On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 16:30:36 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:


"Spider" wrote in reply to
nambucca ...
Last year a Hedgehog made a nest at the base of one of my Bamboo plants
and
had 3 babies but one day i found the nest disturbed and the 3 babies
lying
dead

Now theres a new nest and i can see mum curled up at the mouth of it

Is there any way I can protect her without upsetting her ........still
trying to fathom what caused the problem last year

Rats? Fox ?


Hi Nambucca,
Last year's mum may have been hit by a car while out foraging. The babies
would have died of starvation. If a fox had been involved, it would
probably have returned for the babies.
You could help this year's mother by putting out cat food and fresh water,
so that she can replenish her energy without foraging too far away from
the
nest. You can *definitely* help her by not using slug pellets.
Spider


Care re putting out cat food for the hedgehogs, it's how we got our last
cat, a stray that decided the food was good enough for him to stay and make
himself comfortable. :-)

The trick, apparently, is to place a lid ( such as a saucer ) over the
food.
The cat is either too weak or stupid to overcome this little puzzle -
whilst the hedgehog ( being the Gordon Brown of small mammals ) will
shove the lid aside, eat the food, and probably crap in the dish by
way of thanks.

Worked for me and my clan of hogs!

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk