Hedgehog!

[Nicos]

Please do your bit ...feeding...places to hibernate...checking bonfires (espesh on your plots) before lighting...maybe even volunteering to help out at a rescue centre?
And especially looking out for any out during the day. If you see one during full daylight hours it needs rescuing!
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-...shire-50289433

[mrbadexample]

I'd love to have a hedgehog in the garden. I've been looking at hedgehog shelters, and they all seem to be broadly similar - a short tunnel and a living space.

I had a big old lump of tree stump that was ultimately destined to be firewood, but I always like to see if I can find a use for things before they get burnt. So I made this:



First question - do you think this is big enough? I plan to lay a brick base to site it on to keep it out of the wet, and a layer of straw on top of that.

Anything else I should be doing with this?

[Can the Man]

Looks brilliant mrbadexample well done.

[Nicos]

Wow! That looks fantastic!
I seem to recall you need to make it so a fox can't tip it over but also so they can't reach inside ...so perhaps a right angled tunnel as an approach might make it safer?

[Jungle Jane]

You need to change your name to Mr good a load of leaves inside might make it attractive,like a compost heap where they can hide/camouflage,also site the entrance facing a fence so they feel safer going in & out. A little pet saucer of water nearby. Last summer I was doing a slug hunt in the dark,my cat was next to me & I heard a noisy rustling near my shrub & I thought that’s not my cat it must be a mad man,I shone the torch & it was the hedgehog. The smell of fresh fence paint etc can make them come out to a different area,having a couple of bushy shrubs for them to hide in will help.

[mrbadexample]

Wow! That looks fantastic!
I seem to recall you need to make it so a fox can't tip it over but also so they can't reach inside ...so perhaps a right angled tunnel as an approach might make it safer?

Can't change it now!

I've spent some further time tidying up the inside, and making the back chamber as large as I can. I've left about an inch of timber at the narrowest parts. It probably doesn't look much different but here's the tidy version:



I am never doing this again*. I'm absolutely cream-crackered.


*We'll see.

[mrbadexample]

I did wonder about a fox shoving its nose in. It certainly won't be able to tip it over.

It's going to become part of a new logpile by the pond. At the moment I've laid a base of bricks, used about 1" of the sawdust sweepings on top of the bricks, then shoved a couple of handfuls of straw inside.

I'll cover it with more logs later.

[Nicos]

Have to say that it looks fantastic!
Well done!

[Snoop Puss]

Wowee! That looks amazing, Mr B.

Nicos, what happened to your little hedgehoglets?

[Nicos]

^^^Both slow released well before winter set in and at good weights too
Roitelet took one to release near her and we released the others here.
Feels good to have helped them survive!

[roitelet]

Don't know if it was one of your babies Nicos but we have had Hedgehog activity, round the cat food that I leave outside, when the weather is mild.

[Snoop Puss]

Well done, you guys. I'd love a hedgehog...

[Mr Bones]

Nice job Mr BE

[mrbadexample]

Think this looks ok. I'll keep throwing more leaves on it as and when I get them.

[smallblueplanet]

I did wonder about a fox shoving its nose in. It certainly won't be able to tip it over.

It's going to become part of a new logpile by the pond. At the moment I've laid a base of bricks, used about 1" of the sawdust sweepings on top of the bricks, then shoved a couple of handfuls of straw inside.

I'll cover it with more logs later.

I suppose this is a bit obvious, but is there a way for hedgehogs to get into your garden? Have you seen signs, we occasionally spot hedgehog poo around our garden (but we are rural).