Hedgehogs in June • Kay Bullen BHPS

This is the start of the breeding season and hoglets will be starting to arrive. You may already have seen the hedgehogs’ courtship with the huffing sounds and the male circling the female. Until she is ready to mate she will keep facing the male, so he will have to keep circling to try to approach from the rear.

If successful, after about 32 days 4-5 hoglets will be born. They’re naked, so no fur or prickles and they are deaf and blind as well. Within a few hours their first set of prickles push through, they are white and in straight lines down the back. The brown prickles start to appear after around 36 hours but the fur takes a little longer. Eyes open at around 14 days with the ears opening a few days later.

The babies would not normally leave the nest, to forage with mum, until they are about 4 weeks old and at this stage they are miniatures of their mother. Hoglets that appear before they are 4 weeks old are often orphans and they need help. Signs that hoglets are in trouble include, being out in the day, being lethargic and wobbling, squeaking loudly, flies being attracted to them. They soon become hypothermic, dehydrated and the flies will lay eggs on them that hatch into maggots.  Even the older ones will struggle if something has happened to mum.  uick action can save their lives. If you have any doubts about their wellbeing give the BHPS a call (01584 890801) or contact a local hedgehog rescue.

Until you’re able to contact someone put the hoglet(s) indoors on a covered, hand hot, hot water bottle (replace water as it cools). Put this in a high sided box and place a towel over them to keep in the warmth and give some security. Very small hoglets with their eyes still closed will be not able to take solids; for bigger hoglets you could mix some water with mashed up meat-based cat food to make it sloppy, don’t try to force feed them. Hand rearing is very complex, so they should be passed to a hedgehog rehabilitator as soon as possible.

If you only find one hoglet do bear in mind there could be others. Check your garden for more. If you’ve found the hoglet(s) on a walk, try to repeat that walk over the next 4-5 days or longer if possible to keep an eye out for any siblings that may also be in trouble.

If you are concerned about any hoglets or adult hedgehogs contact the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, they can give general advice and perhaps details of a local hedgehog rehabilitator that you can contact.

The Year That Was 2017

2017 was a year of successes and a year of frustrations. So, I wanted to share with you some of the highs and a lows. So here goes!

Our volunteers and supporters 
As always without the physical help and the generous support of the local vets and our supporters I'd never be able to do the work with the hedgehogs that I do. So thank you to the following vets for their continued support:

• The A120 Medivets
• Stansted Abbots Medivets
• The Bishop's Stortford Veterinary Hospital 
• Mercer and Hughes

One of the many lovely paths
in Birchanger Woods

Plus:

• Elaine - for taking on our latest disabled hedgehog
• Monique - for stepping in to take hedgehogs when we couldn't
• Rob and Di, Maddi and Helen - for being fab fosterers
• Michelle, Jayne, Michelle, Anne and Phil - for taking on the care and release of our successes
• Pat from Mutts in Distress for your support and supply of towels.
• Karen for running a quiz night for us and raising a staggering amount!
• Pat (warden of Birchanger Woods) - for your continued care of our two disabled hedgehogs and  allowing us to use the woods as a release  site 

AND everyone who kindly and generously donated either much needed supplies or cash!

Stats - calls

The shed after its revamp

I never keep a log of the phone calls I take but I'm guessing it's in the low hundreds. However, I've taken more calls this year from outside the area we cover. For example I've spoken not only to those local to us but also people in Watford, Hatfield, Luton plus a few from the other side of London.

Stats - costs
Last year was an expensive year with our paid for outgoings of just over £1,600. This figure doesn't include the generous donations that were paid directly into our local vets to cover vet bills (this was a couple of hundred - so THANK YOU). However, it does include the purchase of a lovely new hutch and run and the revamp of the shed (both we were only able to do because of all those lovely people who came along to the quiz night organised by the even more lovely Karen). I've just completed the end of year books and we're in credit! It may be just under £10 but we've covered all our bills for 2017 - so I'm a very happy hog carer (because that doesn't happen often).        

Stats - Hedgehogs
Since keeping records (prior to the year 2000 I didn't bother) we've had 761 hedgehogs come to stay in the hedgehog shed. This year we took in and cared for 42 hedgehogs (I only count those who come into the shed, not those who sadly didn't make it to us because they died at the vets). Of those 42, 19 survived and 23 died. Unfortunately the high mortality rate this year was because of the salmonella outbreak. It was perhaps one of the hardest times I've had to go through with the hedgehogs.  

Came in around 75 grams each.
That's a 50p next to them!

Ending on a high
Although part of this year was the hardest it's always outweighed by the successes and without a doubt these six little bundles of cuteness were that success. Sadly their mother died but the person who found them acted quickly and got them to us whilst they were still in good health. It may have taken a lot of late nights and a lot of very early mornings but all six survived and were released in late summer. Their survival is also due to the  wonderful 'day care' service provided by everyone at the A120 Medivet. I wouldn't have been able to juggle caring for them and keeping down a day job without that support.

Your continued support
Just before Christmas I was informed by Waitrose in Bishop's Stortford that we're in their blue token charity pot for January. So if you shop in Waitrose or know someone who does please do pop that blue token in our slot.

Lastly THANK YOU for your support during 2017 - it is appreciated more than you'll ever know.

Hedgehog Heros

There are some vets who simply don't treat wildlife. There are some who would give a check over, find a major injury and would put to sleep. There are others who would Xray but upon seeing the injury in the Xray below would put to sleep. There are others who will offer to remove the leg but will expect to be compensated for their expertise. I understand this, they're a business. Then there are vets who go above and beyond. Lucky for this little hog (now known as Patricia) was taken to Cheshunt Medivets who as you can see are willing to do what ever it takes.

What follows are some amazing photographs of Patricia undergoing a long and tricky operation which was carried out by the brilliant Lindsay and Patricia.

Patricia is still in the care of Cheshunt Medivet. I've been told she's doing well and have been promised to be kept up-to-date with her progress. So fingers crossed she'll make a full recovery.

Please note: I've been given permission to share these photographs. The copyright remains with Cheshunt Medivets - so please respect their copyright and do not copy from this blog and use for your own purposes  However please feel free to share the link to this blog, so everyone can see just how fab the staff at Cheshunt Medivets are. 

May Update

After 2 hours cleaning

Well, firstly I'll start with the news that for the first time in at least six months HQ was a hog free zone for three whole days. Yes three days! So I took the chance and gave the shed a real deep clean, much to the annoyance of the spiders who had taken up residence over the winter.

Poitkey
I received this update from one of our fosterers (Elke) about our three legged hedgehog Poitkey (an African three-footed pot - named by Helen Pringle our fab vet at the A120 Medivet).

"Every evening between 9.15 and 9.20 pm Poitkey comes out from under the shed and walks straight to his feeding station, where he munches away at the cat food we have put out for him. He is eating with devotion and even switching the dining room light on, does not stop him from eating. All we generally can see is his pointy nose rummaging for the best morsels (chicken flavour is the best!) and sometimes I think he is even laughing at the cat who is looking on enviously. It takes  him about 5-7 minutes to eat about ½ of the food and he always leaves some for later. Once he has made an hedgehog-appropriate mess in the box and wiped off his feet on the newspaper at the exit, he is off back into the direction of the shed, either for a nap or perhaps even to go further afield?

Because he left us late last year in the autumn and he is walking with surprising agility, we first thought that a different hedgehog that had found his/her way into our garden. We tried to see how many legs it had at the April weigh-in, but he did not want to cooperate and had rolled himself into a protective, but grumpy prickly ball with only his nose sticking out. However he was a healthy 772g

We then went for the David Attenborough approach to sit behind dark windows [the hide] to see him coming to the feeding station. After various observations by two diligent observers, it was then confirmed that there was a left leg missing. So we concluded that it was Poitkey as there can’t be many of those where we live.

As we are not nocturnal we then have to go to bed and never see him return from his adventures, but every morning all the food has disappeared, so we conclude that his back under the shed dreaming happily. We feel envious that he seems to have such a good life, but the hostas and other plants, usually victims of various pests including slugs and snails, show not one slug nibble, so he repays his board and lodging with his scary presence and keen appetite.

Percy

As you can see poor Percy had a waist - not good for a hog

This poor chap came to us a few weeks ago via the Bishop's Stortford Veterinary Hospital.  Although almost 600 grams and no outward signs of illness or injury he was extremely thin. As you can see from the photograph he has a waist  not something a hog should have. He'd obviously had a very difficult winter (like many of the hedgehogs we are hearing about). He has been putting on a small amount of weight but he's still not quite right. So yesterday (17th May 2016) he was taken to see Helen who gave him a lungworm injection. He has another two to go and we find that by the second one they really do start to pick up. So once he's a little better he'll be going out to one of our short term carers.

Bones

Look at all that lovely body fat and those healthy bones

Bones came in to us late last year. He was thin and had an elastic band around his throat (if you ever see one of these or a hair band etc. on the ground please pick up, break and put into a bin). Thankfully it hadn't cut into his skin but it had been on there for quite some time. He was X-rayed and it was discovered he had very low bone density, probably he was not eating very well because it just so uncomfortable to do so. Although we tried to keep him awake he decided he was going to hibernate, so he spent a lovely winter snoozing with our longest serving volunteers Di and Rob. I'm glad to say that after a second X-ray yesterday (it was a very busy hoggie day) he was given the all clear and he has been returned to the wild. 

Mabel

Our latest resident was found out and about on the 17th May. She has been treated for fleas (no they don't all have fleas I promise you) and she is going to be observed over the next week. If all seems well she is going to stay with Di and Rob for a while and once she reaches 600 grams she'll be released into their garden. We'll then keep our fingers crossed she comes across the lovely Bones or one of the many other males who visit the garden and makes a new friend. 

Last but not least please remember it's baby season now so take care whilst gardening and if you don't already at least do so put out some clean water for them. However a little food is also always welcome. For advice on what to feed them just click on the 'feeding' button along the top.  

Hedgehogs in July

Feeding station, but they don't have to be this 'posh' 

This time of year can sometimes be very difficult for the hedgehogs especially if it is a hot month. 

The females that already have a family will have a cosy nest, but in hot weather and with 4-5 wriggling hoglets the nest can get very hot for her.  Sometimes she may even use another nest in the day and sleep apart from her growing family. 

In the hot weather the ground becomes harder and the moisture loving worms and other natural food will become more difficult to find.  Added to this her growing family will start to come out with her when she is foraging, so there are even more mouths to feed. 

Providing a dish of water and making a feeding station that cats cannot get into can be a great help for mothers and their growing family.  There are suggestions for feeding stations on the BHPS’s website but using a paving slab resting on some bricks (place the bricks on their sides) will protect the food from the weather, cats and even larger stronger visitors.  Leave a small gap (5” or 13cm square) between 2 of the bricks, so the hedgehogs can come and go, and place the food well back from that gap, so sneaky cats’ paws cannot reach in.  In really hot weather the food can go off and flies can be attracted to it so perhaps use some hedgehog biscuits or dried mealworms rather than tinned food.  However dry food will make them thirsty so an extra dish of water is essential. 

Also make sure your ponds are topped up so any animal that comes to drink from it can easily reach the water and will not topple in.  Hedgehogs are good swimmers but if the level of the water is low it may not be able to get out.  This also applies to ponds with overhangs and slippery sides.  A small section of plastic coated wire netting just going down the side of the pond can act as a scrambling net so the hedgehogs can climb out. 

If you find an abandoned hoglet or a sick or injured hedgehog contact us (details on our website) or the BritishHedgehog Preservation Society they can give general advice and perhaps details of a local hedgehog rehabilitator that you can contact (their telephone number is 01584 890801).

Birchanger Woods Helping Support Our Hedgehogs

A few years ago I was contacted by Pat the warden from the Birchanger Woods Trust. He and the other volunteers wanted to repopulate the woods with hedgehogs. Sadly they like many places have seen a once healthy hedgehog population crash. So they were offering the woods as a release site. Also even though they are a trust and totally run by volunteers and are self-funding they were also happy to donate money and time to achieve this. They have worked extremely hard and spent quite a lot of money to achieve something wonderful. We now have:

• A second shed for fattening hand-reared hoglets
• Two soft release runs 
• A purpose built escape proof area for a disabled hog
• Willing volunteers to help care for a disable hog and to assist in soft releases

Today I visited the woods and wanted to share what they've achieved with you in this post. 

Firstly we'd like to thank the family of Peter Gardner, who donated money to the trust in his memory and agreed to allow that money to be used towards the hedgehog shed. 

A front view of the shed with one of the small soft release runs. These have already been used to release 3 hogs into the woods. These we will continue to use for hoglets that have been hand-reared or hedgehogs who can be released but not to the area they were rescued from. A small door allows the resident to wander between the outside run and an inside sleeping and feeding area.     

Part of the fully escape proof area that will be the new home to a hedgehog that cannot be released back into the wild, typically this is because they have been left disabled. As you can see it has been left to become 'wild.' In the middle is a large log pile that hides a waterproof outside home. 

The area behind the log house and to the right of the shed. As you can see the vegetation is ideal for hogs to grub around in and under whilst they look for those juicy bugs they love. 

The door between the inside feeding/bed area into the escape proof area and as you can see even a little path has been provided.  

Last but not least any hogs that are released into the woods have this natural jewel to explore and make their home. 

As I've mentioned we've already used the soft release runs and for the first time in a long time Pat has seen hedgehog droppings in the woods. This is obviously wonderful news and something we can build on. Now all we need is some hedgehogs to release. 

If you'd like to visit Birchanger Woods please follow this link to download their brochure. 

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. 

Building the perfect pond

"Make a garden pond and you'll be astonished at the wildlife you encourage - from pond skaters and water boatman to dragonflies and damselflies, frogs, toads and newts."

Alan Titchmarsh

A few days ago I dropped in on one of our lovely fosterers to check on our latest disabled hedgehog (will be blogging about him soon). Whilst I was there I was shown the pond they are in the process of creating. The amazing thing is it's not even finished and a small frog has already moved in. I was so impressed with it that I wanted to share it with you.

So here are the highlights.

Firstly they've made it fairly deep and installed a fountain (the pipe work and cables are still to be sorted, so please ignore those). Now depth is important as dragonfly larva etc. need to be able tuck themselves away at the bottom, so they can survive the cold of our winters. The fountain will help introduce air into the water and stop it becoming stagnant.

Plants have been placed in the pond (you can't see them in my pictures but they are there), which will help attract wildlife and support it should it decide to move in. A pebble beach has been created to allow hedgehogs and other visitors to take a drink (very important during the hot summer months) and easily escape should they fall in.

A shallow waterfall has been designed to allow birds to enjoy a drink and should they wish a little bath as well. Last but not least fish will not be introduced, so this will become an oasis for all manner of insects.

I'm hoping by sharing this you've been inspired to make a little room for a pond. It'll give you hours and enjoyment and will help a huge list of wildlife.

And the IFAW Vet of The Year is .....

A few months ago I saw a form asking for nominations for the IFAW yearly awards. One of the categories was 'Vet of The Year.' I knew exactly who I wanted to nominate and so picked up the form, took it home, completed it and sent it off. I thought no more of it until I received a call from Helen (from the A120 Medivets) asking me if I wanted to join her at the IFAW awards ceremony.  

She'd won! Now I don't want to sound surprised because she really did deserve to win, but you never think that when you nominate someone they'll win. However I wanted to thank Helen for all the hard work she does for us and other local organisations, such as Mutts In Distress and nominating her was the best way I could think of doing it.

So there we were on Tuesday (22nd October) in the Houses of Parliament, holding a glass of wine and nibbling on the most delicious food, listening to Bill Oddie as he introduced the winners of each category. Needless to say we had a fab time and what follows are just a few images of our day.

Bill Oddie introducing the winners

Helen receiving her award - couldn't get a better view there were these official photographers in the way! 

Helen with her award

The view across the river taken from the House of Parliament 

P.S. My claim to fame - I've now heard Bill Oddie say Herts Hogline. He's very unlikely ever to remember that but I certainly will.  

Hedgehogs in October by Kay Bullen (British Hedgehog Preservation Society)

Some of the really large hedgehogs may go into hibernation this month but the smaller hedgehogs will still need to put on weight.  The colder weather makes some of the hedgehogs’ natural food become less active and eventually disappears, so putting out extra food for the hedgehogs can be a lifesaver.  It is not the cold that will kill these juveniles but the lack of food brought about by the cold, so even in really cold weather they will have to continue to forage.

Do take care when raking up leaves and tidying your garden.  Check there are no hedgehogs in pile of rubbish that you intend to bin or burn.  If you can perhaps leave a pile of leaves in a sheltered dry spot for a hedgehog to use.  Other creatures may also use it e.g. a toad perhaps.  The birds also like to turn the leaves over looking for worms and other invertebrates.  If you are clearing any drains of leaves try to find a cover for the drain to stop both leaves and hedgehogs from falling into that drain.  Make sure any netting from the Runner Beans, fruit trees etc. is stored away safely so hedgehogs cannot become tangled in it.  There can be so many dangers for hedgehogs in our gardens and if there is something to get caught up in then the hedgehog is sure to find it.  Have a look at our ”Gardening with Hedgehogs” leaflet on our web site.

People often say to me hedgehogs are full of fleas.  I have to say that when I started to rehabilitate hedgehogs over 20 years ago this was the case.  However this no longer seems to be the case.  Many of the hedgehogs taken in by rescue centres do not have fleas, some will of course, but a large proportion do not.  This is a worry because will the cause of the flea decline work its way up the chain and eventually affect hedgehogs.  If you want to find out more about hedgehogs visit the British Hedgehog Preservation Society’s web site at www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk  We have a leaflet called “Autumn Juveniles” that you may find of help and interest at this time of year.

If you find a hedgehog needing help or if you need more advice call the BHPS on 01584 890801 – it is better to be safe than sorry.