I Think We Have a Hedgehog

About a week ago I noticed some tar black poo in the front garden. I wasn't sure what it was, as it didn't look like anything I had seen before, it wasn't cat, fox, or rabbit. So after a bit of trawl of the internet, I have come to the conclusion we have a visiting hedgehog.

Hedgehog Poo

I'm so excited, we have been trying to make the garden very wildlife friendly, and we have a hedgehog house down the side of the house, which I didn't think had actually been used yet. This past week I have found more of the poo in the garden, so it's definitely stuck around, and keeps coming back. We don't use any pesticides, and I don't use slug pellets in the front garden, so a hedgehog will be a welcome addition.

Apparently hedgehogs are on the endangered list for the UK, and most places I found advised supplementing their natural food to help them survive. So while they seem to have been attracted to our garden for the insects to eat for their tea, we have decided to put out some additional food for them, to give them a helping hand.

We have brought a special hedgehog food, made by Chapelwood. It contains a mixture of ingredients, including, meat biscuit, kibbled peanuts, raisins, sultanas, papaya, pineapple, and rowan berries. This was the only variety of hedgehog food sold locally, so we thought we would try it and see if it gets eaten. We decided against putting out cat food, as we have lots of cats in the neighbourhood, who I'm sure would get there first. We know bread and milk is not recommended any more as it's not good for their stomachs. So felt a special hedgehog food was the best option.

So tonight, at dusk (the time they are most likely to visit apparently), we will be putting out a saucer of hedgehog food and a saucer of water. The water is important especially because of the dried biscuits. Then we will be watching eagerly to see if the hedgehog pays us a visit. I have been looking out for it other nights this week, but have failed to see it yet. I'm hoping having the saucers to watch, and a specific feeding place will make it easier to spot. If I'm really lucky we will have more than one, or is that being greedy?

I've given it a name, Tiddlywinks, and we've become attached to it already, even thought we haven't even see it yet! The children are very excited too, particularly the one that helped build the hedgehog house, who really loves animals and all things wildlife.

So have any of you got hedgehogs in the garden? Do you feed or not? If you do feed what have you found most favoured?