You have discovered hedgehogs in your garden and rightly ask the question - does a hedgehog eat bird food or is it harmful to him? Yes, a hedgehog eats bird food, but it is definitely not an integral part of his diet. Why it can still be useful for the hedgehog, you will learn from us.

Does bird food enrich the hedgehog's diet?

A healthy hedgehog has a wide food spectrum. Among other things, the Hedgehogs from insects and spiders. From time to time mushrooms or larvae are also on his menu. Rarely he manages to catch frogs, snakes, lizards or small birds. In winter the hedgehog does not need food, because then he hibernates. Sometimes the hedgehog also eats earthworms or snails.

But this is not without, because he can get sick from it. Both snails and earthworms serve as intermediate hosts for some parasites. These include the tapeworm, the hairworm, the sucker worm and the roundworm. After consumption, the worms can spread throughout the hedgehog's body, causing life-threatening damage to internal organs.

You can use the Autumn the foraging hedgehog make it easier for him by providing him with birdseed in moderation. When feeding bird food, you should make sure that it is free of peanuts. Half or whole peanuts can in the worst case lead to the death of the hedgehog, because they can get stuck in the palate of the rodent. He can then no longer take in food and would starve to death and die of thirst.

A natural garden is ideal for the hedgehog

With a natural garden you benefit the hedgehog more than by feeding birdseed. The hedgehog will find in your garden not only a lavishly laid table, but also many hiding places. Hedgehogs eat Birdseed, if you make it available to you. But the animals here are almost like people. The hedgehog eats the bird food as long as there is enough.

But this too much bird food can harm him, because in some cases he forgets about eating the bird food that he should lie down for hibernation. For this reason you should only feed hedgehogs bird food in exceptional cases. If he wakes up too early from hibernation and the ground is still frozen, he will eat the bird food you offer him. He can hardly find anything else.

Young hedgehogs eat bird food

Especially in autumn you can help the young hedgehogs to a good start by feeding them bird food. However, you should only give the young hedgehog birdseed to eat if it weighs less than 500 grams. To make sure that you always give the bird food to the right hedgehog, you should mark its spines. Hedgehogs are very docile and will return to the feeding area after only two or three feedings of birdseed and the like to get their ration.

How does a hedgehog eat birdseed?

Since the hedgehog can't climb, it won't do you any good to put the birdseed in the bird house. You should place it in a flat and stable dish on the ground. Make sure that the hedgehog's predators, such as dogs, foxes or birds of prey, do not discover the dish before the hedgehog does. They would not only eat the bird food away from him, but kill and consume him.