Hedgehog Day

[Eileen]

This morning I found a small hedgehog jist outside my garden gate, poor thing was covered in horrible ticks, and thought it strange it wandering around in daylight. I then spent the next 2 hours on the net and ringing round trying to get advice i ended up talking to someone in surrey, during this time my husband carefully removed about 40 nasties. Early this afternoon a lady rang and told me about the Northumbrian Hegehog Rescue Trust at Longframlington, I rang and spoke to a lovely lady called Carol who runs the trust from her garage, she gave us good advice then later this afternoon went to see her. She reckoned our little hedgehog was about six weeks old, she gave her antibiotics (Its a girl Daisy) and said she would look after her. Sadly shes been inundated with baby hedgehogs lately, no one knows why but a lot of mothers are dieing. There were 30 million hedgehogs in the 1950s and now they reckon an estimate of half a million. We can all help just by making our gardens hedgehog friendly by providing water (not milk), make sure ponds have an escape route, use organic slug pellets, provide shelter e.g. upturned box with food and water inside and a 13cm hole in the side. Dog or cat food is ideal but without fish. Carols thin ks Daisy may have brothers and sisters, so if anyone sees a strange woman wandering round with a torch its probably me.

[Symptoms]

Don't forget to create hedgehog highways at garden boundaries. Whilst the Tiggywinkles are decent climbers they can't get over fence panels, thick hedging or similar barriers so create a series of tunnels on all aspects of the garden so they can get through to feast on your slugs. I've used loads of 6" & 8" plakka plantpots lying on edge and jammed through the bases of all the hedging to create the tunnels and once the undergrowth has covered the pots you don't see them ... I had to use this method as I've got half-a-dozen free-range chucks and a woof wandering the garden so I lined the base of all the hedging with wire mesh (chicken wire) to prevent escapes; obviously the mesh stopped the hedgehogs so the tunnels are helpful to them.

[Eileen]

thats an excellent idea, il try that, thank you.

[mercuryg]

Eileen,

I took a baby to Carol a few years ago. A lovely woman, dedicated to hedgehogs and financed by herself and donations. Her garage was full of them when I was there! Hedgehogs should not be out in daylight, so if you do see one there's something wrong.

[Symptoms]

Tiggy-Winkles has been voted the natural emblem of Britain after a survey in The BBC Wildlife magazine. I'm sure that our very own prickly character, GGG, will brand the survey as a typical BBC plot orchestrated by the Notting Hill Guardian readers. www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jul/31/hedgehog-uk-natural-emblem

[Keith Scantlebury]

..... wonder if she could do anything with my driving licence, it's got more points than a hedgehog