The English Cottage Garden Nursery
Dormice, bats and hedgehogs survive the winter by hibernating, but other small mammals need to constantly search for food during the winter months. Mice and voles tend to be more active at night, although voles and shrews will search for food iin sheltered areas during the day, such as hedgerow bottoms. You can make your own garden feeding station, which will probably be used at night. An old tray, board or door can be used as a feeding area and should be placed near to cover, such as a hedge. These animals are timid and so probably will not want to cross an expanse of lawn to get to the food. A layer of moss, turf or leaves will help the feeding station blend in and a wire frame will protect the creatures from predators such as cats.
Shrews are largely insectivorous and need to feed every two or three hours day and night. Tinned cat food can be put out for them but they usually will have plenty of food during winter. A dim red light erected near the station will enable you to view the animals.
For mice and voles, provide seeds, fruits and nuts. The most likely members of the mouse family to visit gardens are wood mice and, in southern England, yellow-necked mice. House mice rarely survive winter outside and tend to spend the season in buildings. Mice will also eat snails and other insects during periods of shortage. They also sometimes go into a torpid state, almost like hibernation, when they use far less energy and this helps them survive periods of food shortage.
Bank voles are the most likely vole members to visit a garden feeding station. They are common in country gardens where there is plenty of dense cover - hedgerows, shrubberies etc. The bank vole's diet is wholly vegetarian and consists of seeds, berries, nuts, fruit, green plants and fungi. You can also put out porridge oats and muesli for them.
Hegehogs need to find a suitable place to hibernate in order to survive winter. Piles of leaf litter, compost or brushwood left undisturbed are all suitable. A specially dug hole, roofed with a paving slab or plank of wood and lined with dead leaves, with a tunnel leading to the surface, would also be popular. It is very important not to disturb hibernating animals as this will kill them. Hedgehogs are very useful garden predators as they eat almost half their body weight of slugs, snails and caterpillars a day. They also like to hide in the warmth of unlit bonfires so always check there are no hedgehogs in yours before lighting it.
Baby hedgehogs need to weigh at least 1 lb if they are to survive until spring. Occasionally, where a litter has been born late in the year, young hedgehogs can be found weighing far less than this. Feed them on mealworms, tinned dog food, table scraps or broken biscuits. A little water or milk should be added to keep the food moist. If baby hedgehogs are found late in the year they can be reared indoors over the winter. Contact your local Wildlife Trust for advice. Attracting hedgehogs to your garden is beneficial as they feed on garden pests such as slugs and caterpillars.
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