We spotted a large hedgehog out in the afternoon sun in our garden yesterday. She seemed in good health and unafraid. Something seemed to be sticking out of her mouth, but it was very hard to get a good look when she hid by a wall.
My husband thought it was a little bird foot, but this seemed ridiculous. We left her in peace and she trundled off into the bushes. On the lawn was a half eaten young sparrow, which one of our cats had caught from the bird table and then eaten the breast in typical faddy cat fashion. The bird was also missing its feet.
A check of the guidebook confirms that cute hedgehogs will eat carrion and like nestlings that fall out of the nest.
We make bread; the crusts go every day to the sparrow; the sparrows make a lot of babies; the cats catch some young sparrows; the hedgehog eats the left overs and makes more hedgehogs. Nature is never wasteful and never soppy!
Cathy's real country garden 
That is so interesting! I wish you could’ve captured that pic!
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She wouldn’t play I am afraid!
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Having grownup in the U.K., we had lots of hedgehogs in the rural area where my family lived. Hedgehogs are remarkable scavengers. They are truly omnivorous and will eat everything from worms to dog feces (sorry if this sounds gross). Believe it or not some people actually looked for and took hedgehogs to eat. They wrapped them in a thick coat of clay/mud and baked them for several hours. Sounds terrible but that was the way of country folk.
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Ive heard of baking hedgehogs in mud( but not tried it!) if the hedgehog eaters grew wheat, then it could be used for flour, flour makes bread, breadcrumbs make sparrows and so the circle is complete! Many thanks for that!
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Sadly the last time I saw a hedgehog was many years ago. xx.
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We don’t have hedgehogs in Australia, but I remember seeing them often in NZ when I was a child.
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