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Feeding Garden Hedgehogs.
If in doubt phone The Hogsprickle
Hedgehogs are insectivores and, in the wild, live on a diet of beetles, earthworms, caterpillars, millipedes, earwigs, and other invertebrates.
For many years well-meaning people have been putting out bread and milk to "help" hedgehogs, but human beings are the only mammals on the planet to drink milk after we have been weaned so
DO NOT GIVE WILDLIFE MILK OR BREAD for the following reasons:
1) Milk is very bad for the teeth; bread and milk is especially bad, as it is too soft for proper dental care.
2) Many animals, including us, cats and dogs, are intolerant of the lactose in milk, which in wild animals can lead to diarrhea, dehydration and death.
3) Milk is iron-deficient so in excess can cause dietary imbalance.
4) Milk will sour and attract flies if left for any length of time.
5) Milk that has been skimmed or semi-skimmed has had beneficial fat-soluble vitamins removed.
6) Milk is an ideal medium for the proliferation of harmful bacteria in the stomach and intestines causing diarrhea and other tummy and potential skin problems.
7) Bread will swell in the stomach making the animal or bird feel full but without being nutritionally complete.
8) Bread is full of sugar and salt, which can cause dietary upsets in mammals and birds.
This is true of all wildlife and most pets so best keep the bread and milk for the people in the house.
When you are trying to survive a cold winter the last thing you need is to get ill!
Tinned and dry cat or dog foods are far more efficient at building up body fat reserves for a long cold winter.
How can we help our garden hedgehogs?
Make a feeding station. A plastic storage box upside down with a CD size hole about 5 inches square, with a tunnel in the hole, will allow hogs to get in for the food but keep cats and other larger animals out. Put a bowl or 2 of cat food in but keep the water outside, as hogs will walk in and sometimes poop in the water bowl. A couple of heavy bricks on top will stop a bigger animal toppling it over and you have a perfect Hedgehog restaurant. If you use a clear box you can watch your Spiky Butt without disturbing him.
Feeding cat food twice a week from around June to October is enough as we only want to supplement the wild diet. You can feed 4 to 6 times a week from October to June. Check with your neighbours about who else may be feeding the local hedgehogs as too much food can make them reliant on humans and not enough natural food. They can also become quite fat which is not healthy and may result in a hedgehog not being able to curl up into a tight defense ball, putting them at risk of predation by dogs, foxes and badgers.
We dont know if they can tell the time but you might have one, 2 or 3 hogs visiting your feeding station the same time each night! Maybe they can tell the time using the moon and the stars?? Clever Spiky Butts!
1) By providing a compost heap or overgrown area of garden for sleeping in.
2) By providing tinned and dry dog or cat food as a dietary supplement.
3) Before burning any leaf litter or garden waste please check CAREFULLY that a hedgehog has not moved in for the winter, hedeghogs can move in over night so if you must burn a bonfire then set a small fire a distance away and feed the fire from the large pile. Or just leave it to rot down naturally and increase the biodiversity for insects, frogs and hogs. Compost heaps are a lovely warm snug bed for the cold months.
Conclusions;
Milk, especially with bread, is of no use as a dietary supplement for hedgehogs and is potentially harmful.
Feed dog and cat food.
Once you begin to feed the visiting Hogs to your garden please remember you are only supplementing their wild diet, please dont over feed them.
Provide a warm safe sleeping place and DO NOT wake the Hog to check on him/her during the winter.
Keep dogs and cats away.
Menu
A word of warning.
Snails carry lung worm so a lot of Hedgehogs can infect themselves with lung worm which can lead to breathing problems, pneumonia and in severe cases, death. So it's best not to put l'escargot on the menu.
Dry food will help with dental health and a shallow bowl of clean water should always be available.
Hogs much prefer caterpillers, beetles, earthworms, which the Hog can actually hear underground!
But still, a human hand giving yummy cat and dog food, in jelly with lamb and chicken flavours are best. Hog will welcome an extra meal, especially in the colder months.
Snails carry lung worm so a lot of Hedgehogs can infect themselves with lung worm which can lead to breathing problems, pneumonia and in severe cases, death. So it's best not to put l'escargot on the menu.
Dry food will help with dental health and a shallow bowl of clean water should always be available.
Hogs much prefer caterpillers, beetles, earthworms, which the Hog can actually hear underground!
But still, a human hand giving yummy cat and dog food, in jelly with lamb and chicken flavours are best. Hog will welcome an extra meal, especially in the colder months.
Word of warning though.........
Make sure that the bowls you use are Hog friendly. If the sides are too high they can't get to the food, or they may fall in and become trapped in there.
I like to use casserole dish lids, glass ones are pretty good and I get them from 2nd hand shops. Dishwasher safe ones ensure that you can clean them easily which is a must if snails or slugs are around.
Shallow water dishes are a must as they will be used by lots of other wildlife and birds. Freshen the water each day and remember to check it in the winter to break the ice.
I like to use casserole dish lids, glass ones are pretty good and I get them from 2nd hand shops. Dishwasher safe ones ensure that you can clean them easily which is a must if snails or slugs are around.
Shallow water dishes are a must as they will be used by lots of other wildlife and birds. Freshen the water each day and remember to check it in the winter to break the ice.
