Detailed Explanation of Hedgehog Farming Techniques and Management Methods

The hedgehog, commonly known as ciwei, is a wild animal of the family Erinaceidae. It is a small medicinal animal with high economic value. With the decline of wild resources and the growth of domestic and international market demand, raising hedgehogs has excellent development potential.

I. Medicinal Value

The hedgehog's head and mouth resemble those of a rat, and its whole body is covered with hard spines. When it sees people, it hides its head and feet and curls up like a chestnut burr. When it is touched, it releases urine as a means of self-defense. Hedgehog skin, known as yixiang and xianrenyi, is an important traditional Chinese medicinal material. It has the effects of directing qi downward and relieving pain, cooling the blood and stopping bleeding, promoting the movement of qi and removing toxins, and reducing swelling and relieving pain. It mainly treats symptoms such as counterflow vomiting of food, hernia abdominal pain, and intestinal-wind hemorrhoids and fistulas. Hedgehog meat is a high-protein delicacy of superior quality; eaten roasted, it can tonify the lower origin, regulate stomach qi, and increase appetite. Hedgehog fat can treat severe bloody diarrhea, and when applied externally can treat favus and scabies, with the effect of killing skin parasites. Hedgehog brain, heart, liver, gallbladder, kidney, and penis steeped in wine and drunk can refresh the mind and brighten the eyes, eliminate fatigue, and strengthen the body and bones.

II. Construction of the Breeding Ground

Hedgehogs have strong adaptability and do not have strict environmental requirements. However, hedgehogs have the habit of preferring quiet and fearing light, hiding by day and coming out at night, so the site should be built in a relatively quiet place and avoid human interference as much as possible. When building the site, a courtyard must be built, with a courtyard wall about 0.8—1 m high. Inside the courtyard, the nest chamber is divided into two connected parts: the inner nest and the outer nest. The inner nest chamber is the nesting nest, spread with dry grass, pine leaves, or straw; the outer nest chamber is the activity area, with earth mounds or rockeries and planted flowers, grass, shrubs, and so on, so as to provide shade in summer and warmth in winter at the top. Make it as close to the wild environment as possible for foraging, mate seeking, and resting. Generally, a 10 sq m pen can raise 30—50 animals.

III. Feeding and Reproduction

The hedgehog is a nocturnal animal, so feeding feed and clean water once in the evening is sufficient. The feed can be artificially mixed evenly and cooked. Formula: corn meal 30%, wheat bran 20%, fine rice bran 10%, fish meal 5%, vegetables 30%, bone meal 2%, iodized salt 1%, oxytetracycline powder 1%, amino acids 1%, and an appropriate amount of trace elements. If wild hedgehogs just caught are subjected to artificial domestication, animal feed should make up 80% of the daily ration, and then the proportion should be gradually reduced as appropriate while increasing the proportion of plant feed. The feed fed must have a clear source and be fresh and clean. Melons, fruits, and vegetables must be washed before feeding. If melons and vegetables are bought from the market, they should first be soaked in a water tank for one hour, then washed and fed, in order to prevent pesticide poisoning. At the same time, the feed should be varied; a single feed will cause hedgehogs to bite and fight each other and refuse food. The daily feed standard for hedgehogs is: for those weighing 50—150 g, the daily ration is 50 g; for those weighing 150—300 g, the daily ration is 75 g; for those weighing 300—600 g, the daily ration is about 150 g. Within a year, hedgehogs eat a large amount in summer and grow relatively quickly, while in winter they hibernate and eat very little. Domesticated hedgehogs should be kept one male and one female in the same nest. They generally come into estrus and mate naturally in April—May, producing 1—2 litters per year. Hedgehogs aged 2—4 years all have reproductive capacity. During estrus, the female hedgehog is restless and agitated, and there is secretion from the genital area. The gestation period is about 60 days, with 4—6 young per litter, and at most 8. After 35 days of fertilization, the hedgehog's body weight increases; after about 45 days, movement becomes sluggish, and there is mild swelling of the perineum. Before giving birth, it seeks grass to make a nest. The newly born young hedgehogs have soft spines and no hair. After about 20 hours, the soft spines stand up, and they make “zhi zhi” sounds. The birth weight is 13—15 g. Three days after birth, the young hedgehogs' soft spines harden and gradually increase in number. At 10 days of age, they open their eyes; at 20 days of age, teeth grow and they can walk; at about 30 days, they can eat food. The lactation period is 40—50 days. At 3 months, the average body weight of young hedgehogs can reach 320—350 g, with an average monthly weight gain of about 100 g. During lactation and the 100 days after lactation, this is the fastest growth stage for hedgehogs, so careful management is required to ensure and improve the quality and size of the hide. When hedgehogs have grown up, peel off the skin, dry it, and sell it directly to the local medicinal materials department.

IV. Disease Prevention and Treatment

Common diseases of hedgehogs include gastroenteritis, ringworm, and ascariasis. For hedgehogs suffering from gastroenteritis, the spines are lusterless, walking is weak, and there is diarrhea and refusal to eat. The amount of feed can be reduced, and oxytetracycline can be fed, one tablet crushed and mixed into the feed per animal each time, fed 3 times a day. Gentamicin can also be injected, 25,000 units per intramuscular injection in the buttock each time. For hedgehogs suffering from ringworm, with peeling white scaly skin, ringworm ointment or Fuqing ointment can be applied externally. It is also possible to soak tobacco shreds in ester for 24 hours and then add trichlorfon powder (crushed and mixed in) and apply it to the affected area. For hedgehogs suffering from ascariasis, with poor appetite and drowsiness and weakness, piperazine citrate can be fed, 2 times a day, 1 tablet each time, for two consecutive days. For hedgehogs not suffering from ascariasis, deworming should also be carried out twice a year to ensure healthy growth and improve reproductive capacity. To check whether a hedgehog is strong, first look at the glossiness of the spines, second look at whether the body is plump, and third look at whether the spine ball is tight or loose. If the spines are glossy, the body is well-proportioned and plump, and the spine ball is appropriately tight, this indicates that it is strong and disease-free and can be selected for breeding.