Herts Hogline calls out for votes to bag a share of Tesco’s bag fund

Herts Hogline is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects. 

Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.

Herts Hogline is one of the groups on the shortlist. Any money raised will help us continue to care for sick, injured and orphaned hedgehogs. Our aim is to return all those we care for back to the wild and if we're unable to then we find them a caring, forever home. 

As a totally not-for-profit and non-funded we rely totally on the generosity of the public and organisations to provide the funds we require to cover the costs of caring for the hedgehogs that come into us. 

Voting is open in all Tesco stores during September and October and customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop. Herts Hogline can be voted for in the following stores in Bishop's Stortford:

- Tesco Super Store - Bishops Park 
- Tesco Express - 32a South Street
- Tesco Express - Havers Lane

Plus the Tesco Express in Stansted (Cambridge Road).

Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £56 million to more than 16,000 projects across Britain. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.

Alec Brown, Head of Community at Tesco, said:

“Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers. It’s such a special scheme because it’s local people who decide how the money will be spent in their community. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see these come to life in hundreds of communities.”

Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: 

“Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down Britain to improve the local spaces and places that matter to them. The diversity of projects that are being funded shows that local communities have a passion to create something great in their area. We are pleased to be able to be a part of the journey and provide support and encouragement to help local communities thrive.” 

Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online. To find out more visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp. So far Bags of Help has awarded more than £56 million to over 16,000 community projects.

The Hedgehog Shed Gets a Make-over

The shed has been in need of some major TLC for some time. As you can see from the photograph below. There was simply no room to put anything. So something drastic had to be done.

Thankfully earlier in the year Pat from Mutts in Distress kindly passed on our details to a simply wonderful lady (Karen Street) who for years has been organising fund raising quiz nights. Karen offered to organise a quiz for us. I was overwhelmed by the number of people who turned up and the amount raised. Some of the money has been spent on food and vet bills. However if you scroll down you can see how some of that the money has helped me transform the hedgehog shed.

It took me sometime to find someone who would do the job. But finally Tony the Handyman was recommended to me. He came round, I explained what was needed and that I had loads of salvaged wood which he could use. A date was set, the shed was cleared out and now I have storage and room to move.

So a huge thank you to Karen, the quizzers and Tony the Handyman. All of whom are Hedgehog Heroes.

P.S. If you're in need of a handyman please contact me via the Herts Hogline Facebook page and I'll give you Tony's contact details.  

 

  

Hedgehogs in June by British Hedgehog Preservation Society

Just under two weeks old - 05/06/17

This is the time of year when we expect most of the first litters of hoglets to be born.  They are going to be very vulnerable.  If anything happens to mum in the first 7-8 weeks then these hoglets are unlikely to survive without help.  They do not come out of the nest to start foraging with mum until they are 4 weeks old.  So any out of the nest under this age are likely to be abandoned and they are coming out in desperation calling for their mother. 

Should you find a dead adult in your neighbourhood, and it is safe to do so, try to determine whether it is a male or female.  They are very similar to dogs and bitches so are easy to sex if they have not been too badly damaged.  The males do not contribute to the rearing of the hoglets so only if it is a female could there be a risk of any hoglets being orphaned.

If you have a nest in your garden and are concerned the mum may have been killed listen for high pitched squeaks and perhaps place a small screwed up piece of paper in the entrance to the nest, this will be pushed aside as any hedgehog exits the nest.  It is best not to disturb the nest unless you are certain the mum will not be returning.  If you are wrong and the nest is occupied and you have pulled it apart the mother may abandon her babies, or even kill them.

If you accidently disturb a nest try to restore it quickly and without too much fuss.  Check with the screwed up piece of paper to see whether mum is returning, they all react differently, some move the babies over several days, a few have been known to kill them whilst other just abandon them.  If the nest is in a place where it cannot be left catch the mother before the babies as she will be the most mobile.  Place her in high sided box with some of the bedding from the nest and then slip her babies in with her.  Contact the BHPS to find a local contact who can advise and if necessary take in the family.  Do not release them somewhere yourself as mum is very likely to abandon them, given the amount of disturbance she has endured.

With any hedgehog in trouble the sooner it is rescued the more chance there is that it will survive.  Hoglets in trouble will be out in the day (or perhaps without mum at night), squeaking, lying in the open (perhaps several huddled together), flies buzzing around them and even large birds taking an interest with them.

If you are concerned about your local visiting hedgehog, need advice or find an orphaned, sick or injured hedgehog contact the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, they can give general advice and perhaps details of a local hedgehog rehabilitator you can contact.  Contact them on 01584 890801 or for general advice visit their web site.   

Hedgehogs in May

Hedgehog Awareness Week runs from 3^rd to 9^th May this year, the British HedgehogPreservation Society is asking people to do one extra thing to help hedgehogs during the week.  That could be making a 13cm (5”) square gap as a hedgehog highway in the bottom of your boundary wall or fence, offering suitable food and water, building a log pile for natural food and shelter or creating a display of BHPS posters and leaflets in a local library, garden centre, etc.

Towards the end of this month, following a noisy courtship, the new season’s hoglets will be born.  In some colder regions this may not be until June and in warm areas it could be early-mid May.

Mum can have 4-5 hoglets although up to 8 viable hoglets have been recorded in a litter.  Of these 4-5 hoglets only 3-4 are likely to survive to independence ie 8 weeks of age.  It is suggested that only 1 in 5 will survive to its first birthday – this is probably due to the high mortality of the late born hoglets.  Of course if something happens to mum then the whole litter will perish unless found in time.  Once they reach the 1 year milestone then they can live for perhaps 5-6 years.

The mothers and their young face all sorts of hazards.  Nest disturbance, by people and pets, especially when garden sheds are taken down, is a big problem.  Then there are all the hazards mum has to avoid in her home patch.  This can include slippery sided ponds, uncovered drains, netting, litter, poisons, grass cutting especially with strimmers and bonfires.  On top of all this is the problem with crossing the roads.  It is amazing that they survive at all. 

If something has happened to mum the hoglets may leave the nest to try to find her, even if their eyes are still tightly shut they will still do this.  They will be out in the day and will make a high pitched squeak, like a bird but at ground level.  Often flies are attracted to them and they may even be attacked by large birds.  They become cold and extra wobbly and will not survive without intervention.   Remember they do not come in ones so look for more.  Bring them indoors.  Put them in a high sided box.  Fill a hot water bottle with warm water (keep replacing the water as it cools) and cover the bottle with a towel.  Place the hoglets on this and then place another towel over them to keep them snug.  It is better not to try to feed them when they are cold.  Then call for help. 

Hand rearing them can be a long, complicated and difficult process, they need bottle feeding and any problems caused by their abandonment need addressing, so it is better to pass them on to an experienced carer or at the very least seek advice until they can be passed on.

To make your garden safer visit the BHPS web site and look at the Gardening with Hedgehogs leaflet.  This mentions many of the dangers and how to help minimise them.  What better reward can there be for making a garden safer than to see mum with her line of miniature hedgehogs walking across your garden.

If you find a hoglet or a sick or injured hedgehog contact us: Herts Hogline (remember we are very small and only cover an area in a 15 mile radius of Stansted Airport) or the British Hedgehog Preservation Society who can give general advice and perhaps details of another local hedgehog rehabilitator that you can contact.  You can contact them on 01584 890801.  For more general information about hedgehogs and how to help them, or about Hedgehog Awareness Week, visit the BHPS web site. 

Albus And Battle With The Netting

On the 26th November I received a call from a gentleman who had discovered a hedgehog badly tangled in some netting (the third such call this year). He'd carefully cut away what he could but didn't know if there was any around the hedgehog's legs. I advised him to drop off at the A120 Medivets where our fab vet, Helen and her team would work their wonders.

The hog was taken in, named Albus and weighed. At just 485 grams he was extremely underweight for his size. We can only assume he'd been there for some time. He was then gassed down, so they could uncurl him. What they found was heart breaking. A couple of his feet were swollen to double the size and the netting had cut deeply into his skin. They carefully removed the netting and tended his wounds.

I picked Albus up and started to care for him. He began to heal however a week later he was still unable to fully retract one of his front legs when he curled up, it was still too swollen. However he had gained 166 grams and had almost lost his waistline (unlike us hedgehogs shouldn't have a waistline).

On the 9th December I dropped Albus off at the A120 vets for a check up. We were all relieved the deep wounds were healing and there was no infection. After a little clean I picked him up with the instructions to drop him of three days later on the 12th, which I did. I also dropped off my camera, so one of the nurses could take some photographs for me.

Now I don't normally include 'nasty' images in our blog posts. However I wanted to show you how much damage netting, elastic bands, hair bands and the like can do to our wildlife. Now remember these wounds are two weeks old.  

Wound in right armpit and around leg two weeks after netting was removed.

Wound in left armpit two weeks after netting removed

Having seen these it would be great if you could help us reduce the number of casualties caused by netting by taking the following action:

• Remove netting from your garden where you can
• If unable to remove then make it safe by lifting off the ground or at least check every morning to ensure a hedgehog isn't caught
• Pick up elastic bands etc. whilst you're out, take home, cut up and place in the bin
• Share this blog post far and wide so others can take action and also spread the word

Believe it or not Albus is extremely lucky. Of the three hogs I've dealt with who were entangled in netting he is the only one to have survived. Sadly we don't know if we can ever return him to the wild, he may be left disabled. Although he is now large enough to hibernate we plan to keep him to the spring and we'll make a decision then. 

Hedgehogs in January - written by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society

Most of the hedgehogs seen at this time of year will be unable to hibernate – there may be some regular visitors that decide to keep eating because there is a regular supply of food but these will be in the minority.  Having said that, if the weather turns mild at the end of the month some hedgehogs may wake from hibernation but judging from previous years this is unlikely.

It is always helpful to leave some food out, but in the cold weather, when it is less likely to be taken, you can put out dry cat biscuits, these will not go off so quickly and will be less wasteful.  Leave a dish of water out as well not just for the hedgehogs but for all the wildlife in your garden.

If you are tempted out to do some gardening remember that there could be hedgehogs hibernating in your garden.  An unusually large pile of leaves could well be a hibernaculum (hedgehog’s winter nest) as could any piles of vegetation, so do take care when raking or forking over any suspect areas.  If you should discover a hedgehog then pile the leaves etc. back over it and perhaps check the pile the next morning – it is likely the hedgehog will have woken properly and moved to a new nest.  Provide some fresh water and some food as it will be very thirsty and hungry; the food will also help replace some of the fat it had to burn up when rousing.

If you see any hedgehog out and about at this time of year it is best to contact the British Hedgehog Preservation Society on 01584 890801 (if you can weigh the hedgehog first that is always helpful).  Out of hours you will be directed to other numbers but whatever the time, with patience, you should be able to speak to a real person.  For more information about hedgehogs and how to help them visit The BHPS web site at www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk