Some Experience Sharing on Artificial Breeding of Hedgehogs
The hedgehog is a lovable little animal. Although it has a spiny armor, it is gentle in temperament and not aggressive. Its appearance is very cartoon-like. Not to mention the baby hedgehog that has not yet lost its childishness, even the appearance of adult hedgehogs is innocent and naive. So what is the method for artificially breeding hedgehogs? Let's take a look together!
Wild hedgehog resources are insufficient and can no longer meet the needs for medicinal and food use, so artificial breeding can be carried out. The techniques are introduced as follows:
① Build the enclosure. The hedgehog enclosure should be built on one side of the courtyard, or in a quiet place at the foot of a wall or behind the house. When building the enclosure, first use bricks or stone materials to build a small plot, with an enclosure wall height of 0.8 m. Then build a small house of 5-6 sq m in the plot. The top and surrounding sides of the house must be tight and not leak rainwater. Spread some soft dry grass, leaves and other materials inside the house for making nests. On the open ground outside the house, build some mounds of earth, or place some loose stones, tiles, bricks and other objects; small rockeries can also be built for activity, foraging and resting. The size of the plot and the number of houses should be determined according to the number of animals being raised.
② Capture and tame. Hedgehogs like to crawl out in the evening to look for food and return to hide in dark places the next morning, so they can be caught every morning and evening. After being caught, put them into the already-built enclosure houses for raising. Hedgehogs are highly adaptable and will not have their mood or food intake affected by a change of residence. Hedgehogs are omnivorous animals, and the sources of feed are especially wide; there is almost no food they do not eat. Commonly used animal-based feeds include insects, rodents, aquatic products, earthworms and various other small animals, as well as the meat and internal organs of various livestock and poultry; plant-based feeds include corn, dried melon, sorghum, barley, wheat, oats, bran, chaff and grain types, as well as various melons and fruits, vegetables, wild vegetables, wild fruits and so on. The above various feeds can be fed alone or in combinations of several kinds, and mixed feeding is better. A little salt should also be added when feeding. Feeding once every evening is sufficient. But the amount fed each time should be appropriate. Under normal circumstances, the feeding amount is about 25 grams for small hedgehogs, about 50 grams for medium hedgehogs, and about 100 grams for large hedgehogs.
③ Mating and reproduction. Hedgehog reproduction generally uses natural mating. During estrus, the female hedgehog appears restless, crawls back and forth, and has secretions from the genital area. After 30 days of conception, body weight increases significantly; at about 50 days, it appears very clumsy, and the genital area will swell. Before giving birth, it seeks grass to make a nest, and gives birth after 60 days of pregnancy. Each female hedgehog generally gives birth to about 5 young, with a maximum of up to 8. The survival rate of the young hedgehogs is extremely high, almost reaching 100%, and their vitality is extremely strong. Newborn young hedgehogs have smooth bodies and weigh about 15 grams. They open their eyes at about 15 days after birth; teeth grow at about 25 days, and they can walk; at about 35 days they can eat, and the lactation period is 60 days. At about 100 days of age, the young hedgehog's body weight can reach about 350 grams. This period is the fastest period of growth and development for hedgehogs, so careful management and strengthened feeding are needed to lay a good foundation for improving the quality of hedgehog skin.
Hedgehog Feeding Methods
Hedgehogs have relatively omnivorous feeding habits. Animal-based feeds mainly include insects, rodents, birds, fish, frogs, snakes, earthworms and animal internal organs, etc.; plant-based feeds include broken rice (broken corn, sorghum), flour (wheat bran, bran flour, cornmeal), melons and fruits, etc.
When feeding, mix animal-based and plant-based feeds evenly in proportion, cook them, and add a little salt, then give the full amount once in the evening. The protein content in the daily ration is required to be no less than 30%. For wild hedgehogs in the early stage of taming, animal-based feed should be dominant, preferably accounting for 90% of the daily ration. Afterwards, gradually reduce the amount of animal-based feed as appropriate and increase the proportion of plant-based feed. The feed given must be fresh and clean. Feed such as melons and fruits must be washed clean, with special attention paid to preventing pesticide poisoning; do not feed already spoiled animal internal organs, dead fish and the like. It is best to cook the feed just before feeding to avoid spoilage. In short, keeping the feed fresh and clean and maintaining a reasonable combination of meat and vegetarian ingredients is the key to successfully raising hedgehogs artificially.
The daily feeding amount should be determined according to the different growth and development stages and seasons of the hedgehog. Generally, for a hedgehog weighing 50-150 g, the daily ration is 50 g; for a body weight of 150-300 g, the daily ration is 75 g; for a body weight of 300-600 g, the daily ration is 100 g. Hedgehogs grow faster in summer, so they should be fed more; in winter they eat very little, so they should be fed less; during the winter hibernation period, they should be fed even less.
Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals, so feeding feed and clean water once in the evening is sufficient. The feed can be manually mixed evenly and cooked. Formula: cornmeal 30%, wheat bran 20%, fine rice bran 10%, fishmeal 5%, vegetables 30%, bone meal 2%, iodized salt 1%, oxytetracycline powder 1%, amino acids 1%, trace elements in an appropriate amount.
If wild hedgehogs just caught in the field are artificially tamed, animal-based feed should account for 80% of the daily ration, and then gradually reduced as appropriate while increasing the proportion of plant-based feed. The feed given must be fresh and clean, and melons, fruits and vegetables must be washed before feeding. If the melons and vegetables are bought from the market, they should first be soaked in a water basin for 1 hour, then washed and mixed for feeding, to prevent pesticide poisoning. At the same time, the feed should be diversified in variety; a single type of feed will cause hedgehogs to bite and fight each other and refuse to eat.
The daily ration standard for hedgehogs is: for a body weight of 50-150 grams, the daily ration is 50 grams; for a body weight of 150-300 grams, the daily ration is 75 grams; for 300-600 grams, the daily ration is about 150 grams. Hedgehogs have a large food intake in summer and grow quickly, and they hibernate in winter and eat very little.
Disease Prevention and Treatment of Hedgehogs
Hedgehogs have relatively strong disease resistance. As long as management is strengthened in normal times and the hygiene of the breeding site is maintained, they generally rarely get sick. Common diseases of hedgehogs include gastroenteritis, ringworm and ascariasis.
A hedgehog suffering from gastroenteritis has dull spines, walks weakly, has diarrhea, and refuses to eat. The feed amount can be reduced, and oxytetracycline can be fed, with 1 tablet crushed and mixed into the feed for each animal each time, fed 3 times a day. Gentamicin can also be injected, with 25,000 units injected intramuscularly into the buttock each time. A hedgehog suffering from ringworm sheds white scaly skin, and ointments for ringworm or skin-relaxing ointment can be applied externally. It is also possible to soak tobacco shreds in vinegar for 24 hours, then add trichlorfon medicine (crushed and mixed in) and apply it to the affected area. A hedgehog suffering from ascariasis has poor appetite and is sleepy and weak, and can be fed piperazine for ascariasis, 2 times a day, 1 tablet each time, for 2 consecutive days. For hedgehogs not suffering from ascariasis, deworming should also be done 2 times a year to ensure healthy growth of the hedgehogs and improve reproductive capacity. To check whether a hedgehog is robust: first look at the glossiness of the spines; second look at whether the body is plump; third look at whether the ball of spines is tight or loose.
Always observe and check the feeding and growth of hedgehogs, and treat sick hedgehogs promptly when found. A hedgehog suffering from gastroenteritis has dull spines, walks weakly, refuses to eat, and has diarrhea. The treatment method is to feed oxytetracycline, 3 times a day, 0.25 g each time. A hedgehog suffering from ringworm sheds white broken skin on the face, legs and back, and can be treated externally with skin-relaxing ointment or ringworm ointment. A hedgehog suffering from ascariasis has poor appetite and appears sleepy and weak; feed deworming medicine 2 times a day, 2 tablets each time.