hedgehog out in daylight is never good news and they all proved, when weighed, to be underweight juniors who would not have survived the winter. Mum had probably had a late litter then been killed.

It was sad to see these little guys in trouble but at least they got to 'hospital' and survived. We haven't had any now for about three years.

theresak

We haven`t seen one for ages now, though we used to have one who visited regularly, and for whom I used to put out a saucer of milk.

frogmorton

Not seen any either apart from one crossing the road at dusk a couple of weeks back which I managed to stop for and wait while he crossed

I had a right good feeling all night about that hedgie!!

xxx

dreamdaisy

Well done on stopping, Frog, not many motorists would! A general word of advice: if you have a hedgehog only put out water because they cannot digest milk. They are also partial to either cat or dog food; I leave water but no food because our garden has an abundance of snails, slugs, spiders and other nasties on which they can gorge.

I haven't seen him again but he's left further evidence of his presence. DD

GraceB

Am sorry to say - and I don't want to upset anyone - that I don't like hedgehogs myself. I wouldn't hurt one but I'd rather myself and Mr Hedgehog have a respectful distance between us.

As a child I used to feed them with the traditional bread and milk - we didn't know any different then. Then I saw a wildlife programme on the television and they showed the number of fleas on a hedgehog to a square inch of Mr Hedgehog. That rather put me off. :oops:

Have to say though that in the UK we are very lucky with the variety of wildlife we see.

Am off to have a good scratch ...

GraceB

stickywicket

The fleas are unpleasant but it's the tics that kill them as they become deficient in iron.

Some years ago, on a hot summer evening, I went to close the doors before going to bed. There under the piano (long story) was a hedgehog. It had crawled over the lip of the conservatory door, turned into the hall and gone down the step.