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 June

This really is the start of the hoglet season, many females will either be pregnant or have suckling youngsters. We even received a call yesterday (4th June) from a lady who needed advice about a sow who was having babies in her garden.

If you see a dead hedgehog, and it is safe to do so, have a look and a listen to check for any hoglets.  Over the next few days or even a week it is worth returning to the area to check for any orphans.  The hoglets make a distress call like a baby bird but it is very loud and at ground level.  If you have a placid dog let them join in the search on a lead and if you find one hoglet don’t rest on your laurels but search for more as there can be 4 – 5 in a litter.  Sometimes abandoned hoglets will be attacked by some of the larger birds so if you see birds, in the locality, getting excited and chattering see what has caught their interest.  Some years ago we had two small hoglets that were saved just in the nick of time, but not before a corvid had given both a very nasty peck. Cats are very inquisitive, so they may also be attracted to the hoglets, but are more likely just to observe, unless the hoglets are very small or perhaps injured.

If you have a hedgehog visitor that doesn't stay around it is probably a male.  At this time of year the males are more nomadic in their search for mates.  Females, however, have a small home patch.  This will be large enough to support her and her current family.  She will not be able to travel far as her hoglets will not leave the nest until they are around 4 weeks old.  At this age they will be able to follow her on her nightly forages.  When about 8 weeks old they will start to disperse. 

If you are lucky enough to have a female nesting in your garden don't be tempted to look into the nest as it may contain hoglets.  If a female is disturbed she may abandon her hoglets or in some cases they have been known to kill their young.  Be patient and perhaps you will be lucky enough to see a little line of hoglets following mum one evening.

If you find a hoglet or a sick or injured hedgehog either contact us (details on our website) or 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.   For more general information about hedgehogs and how to help them visit the BHPS website. 

P.S. Also please remember if you're cutting grass, digging out shrubs please check the area before you do anything just in case there is a nest or a hog hidden away sleeping. We've already had one strimmer victim this year, help us make it the last.    

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. 

A Call To All Gardeners - Check Before You Strim

Last weekend I took a call from a lovely lady in Sheering, who had noticed a hedgehog in her back garden. Although he (still calling a he because Sheering simply won't uncurl and let me take a peak to confirm) was only out during the night. However he was leaving little 'messages' that suggested he was unwell (unformed and green droppings). I suggested she catch her nightly visitor so he could be vet checked. A few days later she called and said she'd caught him and she dropped off. He was indeed unwell (intestinal worms and lung worms) plus full of fleas (a sure sign that an immune system is comprised). However what struck us more was the fact that this hedgehog was the victim of a careless gardener.

Sheering - a very lucky escape

However he is a very, very lucky hedgehog. If this careless gardener had decided to cut what ever they'd been cutting just 2mm (1/8") shorter then Sheering would have suffered what could have been a fatal wound. This type of wound:

• Can easily become infected without treatment 
• Leaves a hedgehog open to predators as they are unable to curl up
• May leave a hedgehog disabled 

As I've said thankfully Sheering was very lucky and should make a full recovery, we just have to wait for his spines for grow back. However this could have been avoided if said gardener had simply taken a few moments to check before cutting. 

So here is our call to action - help us save lives.

A call to action:

Please, please spread the message that before you cut or trim check for wildlife. Simply:

• Repost this far and wide 
• Talk to family and friends
• Have a chat with the council workers who are cutting grass

Together we can reduce the number of strimmer victims, all it takes is a few minutes.   

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.