I have a family of hedgehogs in my garden what should i feed them?

Question

does bread and milk really kill them? my mum said to give them that, I have been giving them dried cat food.

Answer 1

they love dog food and leave them a bowl of water out

Answer 2

Dried cat food is good, but in this weather they'd probably appreciate wet food and a drink. You may be providing them with an essential lifeline so remember to feed them every night.
If they get ticks DON'T use flea or tick killer on them; it'll kill them. Insecticide is lethal to hedgehogs. Just paint the ticks with vegetable oil on a cotton bud and within 24 hours they'll drop off.
There's loads of info and good sites on the Web, St Tiggywinkles is probably the best, its a wildlife hospital.

Answer 3

I have a hedgehog which visits my garden and I put out hedgehog food and fresh water every evening. I got the hedgehog food from a garden centre.

You can also feed them dog food or non fishy cat food, but don't feed them milk.

You may enjoy this website too:
http://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk/

Answer 4

I heard that you should not give them cows milk or bread as it messes up their insides.

You can give them special hedgehog food from pet shops, or some dry dog food. You are supposed to put it out at dusk after the flies have gone away.

Answer 5

Feed dog or cat food, mealworms. don't under any circumstances give them bread and milk. Milk can kill them. just provide a dish of fresh water.

Answer 6

I have a 1/4 acre vegetable garden bordered by a small stream. Whenever I am lucky enough to find a hedgehog elsewhere in my 10-acre garden, I take it to my vegetable garden and leave it to do what it does best - eat all the slugs, snails and caterpillars which frequently plague my vegetables. It is the best method of organic gardening!

Answer 7

Minced beef, cat food and dog food. Under no circumstances give bread and milk-bread soaked in water yes- but milk contains lactose and their systems cannot deal with this, it can make them very ill.

Answer 8

If you have a family of them, they are probably getting enough to eat from your garden. If you want to supplement, give them what they eat naturally - worms, small molluscs, etc - just dig up a bit of your garden - they'll have a feast. They may love dog food - but they are not dogs, and the balance might not be right for them. It's like giving a kid a Big Mac all the time. Tasty, but it'll kill you in the end.

Answer 9

we ran a hogspital for 15 years, hogs are lactose intolerant, cows milk gives the diahorreah, they dehydrate and die. in thsi hot weather they just want a shallow bowl of water and a handful of biscuits, cat food, (the cheeaper the better, whiskas is too rich) cereal, currants, blah blah blah, they eat almost anything, they have a definate sweet tooth! hogs walk around 3 miles a night, and are still teh best bug, slug and snail killer ever made...

99 percent of the time most of are not aware of teh hogs living deep in the undergrowth, or abandoned corner of your shed. they are nocturnal, and we only see them at night, or when they need some help, at the moment, they need water, and food is probably scarce in this heatwave. they only require simple things, a drink, and a snack thru hard times, anywhere else theyd be selling the big iissue, and asking for a cup of tea. and enough of us are compassionate enough to buy one of them, arent we?

good luck

Answer 10

Tinned dog food, they are also partial to dried cat food as well, I know because they happily eat what we put down for our cat at night by the front door. X

Answer 11

Hedge hogs love slugs and worms,try scooping up some slugs when it rains and put them in a tub with lettuce leaves where they will stay put munching on the lettuce.Put them out in the garden at night for the hedge hogs to feed on from the bowl or tub.