the essentials in brief
- Year-round feeding has advantages and disadvantages; It is especially useful to feed in autumn and winter when feed is scarce
- Hedgehogs mainly eat insects such as worms, snails and beetles, but also fruit and vegetables when meat-containing food is scarce
- Hedgehogs can be fed cat or dog food, scrambled eggs, or oatmeal; Fried fish or meat without spices can also be given
Feeding hedgehogs in summer and winter?
Shrinking habitats, insect deaths and climate change do not leave wild animals without a trace. More and more garden owners are setting up feeding stations to compensate for the lack of food for hedgehogs and other insectivores. From the point of view of the experts, this measure is good and correct as long as the support is limited to a clearly defined period of time. However, there are downsides to consider. The following table summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of year-round feeding for hedgehogs:
also read
- This is how hedgehogs overwinter in your garden - tips for the right winter quarters
- Why, when and how do hedgehogs hibernate?
- Feeding Squirrels - All You Need To Know
| advantages | disadvantage |
|---|---|
| Compensate for lack of food | Food envy and social stress |
| Cope with the effects of drought | Source of infection feeding point |
| Cushion habitat loss | poor feed quality |
| Prevent weakening of the immune system as a result of lack of food | inbreeding |
| Mating battles | |
| Loss of natural independence | |
| Obesity |
Explanation of the benefits
Insect mortality and the decline in species can no longer be denied. Climate change is compounded by prolonged heat and dust-dry soil. The already stagnant flock of insects and molluscs often crawls deep into the ground in summer, out of reach for starving hedgehogs. In order to get full, the insectivores have to walk a long way. Shrinking habitats, fragmented by streets, functional gardens as gravel heaps and insurmountable concrete walls make life difficult for hungry hedgehogs. The resulting malnutrition massively weakens the immune system, so diseases and parasites have an easy time of it. From this point of view, the establishment of feeding stations makes sense.
Explanation of the disadvantages
Hedgehogs are by nature loners who respectfully avoid each other. A meeting is unavoidable at feeding places. Social stress and food envy create an aggressive climate that leads to real boxing matches. Weakened hedgehogs, who are particularly dependent on additional feed, lose out. Hedgehogs poop where they are. This makes every hedgehog feeding place a dangerous source of infection, even with daily cleaning. Pathogenic pathogens are simply passed on when they are close to each other on the food bowl.
A food bowl can quickly become a source of infection
The biggest disadvantage of feeding hedgehogs is poor feed quality combined with a lack of knowledge about species-appropriate feed. Cat food from the discounter or dry hedgehog food as complete feed are typical mistakes that, from a nutritional point of view, do more harm than good to hedgehogs. But even with high-quality ingredients, year-round feeding for hedgehogs ultimately leads to nutrient deficiencies, diarrhea, loss of stings and tartar.
If the richly laid table is within reach, male hedgehogs no longer go to regions farther away to look for a bride. Inbreeding and bloody mating battles are the consequences. In addition, fed hedgehogs get into an ominous relationship of dependency on humans at the expense of natural instincts. The fateful result of year-round feeding is, not least, being very overweight because hedgehogs are insatiable.
Temporary feeding is desirable
For hedgehogs in need, short-term feeding is the last resort. You can avoid the explained problems of year-round feeding if you help hedgehogs with a temporary feeding station under the following conditions:
- in the autumn: before the Hibernation Young hedgehogs often do not have sufficient fat reserves
- in the winter: Hedgehogs awakened from hibernation are threatened with starvation
- in the spring: after hibernation, as long as it freezes and no insects are around
- in summer: found, injured or sick hedgehog for 1-2 days
If underweight hedgehogs have built up sufficient fat reserves and there are enough insects on the way again, feeding should be stopped. An exception applies to hedgehogs found, sick or injured. Affected animals should be taken care of by the veterinarian or the hedgehog care station as soon as possible. Any waiting times of one or two days until delivery are bridged with additional feed.
background
Hedgehog-friendly garden
What does a hedgehog usually eat?
Hedgehogs are primarily insect eaters, but they also do not disdain worms, beetles and snails. Earwigs and millipedes are also high on the menu. During lean, insect-free times, the sting knights also enjoy a good taste of carrion to meet their daily need for calories, proteins and vitamins.
It belongs in the land of fables that hedgehogs eat a vegetarian diet. Carnivores are only interested in fruit or vegetables when juicy maggots or caterpillars cavort in them. When it is hot, the clever survivors cover their water needs with berries or windfalls. Their particular preference for sweets occasionally tempts those with a sweet tooth to nibble on ripe apples or bananas. The digestive system is not designed for the processing of vegetarian food, so that the small sins are excreted almost undigested.
Caption: Hedgehogs like to eat insects, worms, snails and beetles.
What can I feed hedgehogs?
It is not an easy task to feed hedgehogs in a species-appropriate manner. No substitute food, no matter how expensive, comes close to the high quality of natural feed sources. A suitable complete feed for hedgehogs has yet to be invented. You can buy dry hedgehog food in specialist shops, which is only an ingredient due to its high carbohydrate content. A balanced mixture of different components is primarily suitable as an effective way of bridging acute nutritional deficits. The following table compares permitted and prohibited foods for hedgehogs:
| permitted | forbidden |
|---|---|
| Hedgehog dry food | milk and milkproducts |
| cat food | cheese |
| Dog food without sauce | Nuts, peanuts |
| oatmeal | Raisins |
| Wheat bran | Apple, pear, banana |
| Eggs (cooked), scrambled eggs | raw eggs |
| unseasoned, fried meat | seasoned, raw meat |
| unseasoned, cooked fish | seasoned, raw fish |
| Mealworms | Lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes |
Please serve hedgehog food in a shallow bowl. Fresh, still water, which you put in a smaller bowl at the feeding place and change daily, is essential. The best time for feeding is during the evening twilight, when hedgehogs are already looking for food.
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Recipes for tasty hedgehog menus
Prickly eaters in the garden love a varied menu. The following recipes make little hedgehogs' hearts beat faster:
- Mix 100 g cat food with 2 tablespoons dry hedgehog food
- Chop 100 g of poultry meat, mix with 2 tablespoons of oat flakes, fry in 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
- Fry 30 g ground beef and 1 beaten egg in 1 teaspoon oil, stir in 2 tablespoons oat flakes
- Fry 60 g unseasoned minced meat in 1 teaspoon oil, add 1 tablespoon wheat bran
- Fry 60 g scrambled eggs with 1 teaspoon oil, stir in 2 tbsp dry hedgehog food
Digression
Baby hedgehog
Weigh the amount of feed
After it has been clarified what you are feeding hedgehogs with in a species-appropriate manner, the question of the correct amount of feed arises. The cute spiny animals are insatiable and have no feeling of satiety. So that the additional feeding does not lead to excess weight, which is harmful to health, please weigh the daily ration carefully. The exact amount depends on the age and size of the invited guests. The following overview summarizes proven empirical values:
- Young hedgehogs: 120 to 150 grams daily
- Adult hedgehog: 200 to 230 grams daily
When you stop feeding will determine the weight of your prickly fosterling. When young hedgehogs have fed each other 600 grams and adult hedgehogs a whopping 1,000 grams, it is time to put an end to the table. With this fighting weight they are Spiked bearer well equipped for independent foraging and an undamaged hibernation. Please do not clear the feeding station abruptly. Weaning is gentler by reducing the amount of feed by a third every day.
Tips
When hedgehogs wake up from hibernation, they have not eaten anything for a long time. In the first three days it is strongly advised to gradually increase the amount of food. If the starved insectivores feed the normal daily ration of 180 to 200 grams right from the start, considerable stomach and intestinal problems as a result of overloading are inevitable.
Tips for the ideal feeding place
A properly arranged feeding place is not accessible to uninvited guests, such as cats, dogs, marten or foxes. Meticulous cleanliness prevents the spread of diseases, parasites, mold and rot. The following tips may inspire you to set up the perfect feeding place for hedgehogs:
- Best location: sheltered, hidden place in the garden
- Ideally as a bird feeder made from a wooden box or assembled bricks
- Base area about 30x30x30 cm with an entrance hole 10x10x10 cm
- Roof weighed down with stones
- Floor secured with wire mesh to prevent attacks from below
Hedgehogs often poop where they eat. If the feeding place is above the open Garden soil or lawn, please move the superstructure from time to time. A location on a sealed surface should be cleaned regularly. Hedgehogs do not eat where they sleep and vice versa. It is advantageous if the feeding house and sleeping area, especially the winter quarters, are in the immediate vicinity. In the best case, both entrances are next to each other or opposite each other.
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Special case: feeding the young hedgehogs
Baby hedgehogs and very weak hedgehogs are unable to eat solid food on their own. In order to bridge a possible waiting time before being admitted to a hedgehog station, feed your little pupil by hand. You can do this with the help of a pipette or disposable syringe without a needle.
Puppy substitute milk, which is available from the vet, is ideal as a liquid food. Low-lactose cat milk from specialist retailers or Hipp meat preparation are suitable for a transitional period (imprint: from 4. Month) pureed. Take the hedgehog lying on its back in your hand so that it assumes a slightly sitting position. Use your thumb to carefully stabilize your posture. Drip the liquid food four to five times a day into the hedgehog's mouth at a dose of 10 to 30 milliliters each. Please wait after each drop until the hedgehog has swallowed.
A misunderstood love of animals must not lead to year-round feeding and unprovoked overwintering of hedgehogs in the basement.
frequently asked Questions
Hedgehogs are insect eaters, aren't they? Recently I saw a hedgehog take an interest in windfalls.
Hedgehogs feed mainly on insects, worms, beetles, snails & Co. A sweet treat In between, however, they cannot resist, like a fully ripe berry or a piece Apple. However, the digestive system of the insectivore is not geared towards processing plant-based food, so that fruit is excreted almost undigested. If a hedgehog is interested in windfalls, it usually has the maggots it contains in its sights.
Should I help hedgehogs with additional feed in case of drought?
Many years of experience from hedgehog centers and hedgehog care stations have shown that feeding hedgehogs should be prohibited from spring to autumn. It is an old wives' tale that insectivores cannot find any food in summer drought and heat. Substitute feed of any kind never reaches the quality of natural prey animals. Feeding hedgehogs is only necessary in exceptional situations, such as early onset of winter or in late winter when there are no animals to feed in the wild.
When does a hedgehog hibernate?
In normal weather conditions, hedgehogs hibernate from November to the end of March / beginning of April. Females usually go into hibernation a month later because, after the exhausting rearing of their young, they need more time to build up sufficient fat reserves. The duration of the winter rest phase is roughly the same for both sexes. As a result, female hedgehogs wake up later in spring than their male counterparts.
After hibernating, we made it easier for the hedgehogs in our garden to start the season with cat food. Can we continue to provide food in May? The whole family has a lot of fun watching the hedgehogs feed in the evening.
Please stop feeding now. Understandably, it is a pleasure to watch cute hedgehogs feast. However, you are doing the insectivores a disservice. Cat food is only partially and temporarily suitable as hedgehog food. If a set table is ready every evening, hedgehogs no longer go on the hunt for insects, they get fat, lazy and, in the worst case, sick. Feeding hedgehogs should only be a stopgap solution to bridge food-poor times in late winter.
Tips
The Naturschutzbund (NABU) underpins the urgency of species-appropriate protective measures for hedgehogs. As part of the citizen research project "Hedgehogs in Bavaria" it was shown that the destruction of habitats increasingly forces hedgehogs into the vicinity of human settlements. The sad result: of 28,000 hedgehogs counted in 2015, more than a third were dead, mostly sad victims in traffic.
