The Happy Hedgehog Rescue Yateley

Had a hog in recently from a vets. Been amputated beautifully but hog not doing so well. You guessed it - a high worm count and pneumonia to boot. Hog very poorly but now with right meds doing well and moved out of incubator and shouake it. Makes me really happy!!!

fingers are crossed for this hoggie

Fingers crossed so many poorly wildes

I am sooo excited. Its late but just been out in the garden and there was a big cufufle in the run with the 3 big naughty fatties that havent hibernated. Thought it was odd as they have been so well behaved all winter, so i snuck a peek round the other side of the run and lo and behold there was a hog trying to get into the run to kiss the female. Checked hog out briefly in hogspital and he was a wapping 1047g post hibetnation and in fine fettle. A most impressive hog indeed! He was ear tagged as well and he originally was brought to me by Raven Haven, a bird rescue in Crowthorne. I dont like releasing hogs in my garden so im wondering if he was a sneaky escapee. Will have to hunt out paperwork to satisfy my curiosity. Stuck hog in feeding station with a big bowl of cat biscuits and live mealworms( not that he needs it lol! ). I love getting reports that ex patients are doing, it vindicates what i,m doing is right.

Wonderful news Helen

I am sooo excited. Its late but just been out in the garden and there was a big cufufle in the run with the 3 big naughty fatties that havent hibernated. Thought it was odd as they have been so well behaved all winter, so i snuck a peek round the other side of the run and lo and behold there was a hog trying to get into the run to kiss the female. Checked hog out briefly in hogspital and he was a wapping 1047g post hibetnation and in fine fettle. A most impressive hog indeed! He was ear tagged as well and he originally was brought to me by Raven Haven, a bird rescue in Crowthorne. I dont like releasing hogs in my garden so im wondering if he was a sneaky escapee. Will have to hunt out paperwork to satisfy my curiosity. Stuck hog in feeding station with a big bowl of cat biscuits and live mealworms( not that he needs it lol! ). I love getting reports that ex patients are doing, it vindicates what i,m doing is right.

3 fat hedgehogs put in a run today and they are now enjoying their first taste of fresh air. Have sprinkled live mealworms( sorry worms) into the run so they can practise foraging for live food. Will pop out later and see how they are doing. I love to see their faces and antics and reaction to a more normal environment. They have to tick all the boxes before release. Still lots asleep in garden much to my dismay

Had yet another call yesterday about someone wanting to rehome an african pygmy hedgehog. These are becoming a big problem for wildlife rescues and within a year people realise that they are not suitable pets. I LOVE hedgehogs but would never recommend these as a pet. This lady was really nice and was doing the right thing for the hog but as she was in Northern Ireland i have passed her numbers that could help.

Rats - a few calls about rats this week. I have nothing against them and they make really good pets but a couple of people have seen them in thier gardens and are worried about feeding the hedgehogs. My first question is do you feed the birds and the answer is yes. One lady called an organic pest control for advice. She cleared the garden of any food and within a day no sign. I have advised her to still feed the birds but buy or make trays to catch the dropped food and clear away debris every day. Still feed the hogs but short term feed them where you can see them and remove the food when you go to bed. They should go and then you can feed as normal. Composters are one of the best homes for rats so they must be underwired with weldmesh if problematic.

The key is - always monitor what you feed daily.

Folding tables- does anyone have any unwanted folding tables i can use for fayres etc. I have bought a bigger gazebo so need more tables. Pasting tables are fine but need to be in good condition. Cant have them collapsing lol! Health and safety!!!!

Strimmers. The sun is out and we will all be out the garden enjoying the weather- at last! PLEASE be careful when cutting the long grass as hedgehogs as well as many other animals may be in the grass. Strimmers cause horrific injuries!!! Hedgehogs may also be asleep in composters so be careful if turning them with a fork!!!

Hedgehog awareness week is May 5th - 11th. If you can support the Happy Hedgehog then it would be really appreciated. If anyone can hold a coffee morning, raffle - anything really that would be great. Call me 01252 871478.

As a part of Hedgehog week I will be taking part int the following events - Please do come along and support us and introduce yourself, it's great to put a face to a name.

Saturday 4th May - Surrey Heath Show at Frimley Lodge. The RHS have kindly asked us again to share their tent, so we will be found in the massive refreshment tent. I have bought hedgehog balloons to fly high outside the tent, so no excuses lol!

Monday 6th May - Yateley May Fayre - on the green by the town council offices. I have bought a large red tent and again the balloons will be flying high( if they last)

Don't be shy, come visit - lots of goodies for all !!!

Came accross a wildie in the garden last night. It was little grace who has overwintered well at 640g. She was trying to get into a run,presumably for food so plonked her in a feeding station where she munched away for a while. Nice to see them come back!

good updates x

Little wildie was back last night. Same place, trying to get into run.she, s keen lol. It,s normally the males trying to gatecrash the runs lol

In amongst the chaos of today a neighbours daughter called me to say they had found 2 hogs in their garden - it was daylight so i cut my call to the vets short and rushed off. They had removed a log pile and the 2 hogs were homeless. they have a massive 170ft garden and yet it is bare, no where for anything to live in. Both hogs were ear tagged and one was little grace( who is actually a boy lol!). I carried both good looking and healthy hogs back to my garden and placed them in a hog box. They will probably wander off but at least they have food and shelter for one night!! Wish they would stay and be safe sigh!!!!! never work with kids or animals.

Hopefully lots more hogs going home this weekend back to their finders. The finders realised they were in trouble and bothered to do something so i work really hard at encouraging them to take their hogs back. The finders have to have a hedgehog box, nesting material and promise to feed for a week and hopefully longterm. I get great post release reports of hogs doing well, including amputees. I encourage the finders to have a coffee morning or a release party. This is where the hog is briefly shown to interested parties whilst being placed into its home. Once neighbours come face to face with the animal they will relate to it more and are much more likely to take care when gardening and less likely to use slug pellets etc. Many people now have neighbours on board and every wildlife and hogified garden means a better and hopefully longer life for the animal and a great Hedgehog Street. This is a slower and more complicated process but i feel well worth it educationally. Its just about manageable with the numbers i take in.

Question:

One thing became clear after the Surrey Heath show was the amount of poeple approaching me that didn't have hedgehogs in the Frimley Green area. I spoke to the Greenspace parks guy and he said the same. Now some hogs are Tanks and make an awful racket whilst others are stealth machines!! Can anyone in the Frimley Green area post and let me know if they currently have hogs ( or recently have had them) and i can get a better picture of what's happening there. It would be really sad to think that on our patch there was a hedgehog extinction area. Please post away!!

Non stop cleaning and moving around of hogs this weekend. Several went home and more going tomorrow. One hog was very special as she really shouldn't have made it but did - Maddy the Miracle hog. Her finders know how special she is and will give her the best chance possible. Wish i could wrap them all up in cotton wool but they are happiest when charging around in the dark in the wild.

Had a fab surprise in the garden last night, massive hog who took one look at me and ran for his life, but the real surprise was tag 56 little catherine revells hog. Another one that has overwintered really well and choosen to come back and visit me- very exciting. The truth is shes coming for the food really. Supplementary feeding of hedhehogs is very important now with the continual loss of habitat and too tidy and isolated gardens. If you have hogs in your garden please do post your stories here.

aww lovely that she came back .. haven't seen lucky Ludo this year .x

Front light has just gone on. Had a peek thinking it was Mr fox, but no,it was a 600g ish hog bombing along on a mission. I wonder if it was the same one as last night i spied from the hogspital about the same time. Its been a long winter and i,m really glad the are back.

2 hogs and 1in again lol. A nicely shaped female, lungs are congested. She needs meds but need poo sample first and check if shes pregnant.

9.30 shadow by back gate, thought it was cat by pop hole but pophole was open so couldn, t understand why cat wasn,t coming in. Wasn,t cat but a fat hog. Cat was 2 feet away from gate waiting for hog to go through lol!

Sat in garden, lovely night. Think i,m probably more hog than human. New girlie hog in not eaten, a tidy weight but hopefully meds will kick in and help her breathing and then she can eat. A couple of hogs under strict obs but overall all doing well.
Ssssh, hog emerging from border- live action as i type. Hunting for worms in the grass-NO, eat the mealworms in the feeding station Sigh, she,s heard me and is munching away.