Hello and welcome to The Compost Bin. I'm Compostwoman and I live with my family in rural Herefordshire. We have nearly four acres of garden and woodland, all managed organically and to Permaculture principles, which we share with Chickens, Cats and assorted wildlife. We also grow a lot of our own food, run courses in all sorts of things and make a lot of compost!

I am a Master Composter and have spent more than a decade as a volunteer Community Compost adviser with Garden Organic and my local Council.
I'm a self employed Environmental Educator so I run workshops and events where I talk about compost, veg growing, chicken keeping, cooking, preserving and sustainable living. I also run crafts workshops and Forest School/outdoor play sessions in our wood.

We try to live a more self sufficient lifestyle here, as best we can, while still having a comfortable life and lots of fun.


To learn more about us click on the About Compostwoman tab and remember to click on the photos to make them full size!


Sunday 1 November 2009

Update on Spike the hedgehog









When Spike the little Hedgehog was handed over to us after being found on the School playing field, he was a weak and poorly little hoggie. He only weighed 150 g and was desparately in need of food and water and warmth.

Once I got some drink and a bit of food down him he perked up and has twice in the past 3 weeks been into school to have a look at the children and for us to answer questions about hedgehogs.

We weighed him on 18th Oct and he had increased in weight to 300g....so he doubled his weight in 5 days!



he is getting bigger and eating more and more cat food so we weighed him again on 30th Oct and he weighed in at 450g.....



and when we weighed him again last night, he was a wopping 550g!





At this rate he will be big enough to release outside before the end of November and he will be big enough to go into hibernation!

Oh, and he looks a bit dusty in these pictures because we have just scrubbed out his cage, dried it, put in fresh bedding and dusted it with Diatom powder to kill off mites and fleas.... he isn't really grey!

7 comments:

  1. I'm so torn - part of me wants to have Spike all for my very ownses, while the (very small) mature bit wants him to go out and hibernate, like the hedgepig that he truly is.

    Will you keep him, do you think?

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  2. Hello EW ( waves!)

    If we DO release him because he is heavy enough (600g plus) then I am torn between letting him go here, in our wood and garden...but we have badgers, so he might get eaten... :-(

    OR to release him back in the school playing field...where we know there are hedgepigs around BUT that's where at least one of his siblings and his mum died/disappeared......

    so...'tis a hard choice...

    We won't keep him inside and awake overwinter if he IS big enough to be let go though...much though I would love a spikey familiar (grins) ...he is a wild animal and as such needs to be "in the wild" ....

    But he IS very cute, isn't he..? That little whiskery face, with the fringe before it all turns into spines...and he comes running out of his nest of hay at night to see Compostman or me, and take titbits of food...

    :-)

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  3. Can't believe how much he's grown!

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  4. Great news CJ and well done, I know how high the mortality rate is for these little things. Testament to your loving care indeed.
    As I don't seem to have a cvapeable man around at the moment, I may just have to buy a hedgehog box! And all this talk of clearing the garden for winter...YIKES no good for hedgies at all!!!!
    Sue xxx

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  5. You've done well! hope he goes to the best place where he can survive best.

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  6. Gosh, that's some weight gain. He will certainly have a future now, wherever his new home is going to be. We have had a big hedgepig coming to polish off any cat biccies left for the outside cat. First one I've seen (alive) for years.

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  7. On 5th Nov he weighed 650 g!!

    So he WILL be going out to take his chances in a couple of weeks time....

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Hello! Thank you for reading my blog and for commenting. I try to reply as quickly as I can and I really appreciate your interest in my life and doings here in The Compost Bin.

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