Little Cotton Rabbits

Can you tell what it is yet?

I've been meaning to start on one of these for a long time now and then all of a sudden last week I was seized by a badgery moment! I still have to work out the ears and how to integrate a grey body but at least I have the head shaping done!

In other news, we had a great time at the special needs club. Toby settled very well and made a beeline for a big crate of duplo lego. I managed to get him to explore a little too and he coped ok with quite high noise levels. I feel fairly confident that he'll be ok there and the staff are great so I've booked him in from September to go regularly. It will be great as this will give H and I a few precious hours to spend with just Amy. Thanks for all of your good wishes - they obviously worked!

In hedgehoggy news things aren't so great although there is a happy ending! The babies came out again in the hot sun of saturday afternoon (obviously very hungry) and so I scooped them up and popped them in the cool garage with lots of mashed up food and water. After the children were in bed I checked on them with the plan of releasing them again but unfortunately while looking them over to check there were no fly eggs (maggots will eat a hedgehog alive!) I found that they were absolutely covered in ticks. The smallest one in particular had over 40 of them all around her eyes, ears and bottom. This amount of ticks would probably cause death in such a small hedgehog and certain would cause infection, anaemia and severe fatigue so I knew I couldn't cope with them and they needed help. Luckily Epping Forest Hedgehog rescue is only a 40 minute drive and they agreed to take them in. Amy and I set off very slowly in the car on Sunday morning and delivered the hoglets. They were immediately de-ticked, fed, housed and dosed up with antibiotics so hopefully they will all survive. They were 2 girls and a boy of 4-5 weeks old and we are looking forward to a phone call in 5 weeks or so to let us know that we can collect them and release them back into the garden - so I'll keep you posted! Having chatted to the experts there it seems unlikely that Herbert Hogwart would have been the parent (being him/herself only a late baby from last year) so he/she may still be around - there are certainly quite a few hedgehogs that visit our garden each night but it's hard to tell them apart. Maybe I should have knitted Herbert some socks or a scarf to help him stand out from the crowd?!

breaking news from the garden!

Today Toby had an inset day from school and so I spent most of the day in the garden with him. Just before lunchtime as I was pegging out some washing a movement on the lawn caught my eye and sauntering towards me was a very small baby hedgehog. Of course being a seasoned blogger I dropped the pegs and ran for my camera but when I dashed back outside I couldn't see him. Hedgehogs are quite noisy creatures though, so it wasn't hard to track him down

Now I know from all of my research when we rescued Herbert Hogwart last year that hedgehogs only come out in the day under extreme circumstances (illness, hunger etc) so I knew something was wrong. I grabbed my gardening gloves and an old crate and got him settled in the garage with some water and mashed kitten food. The plan was to keep him safe until dark and let him go again.

But an hour or so later there was more rustling from the flowerbed and I discovered he wasn't an only hoglet - there were another 2 emerging from the hedgehog house. So are these the offspring of Herbert Hogwart? Well, your guess is as good as mine but they certainly could be. And is this proof that Herbert was in fact Sherbert? Well, the evidence looks that way!

I fed them all and watched them snuffle around in the undergrowth.

Then, one by one they made their way back to bed. A couple of hours later I gently lifted the lid on the house and they were curled up together fast asleep.

There may not be a happy ending though. They shouldn't have been out in the day and there was no sign of a mummy hedgehog (what has happened to Herbert/Sherbert?) . I phoned the Hedgehog Preservation Society who are so helpful with advice and the plan of action is to leave the babies, put down food after dark tonight, watch them tomorrow and if they come out in the day time I'll be taking on surrogate mum duties again - housing them in the garage in an old rabbit run and fattening them them up to around 400gms before setting them free again!

There are a few more photos over on flickr.

news from the garden

Well the arrival of spring might mean that Toby is happier naked but it seems he's not the only one feeling a bit frisky!

It's been a while since I mentioned little Herbert/Sherbert Hogwart here and so I've been stalking around the garden at night with my camera. Please forgive the quality of the pics - I'm clearly no wildlife photographer, but I did manage to capture some clear evidence that Herbert/Sherbert has a girl/boyfriend!

They've been trundling round the garden together for the last few nights. Is it just a childish infatuation (afterall Herbert is not yet a year old) or could we be hearing the patter of tiny feet come autumn? I will keep you posted!

Our garden (although it is only a medium sized suburban one) is quite a haven for wildlife this year. We're regularly visited by grey squirrels and all manner of birds. We have blackbirds, robins and sparrows nesting and this year we even have a great-tit family in our nestbox. They hatched last sunday and now the parents are frenetically trying to stuff as many grubs and caterpillars into those little gaping beaks!

I love the arrival of spring and that nature is out there, doing it's thing. Hope you enjoy your patch this weekend!

Some good news from the garden

If you've been reading my blog since last summer you may remember little Herbert Hogwart the baby hedgehog that we took in and fattened up. You may have also noticed that I've not mentioned him recently and that is because I was rather worried that something might have happened to him. You see he was still popping out of his little house for his 'breakfast' each night right up until the start of January and then one day his food remained untouched and the hay I placed lightly over his front door stayed exactly where it was. After a week of the same I thought (and hoped) that he had probably hibernated but it wasn't especially cold at the time and so a part of me feared that he'd met an untimely end under the wheels of a car.

I've been studying the entrance to his house ever since and occassionally leaving out food but with no sign of him at all. Then 3 days ago there was this...

... a hole in the hay and an empty dish. So, he's ok!

I've decided to let him wake up in peace rather than shoving my camera in his face so I've no photos of him but I do have one of this wonderful little hedgehog that the lovely Kat sent me at Christmas time.

He's from Blossom Hill Cottons -  definitely worth a visit if you like your animals super tiny and super cute!

Farewell Herbert Sherbert - don't forget to write!

It's a sad day today - it's the day that Herbert Sherbert leaves home and makes his own way in the big wide world.

Do you remember how little he was when we first found him on August 23rd? Well, here's a reminder...

and now after 5 weeks of good food and safe refuge in our garage he's reached a hefty 583gms which is heavy enough to survive a winter hibernation

I'm lucky to be married to a man who knows his way around tools - he whipped up this wonderful hedgehog house which has since been dug in and buried under earth and leaves. Herbert has been using it for the last 5 days so hopefully has settled in and will still sleep in it now that the surrounding run has been removed.

I shall miss this little character who has been gentle and sweet and never bitten even though he was stressed when we found him and never liked being picked up. I'll miss digging up worms for his breakfast by torchlight each evening after the kids have gone to bed. I've loved looking after him and it's been very rewarding but it was always about getting him strong enough to go back to the wild. I'll carry on putting food out and hope I'll catch a glimpse of him now and again and will let you know if I do. So, goodbye little Herbert Sherbert, mind your manners, wipe your nose after eating slugs and most of all - watch out for cars!

Autumn

Thanks so much for all the kind and thoughtful comments that were left on the previous post - reading them really helps and I'm really grateful for the chance to get stuff off my chest without everyone thinking "she's off again...!". Toby is definitely much happier now that his tooth is out and so life here has returned to normal.

I thought I'd do a quick hedgehog update before the weekend. This week has definitely had an autumnal feel to it - the leaves on the trees have started to change colour and drop (I've even been out with my rake gathering piles of leaves to dry for Herbert's bedding). Herbert him/herself is doing great and is now tipping the scales at 498gms which will probably mean that he'll be up to the target weight within the next week.

I'm beginning to feel a little sad though at the thought of seeing his little prickly behind waddling off into the distance and so plans are afoot for a spot of house building this weekend - hedgehog house building. We'll be putting the house in his run and letting him camp out in the garden next week so that he can get used to all the smells and sounds of being outside all the time (up to now he's only been out in the run after dark for a few hours and then back into the crate in the garage). One he's acclimatised we'll remove the run and he'll be free to roam. I'm really hoping that he'll stick around and maybe use the house to hibernate in but we'll have to wait and see - he may have other plans!

I've not taken any recent pictures of Herbert as I'm trying to limit contact - we'll get some to remember him by before he toddles off! So hodggie pictures today are courtesy of Hamlyn's 365 Animal Stories, 1975 vintage!

A case of mistaken identity?

Originally when I peeked under Herbert's spines I was pretty confident in my assessment of the tackle situation, (albeit quite small and furry) however now I am beginning to have my doubts. It's largely a matter of toilet ettiquette that has cast doubt in my mind. You see apparently little boy hedgehogs are far more likely to pooh in their beds than little girl hedgehogs (I am now restraining myself from further comment) - I'm told it's something to do with not having to share a bed as a grown up whereas the girls of course have babies to consider at some point. In the last few days Herbert has been quite scrupulous in exiting the bed chamber to dump his/her load. So for the minute we are pondering whether we should change our little guests name from HErbert to SHErbert - maybe I'll have another peek and see if anything is clearer.

Anyway sexuality aside the hedgehog is making great progress. His weight has increased from 140gms on the day he was found to 350gms and he's moved on from completely mashed food to lumpier chunks and some nibbly bits (raisins, kitten biscuits and nuts) as well as developing a keen taste for worms and slugs (good hodger!). I'm keeping all contact to a minimum so am having to curb all my impulses to stroke and cuddle even though he is so adorable cute. He still retains his roll reflex and will freeze and roll into a ball at sudden noises or when picked up and he's quite vocal with hissing and grunting to warn me away - all of which are positive signs for his re-introduction to the wild.

(this picture shows how much he's grown in 3 weeks)

The trouble is that the leaves have started falling and there's a nip to the air so autumn is definitely arriving and the thoughts of little hedgehogs should be now turning to building their nest for hibernation (or a hibernacula). It's now a race against time to fatten him up enough to get him through the winter ahead.

Hoglet update and cakes in print...

Just a quickie to give you an update on Herbie Hogwart who is doing really well. He's now doubled in size weighing 283gms at his last weigh-in and has progressed to eating slugs, worms and nuts as well as the mainstay of his diet - chicken cat food and kitten biscuits. For the last week we've been giving him a run in the garden each evening and he's been snuffling around in the grass and occassionally coming up with a tasty treat to munch. The best news of all is that the hideous ticks are history! Thanks so much for all the tips on getting rid of them. I tried the vaseline and it worked a treat - both had dropped off the next day and were stuck between 2 sheets of newspaper and summarily executed by stamping squad - no tears shed there! It's been difficult to take photos because he is mostly out at night and the flash startles him but I managed to get a couple:

In other news, I was chuffed to bits that my cakes get a mention in October's Period Living magazine (thanks Kim and Vikki for the tip off!)! They were in a feature about vintage textile dealer Donna Flower and her beautiful home (thanks so much Donna you lovely, lovely lady!)

So if you fancy winning a cake for yourself and haven't already left a comment on the previous post, pop down and leave one - my little 1 year anniversay prize draw will be open until tuesday. Have a fun weekend everyone!

A quick hoglet update

Just a quickie to let you know how Herbie Hogwort is fairing. It was exactly a week ago today that he was found crying piteously, wet, cold and hungry near to a dead brother/sister. Then he weighed just 140gms but after a week of goats milk mixed with chicken flavour kitten food he now weighs in at a plump 195gms! He's doing really well and has tried some raisins, crushed nuts and kitten biscuits.

He's also having fun playing with an old flower pot, some pebbles and an empty snail shell which he likes to bite, shake and carry around.

Unfortunately he still has 2 of the 4 ticks that he was found with - I got 2 to drop off by painting them with olive oil and will now try vaseline to coat the remaining 2 which hopefully will block up their ability to breathe and make them drop off - hideous things!

Hopefully he carry on putting on lots of weight and be ready to release back into the wild before the weather gets too cold. Thanks to Jo who has been giving me some great advice about hedgehog raising via email.

Our new addition!

On Thursday we had a new addition to our family - meet Herbert (I wanted to call him Hogwort but Amy over-ruled me!)

He's a baby hedgehog (hoglet) approx 4 weeks old, 140gms and orphaned so will be staying with us until he's big enough to make it on his own. For now he's living in a crate in the garage with a snuggly bed made from an old towel, shredded newspaper and a little hay. He's chowing down on chicken kitten food mixed with a little goats milk and although he has 4 ticks is otherwise healthy and alert. I'm hand rearing him with support from an official carer of the British Hedgehog preservation society who have an excellent website packed full of information and hedgehoggy facts.

If you find an injured or sick hedgehog you should always contact them or the RSPCA and ask for advice before removing an animal from the wild. Since Herbert was found alone in broad daylight and calling near to another dead baby hodger it was clear he needed help and wasn't going to make it on his own. We're now trying to build his weight up to  around 600gms so that he'll be able to be released into the wild ready for his winter hibernation. Will keep you posted on his progress!