Are Hedgehogs Easy to Keep? Understanding the Farming Difficulty of This Mammal
The hedgehog is also called the hedgehog ball, melon-stealing badger, hedgehog rat, or spiny fur. It is a mammal and is relatively common in northern China and the Yangtze River basin. Hedgehogs are usually active at night and rest during the day. They have sharp claws and short spines densely covering their bodies. When in danger, they curl up and use these spines to protect themselves. Nowadays, artificial breeding of hedgehogs is also relatively common, so let us take a look below at whether hedgehogs are easy to farm.
The hedgehog is still a relatively easy farming project, and its prospects are decent, because wild hedgehog resources are continuously decreasing and need everyone's protection; they cannot meet the demand for medicinal and edible value, so artificial breeding still has room for development. However, many people do not know much about the living habits and farming techniques of hedgehogs, so they feel confused about this market. Let us take a look below at the key points of hedgehog farming techniques, and then you can decide whether you want to farm this project.
1. Building the shed
When farming hedgehogs, choose a quiet place, such as the base of a wall or behind a house, to build the farming shed. Use bricks to build a shed of a few sq m, and note that the roof and surroundings must have no gaps and must not leak rain. Inside the shed, place some soft straw, leaves, and so on, which can serve as a small nest for the hedgehogs. In the open area, create some rockeries and mounds of earth as activity places for the hedgehogs. The specific shed area should be determined according to the number of hedgehogs being farmed.
2. Feeding key points
The hedgehog is an omnivorous animal that likes to look for food at night. Common insects, earthworms, rodents, animal offal, barley, sorghum, melons and fruits, vegetables, and so on can all be eaten. They should be fed in combination, with food provided each evening. The feeding amount should be appropriate and not too much, so as to avoid leftovers becoming moldy.
3. Mating and breeding
Hedgehogs generally reproduce through natural mating. During the estrus period, the female hedgehog will crawl back and forth and be restless. By one month after conception, her weight will increase noticeably, and by fifty days she will be very clumsy. By two months of pregnancy, she will give birth. Generally, one female hedgehog can give birth to about five young, and possibly a few more. The survival rate of hedgehog young is very high, and their vitality is relatively strong. As long as attention is paid to feeding during this period, they will generally survive.
4. Disease prevention and control
Common hedgehog diseases include gastroenteritis, ringworm, and ascariasis. The symptoms of each disease are different, so pay more attention to observation in normal times. If a hedgehog has enteritis, it will feel weak all over, have diarrhea, and not like to eat. You can reduce the number of feedings and give some oxytetracycline. If it has ringworm, symptoms such as shedding white flakes will appear, and medicine should be applied in time for treatment. For hedgehog ascariasis, prevention should be the main approach. Deworm hedgehogs twice each year to ensure healthy growth and improve reproductive capacity.