HEDGEHOGS

Hedgehogs are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside act of 1996.
You can be fined £5000 or 6 months in prison for disturbing or harming them.

 GARDEN HAZARDS

  • Always check for hedgehogs before lighting fires. 

  • Take care with strimmers around the bottom of hedges.

  • String and cotton cause deaths, use thick wire instead.

  • Netting causes injuries, please use safe rigid netting as marketed by Netlon.

  • Never use chemicals and pesticides, however innocuous they may seem, they will upset the natural balance.

  • Never use slug pellets, they can kill birds as well as hedgehogs.
    Repel slugs with a mulch of coconut shells, coarse sand and ash, broken eggshells, or use a safe slug pub from BHPS 01584 890 801
    Not all slugs are pests; most species prefer dead and dying plants.
    Slugs brake down cell structures, and return nutrients and minerals when they defecate.
    Slugs also play a vital role in the food chain; bird's, frogs, newts and hedgehogs eat slugs.

  • Ponds - hedgehogs need a graduated edge or ramp. They can swim, but cannot get out of ponds without help, and will drown.

Leave a corner of your garden wild. Birds, butterflies, hedgehogs and insects need your help.

If you see a hedgehog in daylight, it will need help
Contact: Hedgehog Care Line 01507 450221.

 NATURAL DIET

Slugs, caterpillars, beetles, ants, snails, worms, young mice, & windfall fruit.

When natural food is in short supply, feed them on Spikes hedgehog food, raw hen eggs in their shells, mealworms, cat or dog food.
NOT FISH VARIETIES.
Chicken based is the best mix in SA-37.

Make sure a saucer of water is always available.

NEVER:

  • MILK OR BREAD IT CAN KILL HEDGEHOGS

  • PORK OR SALTY FOODS

  • KITCHEN WASTE

  • USE CAT OR DOG TREATMENTS ON HEDGEHOGS

HEDGEHOGS BREEDING

 Loud snuffling noises in the night, from April to August, will be the sounds of mating.

The male circles the female sometimes for hours, to persuade her to mate.
When they separate the male plays no part in rearing the family.

The young are blind until they are 2 weeks old; mum suckles them until they can hunt entirely for themselves.  After about 4 weeks, she takes the young out on their first foraging trip.  The family separates about 10 days later.

 HEDGEHOG YEAR

January, February - Hibernating

March - As the weather warms up they will start to wake up, and come out to look for food.

April - They start mating and eating like crazy

May - If it was a warm April, by the end of May the young will be born (about 4-5 sometimes up to 7 if the hedgehog is well fed)

June/July - The young will start coming out of their nests.

August - The young will be going it alone.

September - They start to build up fat reserves to last the winter.

October - The winter nests are built.

November - As the weather cools hibernation begins.

December - Hibernating

They need to weigh at least 600g before hibernating.


Recommended reading:

The Natural Hedgehog - Lenni Sykes (Gaia Books Ltd.)

 CARE OF A SICK HEDGEHOG
If a hedgehog is found in the daylight, then it will need help.  Staggering and poor muscle co-ordination may mean an internal injury.

Wounds will need urgent expert help. Get it to a vet or hedgehog carer.  Place it gently into a snug box on a warm cloth.  A hot water bottle can be wrapped in a towel and placed at one side of the box so the hedgehog can feel the warmth, but is not on direct heat.  It is essential to keep it warm.

Check for fly eggs (clusters of tiny white specks)
Check for maggots in the ears, mouth, anus, armpits and fur.

This means it is seriously ill, and needs urgent attention.
Remove them all very carefully with tweezers.

 NEVER USE CAT/DOG TREATMENTS ON HEDGEHOGS.

  • If fleas are present, use Johnson's rid-mite powder.

  • Bathe open wounds with a solution of Savlon diluted in warm water and seek help as soon as possible.

  • If the hedgehog coughs or wheezes take it to a carer or vet.

  • To remove ticks paint them with olive oil or Vaseline, and they will eventually drop off.
    DO NOT TRY TO PULL THEM OFF, YOU MIGHT LEAVE THE HEAD AND MOUTH 
    PARTS EMBEDDED IN THE FLESH, WHICH WILL THEN TURN SEPTIC.

  • Hedgehogs when ill or stressed can show signs of hyperactivity.
    Do not think it is well because they try to climb out of the box.

Even if it has eaten well, please do not release it until a carer as checked it over. 

 WHEN THEY ARE VERY SICK THEY CANNOT CURL INTO A BALL.  GET IT WARM, KEEP IT WARM AND GET IT TO A VET OR CARER.

 To find a carer in your local area contact.
THE BRITISH HEDGEHOG PRESERVATION SOCIETY.
 TEL 01584 890 801

VOLUNTARY RESCUE CENTRE FOR BIRDS & WILDLIFE
141 WOODSEATS ROAD
SHEFFIELD
TEL 01142 55 78 24
MOBILE 07860 808179
EMAIL voluntaryrescue@yahoo.co.uk

Cheques payable to -  Midgely Bird Rescue

Website created by Tina Bell
as part of the Sheffield Community Information project