hedgehog....help advice please

[cathycarp]

was alerted by my dog something was not quite right in the garden about half an hour ago, went out bravely with torch to check my girls and found one of them in the middle of the coop, squaking like a mad thing, with a hedgehog circling her... it legged it and she is now tucked up with others with extra security....any idea what was going on....do i need panic....was she at risk...

[jannie]

Hi cathycarp .. I would hazard a guess that the hedgehog was looking for a hibernation site.
It has been so cool and wet after a good summer that he could well have been fooled into thinking it's Autumn so time to stake his claim to a nice dry area where he can build his hibernation quarters.Could you provide a hedgehog house for him instead? I don't think the hedgehog would have been a risk to your chicken ..they were probably just as shocked as each other.

If you do decide to have a hedgehog house place it a good way from the coop in a sheltered area and put down some meaty dog food to encourage him there. Let us know how it goes.

[perchy]

Glad you saw this Jannie, I moved it to the right place and then forgot to tell you

[cathycarp]

i am more concerned about the chickens than the hedgehog thats why i posted it on the chicken site. the chicken involved is clearly not well this morning so am still worried about what was happening.........while i obviously wouldn't harm the hedgehog, i am not sure i will encorouge it to stay after this event, especially if primrose gets worse...

[jannie]

Sorry if I came across as being bias towards the hedgehogs plight, I also keep chickens in my garden so know they do happily coexist.

Primrose could be suffering from shock ..have you checked her for injuries and treated her for shock?

[Skeksis]

I have chooks and also rescue hedgehogs. They are utterly harmless to chickens and are very endangered so need all the help they can get nowadays.

[Richard]