Dead Hedgehogs

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Jay The Digger

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Dead Hedgehogs
« on: October 13, 2010, 17:48 »
I have been trying to attract these little foragers to my plot to help with pest control, and must be doing fairly well as I always see them down the plot in the evenings.  

I turned up this morning and found three dead ones in different places.  They were all small young hogs.  One had been gnawed at but the other two didn't have a mark on them.

Any ideas what could be killing them?  I don't use any chemicals and as far as I know, no-one has been laying poison.

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JayG

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Re: Dead Hedgehogs
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2010, 17:51 »
I've recently seen dogs "playing" with a hedgehog; not nice.  :(
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madcat

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Re: Dead Hedgehogs
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2010, 18:54 »
badgers eat hogs  - might be the one who was gnawed.
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MOLUSC

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Re: Dead Hedgehogs
« Reply #3 on: October 13, 2010, 19:06 »
Could be a fox has had a go at them,they could have been shocked to death by a fox attack?

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shokkyy

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Re: Dead Hedgehogs
« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2010, 19:23 »
About the only thing that can get past a hedgehog's prickles is a badger, because of their very long claws. I've got three dogs in my garden, a lurcher, GSD and terrier, and the hedgehogs just roll up in a ball and laugh at them, so I couldn't really see them being shocked to death by a fox, dog or anything else. If they haven't been eaten by badgers, I'd think it has to be disease or toxin, more likely the latter.

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tosca100

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Re: Dead Hedgehogs
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2010, 19:30 »
Surely if there are no marks on two of the bodies it looks more like poison of some description, could be from anywhere, they do roam. The gnawing may have been after it was dead.

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Y.E.A.H

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Re: Dead Hedgehogs
« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2010, 20:45 »
were they just babies ?

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Spana

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Re: Dead Hedgehogs
« Reply #7 on: October 13, 2010, 21:01 »
Badgers and foxes turn them over and eat them  soft belly first which doesn't seem to be the case.
I would take them to your vet , he may be able to tell  from just looking what happened to them.  Vets are usually good with helping with wildlife and will do it free of charge.

I think you need to find out if it was poison but dont know what you can do if it was :(

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RichardA

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Re: Dead Hedgehogs
« Reply #8 on: October 13, 2010, 22:42 »
might be poison from elsewhere. Or natural - mortality is sadly quite high amongst babies especially late season ones. the wrong food can kill or reduce ability to thrive and milk is often a culprit here.
R

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peterjf

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Re: Dead Hedgehogs
« Reply #9 on: October 13, 2010, 23:20 »
foxes , dogs, badgers ,slug pellets , other garden poison

apart from the obvious they could have been just too young , 

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Salmo

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Re: Dead Hedgehogs
« Reply #10 on: October 13, 2010, 23:40 »
Eating slugs poisoned by pellets?

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potatogrower

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Re: Dead Hedgehogs
« Reply #11 on: October 14, 2010, 10:49 »
Eating slugs poisoned by pellets?

It can happen.

The recent documentary on TV showed vulcher numbers in India were in decline. The end reason was a drug the animal hurders used to kill them off gently made its way into the meat and organs of the dead animal and post mortem showed it was responsible for causing gout in the the vulchers' kidneys and slowly they all but disappeared leading to a rise in leapard attacks on children and dogs and rise in breeding dogs. doing so they have foolishly messed up their entire ecosystem through the over use of pesticides, insecticides and other drugs. now they are trying to re-introduce them. sad really - lack of education for the unwise who use this stuff and profits first for those who sell this stuff.

Might be a similar situation here regarding pellets.

regards to killing slugs i use salt on them if i see them or throw them in the green wheelie bin. never used slug pellets near edible food.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2010, 11:42 by potatogrower »


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