Content
- Tips for the hedgehog-friendly garden
- Clues for hedgehogs in the garden
- Hedgehog - good or bad for the garden?
- background
- Function of the spines
- Settling spiny beneficials - that's how it works
- Tips
- Courting wanted - catch prohibited
- foray
- Attention fleas!
- Feeding hedgehogs properly - tips for the menu
- Hedgehog found - what to do?
- Maintain found hedgehogs - that's how it works
- Reheat supercooled hedgehogs
- frequently asked Questions
- The whole family is sad because we found a dead hedgehog in the garden. How to dispose of a dead hedgehog?
- How do hedgehogs spend the winter in the garden?
- How long do hedgehogs stay in the garden?
- How do I know if a hedgehog is sleeping in the garden or has died?
- Tips
If a hedgehog is found in the garden, it can be made available in the feed
Tips for the hedgehog-friendly garden
Hedgehogs are welcome guests in the garden. Why this is so and how you make your green realm inviting for the cute barbed animals, explains this guide in detail. Proven tips bring to the point how hedgehogs help you properly in emergency situations.
Clues for hedgehogs in the garden
In the fall, nocturnal hedgehogs venture out of cover for a short time even during the day. Now the animal calendar is full of important preparations for the winter. Fat reserves are to be fed and a cuddly hibernation lodging is not ready for overnight. In this season, there are best chances to watch the cute spiny bear live in the garden during the day.
For the remainder of the year, gardeners rely on the following evidence to determine if the demanding beneficials reward all efforts for a natural garden with their hoped-for presence.
In order to gain final certainty about the presence of hedgehogs in the garden, inquisitive gardeners become hobby trackers. Hedgehog feet leave unmistakable tracks on damp soil or in the snow. At the front and hind feet, the sole runners each have 5 toes, whereby the innermost toe, as a thumbprint, is not always easy to recognize. One foot is about 28mm wide and 25mm long. The picture below shows typical hedgehog traces.
Hedgehog - good or bad for the garden?
When hedgehogs are found in the garden, their presence causes inexperienced gardeners a headache. The question is whether hedgehogs have a positive or negative influence on the cultivation of ornamental and crop plants. The focus is on the fear of damage, especially with regard to numerous holes in beds and lawn. At this point we can give the all-clear. That's why hedgehogs are a blessing for every garden:
A look at their diet shows that hedgehogs are not vegetarians. Fruits, vegetables or flowers do not eat the lovable gardeners. If a hedgehog devotes himself to the fall, he has targeted the larvae and caterpillars inside.
background
Function of the spines
Spines act as a defensive weapon. For the characteristic 'Einigeln', a hedgehog has an average of 8,000 pointed, black-white spines. If threatened by predators such as dog, cat, marten or fox, the beleaguered hedgehog rolls into a spiked bullet. For the aggresive snouts of the aggressors, this clever defense strategy is reason enough to seek the widest possible way as quickly as possible.Settling spiny beneficials - that's how it works
The fundamental importance of hedgehogs in the garden, coupled with their irresistible charm, arouses in the gardener the desire to settle the spiny beneficials. So that the shy revelers feel well cared for, it depends on important criteria of natural garden design, which perfectly simulate the natural habitat of native mammals.
Hedgehogs prefer to roam through slightly overgrown, richly structured green spaces such as orchards, cemeteries and home gardens in search of safe retreats. They feel at home wherever there is a rich supply of food as well as a refuge for the rearing of the young and an undisturbed hibernation. What belongs in a hedgehog-friendly garden and what does not, summarizes the following table:
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The more natural food sources a garden has to offer, the faster hedgehogs settle in it. Where insects, larvae, earwigs frolick in droves, the courtship animals are not far away.
Tips
As a prologue to the hedgehog-friendly garden, we recommend creating a hedgehog pile for hedgehogs. On a floor area of 2 m x 2 m, you will be setting up branches or split woods in such a way that a cavity of 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm will be created. This cavity is covered with a large amount of autumn leaves and fixed with needle prickles or pine fronds.
Courting wanted - catch prohibited
Please do not be tempted to capture and breed hedgehogs to keep beneficials in the garden in the face of beneficial benefits. Hedgehogs are subject to the Nature Conservation Act as a threatened species. It is strictly forbidden to disturb or even capture the industrious insectivores. However, there is nothing against it, with a hedgehog-friendly garden design to advertise their visit.
foray
Attention fleas!
Hedgehogs have fleas in their luggage. Not only moles, birds or mice carry fleas around as stowaways. Hedgehogs are also among the main hosts of annoying pests. To prevent fleas from spreading through hedgehogs in the garden, you should thoroughly clean a hedgehog house at least twice a year: in spring, when hedgehogs have left their winter quarters, and in autumn when the hedgehog nursery has been disbanded and winter is not far off. As a precaution, do not dispose of the nesting material on the compost but in the dustbin.Feeding hedgehogs properly - tips for the menu
In spring and summer, nature has set the table rich for hungry hedgehogs. Lush plant growth is accompanied by myriads of insects and worms, which the insectivores greatly appreciate. Feeding during the growing season is redundant, harmful and counterproductive. This does not apply to acute emergency situations in early spring or late autumn after an unforeseen onset of winter. Help emaciated hedgehogs by setting up feeders in the garden. The following table shows which food is suitable for small hedgehog stomachs and what has nothing to look for on the plate:
As long as there is a need for food in the wild, provide the recommended feed. Little hedgehog hearts beat faster if you combine the different ingredients tasty together. High on the list is the spiky gourmets a combination of 100 grams of cat food, 2 tablespoons oatmeal or hedgehog dry food and 1 tablespoon of scrambled eggs, prepared with a little sunflower oil.
Please offer the food on a flat plate or saucer. Choose the location so that the feeding site is protected from other animals. Do not forget to give water to the hungry guests. To do this, add a shallow bowl of fresh water, which you can change daily. On this occasion, the entire feeding area is thoroughly cleaned for protection against mold, rot and parasites.
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Hedgehog found - what to do?
At first, the joy is great when a hedgehog is found on the way or at home in the garden. Enthusiasm for the unexpected meeting is soon accompanied by uncertainty: Is the hedgehog in distress? Is he okay or does he need my help? Not all found hedgehogs are dependent on human support. Unique features indicate when you should really help a hedgehog. The following information gives a brief and concise idea how to recognize needy hedgehogs:
Do you suspect that it is a sick or injured hedgehog? Then gently pick up the animal with a cloth or gloves and turn it over on the back. If the hedgehog does not roll up immediately to the ball and feels the belly much colder than your hand, he misses something. There is an urgent need for action. This is how you proceed correctly:
If the veterinary practice currently has no office hours, please contact a hedgehog nursing station.
Maintain found hedgehogs - that's how it works
It may be necessary to have a found hedgehog overnight. As a transitional quarter you pad out the largest possible cardboard box with newspaper. A smaller box acts as a nest. Well suited as nesting material is torn kitchen or newspaper. Cut a hole in each box as an input and output. Both boxes should ideally be placed in the bathtub. Finally, fill two flat bowls with fresh water (no milk) and cat food.
You can use the provided food to assess if it is a sick or hungry hedgehog. A sick animal does not touch the food. A 500 gram lighter, young, small hedgehog will kill around 150 grams of wet food within one day. An adult hedgehog weighing about 1000 grams has plastered 200 grams of wet food until the next day.
This information is useful for veterinarians or staff of a hedgehog nursing station for the knowledgeable care of the spiny foundling.
If the hedgehog eats enough, that is usually a sign that he is healthy
Reheat supercooled hedgehogs
Findings in winter and a noticeably cold hedgehog belly indicate a hypothermia. Before you devote yourself to other relief efforts, the animal must be warmed up urgently. Put lukewarm water in a hot water bottle. Then lay the hedgehog and allow it a lot of rest.
Quote: An injured and sick hedgehog is immediately in the care of a veterinarian.
frequently asked Questions
The whole family is sad because we found a dead hedgehog in the garden. How to dispose of a dead hedgehog?
Hedgehogs belong to the small animals and may be buried in the garden without special permission. Alternatively, you can drop off the carcass at the Regional Animal Disposal Center. Little pietätvoll, but allowed is the disposal in the bio waste bin. Please note in this context that the disposal of dead animals in residual waste is punishable as a misdemeanor with a fine.
How do hedgehogs spend the winter in the garden?
In order for hedgehogs to survive the lack of food during the winter, they fall into hibernation from November to April. As winter quarters, the mammals in the late autumn seek a safe shelter and build it out to the temperature-insulated, well-padded nest. However, many hedgehogs are plagued by housing shortages before the winter, because their natural habitats are shrinking and igel-friendly gardens are in short supply. They can help the hard-pressed beneficials by creating deciduous and woody piles as retreats in the garden. A premium solution for the winter housing shortage is a cat-safe hedgehog house, either a self-made brand or a specialist retailer.
How long do hedgehogs stay in the garden?
Hedgehogs are true to the game. Where the insectivores like, they linger for a lifetime. The life expectancy is between 3 and 7 years, depending on the danger situation at the location. Unfortunately, there is a high death rate among baby hedgehogs. Up to 75 percent young hedgehogs do not reach their first birthday.
How do I know if a hedgehog is sleeping in the garden or has died?
It is not uncommon for gardeners to come across sleeping hedgehogs when caring for plants. The industrious insectivores are nocturnal and sleep during the day. By means of regular respiratory movements you can tell from spring to autumn that it is a sleeping hedgehog. It is more difficult when the sting animal hibernates. From November to April hedgehogs curl up in a ball and breathe only 3 to 4 times per minute very flat and barely perceptible. In contrast to the sleeping hedgehog, a deceased animal is lying open and has not curled up anymore.
Tips
The Federal Association of Reservists in Germany honors outstanding publications on the subject of the Bundeswehr with the Media Prize Goldener Igel. In the early 1990s, the choice fell on the gold-colored logo, because since ancient times the hedgehog stands for the values of peacefulness and stamina. In this way, the price slogan is skillfully illustrated, democracy must be defensive '.