Hedgehog & Dogs
Discussion
Earlier in the week the dogs were getting very "hunty" in the garden so I went out to investigate and found a large-ish hedgehog. Our garden is fully fenced (for the dogs) but there are small gaps here & there underneath so I guess it came in through there.
We popped it back under the fence and put a couple of bricks by the gap, but tonight the dogs indicated something was up again and sure enough, there (s)he was....or something looking a lot like the last one.
We were all for putting it into a local field a few hundred yards away but then read on line that you shouldn't relocate a hog, it will have trouble finding water, possibly food, and of course it may have a nest nearby. They recommend training and/or muzzling your dog. The dogs aren't going to give up a few million years of hunting instinct, and I really cannot be muzzling them every time they need a pee in the evening.
So, what to do? I know a fox can take a hog, so whilst this one is good at balling itself up and going all prickly, I don't know that it would come off best if one of the dogs decided to have a go. The more hunty of the two has already tried pawing it.
Humane suggestions which don't put us or the dogs out please!
We popped it back under the fence and put a couple of bricks by the gap, but tonight the dogs indicated something was up again and sure enough, there (s)he was....or something looking a lot like the last one.
We were all for putting it into a local field a few hundred yards away but then read on line that you shouldn't relocate a hog, it will have trouble finding water, possibly food, and of course it may have a nest nearby. They recommend training and/or muzzling your dog. The dogs aren't going to give up a few million years of hunting instinct, and I really cannot be muzzling them every time they need a pee in the evening.
So, what to do? I know a fox can take a hog, so whilst this one is good at balling itself up and going all prickly, I don't know that it would come off best if one of the dogs decided to have a go. The more hunty of the two has already tried pawing it.
Humane suggestions which don't put us or the dogs out please!
Well, whilst I'm not about to be calling baby kestrels down from the garage roof, Hedgehog-gate has taken a novel twist this evening.
We had some compost bags piled up under a small bush/tree (I think it's some sort of acer - keen gardeners we are not!) and the route to the bags was blocked by a V8 engine and gearbox on a skate (well this IS PH
). So I decided to move the engine and have a tidy up under the tree.
Picked up a couple of the bags, then another, and was confronted with this:
The observant will note that there are at least three separate sets of spines in the picture. Yes, we have hoglets. I've seen two, there may be another under mum.
To think that last week we put her under the fence and tried to keep her out (for her own good), and last night we were about to relocate her properly until I read not to on the internet.
Have spoken to a hedgehog rescue and asked advice, they reckon the hoglets are about 2 weeks old (not pink anymore, got spines, but still blind). It's not good to disturb a nest (albeit I didn't know it was there) and apparently can scare Mum off. However given the trials Mum has been through already, she probably won't abandon them now but may move them herself. So we're on hoglet watch, apparently if Mum goes and leaves them they will start crying out by tomorrow afternoon, and if that happens we'll pop them over to the rescue.
I've used a combination of garden furniture and boards to fence off the area from the dogs, minus a small gap for her to get in & out, and we'll monitor. Hopefully it will all play out OK. I'd really rather she moved house, just for her & the little 'uns sake. Whilst Mum is quite big and the dogs have been inquisitive but no more, if the hoglets start running around the lawn we'll have a whole new challenge on our hands.
We had some compost bags piled up under a small bush/tree (I think it's some sort of acer - keen gardeners we are not!) and the route to the bags was blocked by a V8 engine and gearbox on a skate (well this IS PH
). So I decided to move the engine and have a tidy up under the tree.Picked up a couple of the bags, then another, and was confronted with this:
The observant will note that there are at least three separate sets of spines in the picture. Yes, we have hoglets. I've seen two, there may be another under mum.
To think that last week we put her under the fence and tried to keep her out (for her own good), and last night we were about to relocate her properly until I read not to on the internet.
Have spoken to a hedgehog rescue and asked advice, they reckon the hoglets are about 2 weeks old (not pink anymore, got spines, but still blind). It's not good to disturb a nest (albeit I didn't know it was there) and apparently can scare Mum off. However given the trials Mum has been through already, she probably won't abandon them now but may move them herself. So we're on hoglet watch, apparently if Mum goes and leaves them they will start crying out by tomorrow afternoon, and if that happens we'll pop them over to the rescue.
I've used a combination of garden furniture and boards to fence off the area from the dogs, minus a small gap for her to get in & out, and we'll monitor. Hopefully it will all play out OK. I'd really rather she moved house, just for her & the little 'uns sake. Whilst Mum is quite big and the dogs have been inquisitive but no more, if the hoglets start running around the lawn we'll have a whole new challenge on our hands.
All kinda went wrong in the end. Us having completely unwittingly disturbed the nest, the mother hung around for about 18 hours, so we thought she was staying but then she shipped out leaving two very small hoglets squeaking and crying.
We knew of a wildlife rescue place, chap who rescues all sorts and has been for years so he agreed to take them on as he already had a few baby hogs there so he could nest and feed them all together. He's confident they'll pull through and he'll release them when they're ready.
Shame but on the other hand it would have been difficult to manage the dogs if small ones were tootling around the garden so in the end it may be the best outcome for them albeit via a somewhat rocky route.
Here they are shortly after we handed them over to him:
We knew of a wildlife rescue place, chap who rescues all sorts and has been for years so he agreed to take them on as he already had a few baby hogs there so he could nest and feed them all together. He's confident they'll pull through and he'll release them when they're ready.
Shame but on the other hand it would have been difficult to manage the dogs if small ones were tootling around the garden so in the end it may be the best outcome for them albeit via a somewhat rocky route.
Here they are shortly after we handed them over to him:
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