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2017... and so it begins

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Liz Heard View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Mar 2017 at 12:40am
Quite a lot of 'my' frog spawn wasn't viable this year and went bad unfortunately.

Hey Chubsta, found this single dropping on a stone beside my pond on 5/3/17. Too small for cat or fox, too large for rodents, and mustelids not present. Looks a lot like 'typical' wormy badger poop, only smaller. Which might suggest an animal with a similar dietary preferences to brock.
What do you think....hedgehog?



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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Mar 2017 at 8:19pm
i would say definitely a hedgehog - when i mowed my lawn the other day it was more hog poo than grass so have plenty of experience of it! Might be worth trying to encourage them, meaty dog or cat food (no gravy based ones), sunflower hearts and their favourite, mealworms, under an overturned plastic box (15cm hole to keep foxes and cats out) might keep them around. The fact you have a pond will be a big draw as they drink LOADS.

i used to see the odd one or two in my garden but it was only when i put cameras and a feeder out i found that i had up to 15 individuals travelling through each night.

i know i tend to anthropomorphise my animals but cant help recording what they get up to, if you are very bored i have a youtube page here:

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Liz Heard View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Mar 2017 at 12:53am
Thanks for the confirmation Chubsta. The WLT thought it was duck muck. I knew it wasn't that! Wrong consistency, and i don't get ducks anyway (and glad about it too - they foul garden ponds).
Another hedgehog log has appeared since so maybe i'll get some cat food.

Watched 2 of your vids so far and laughed at 'Mildred's Mega Strop'! All that petulant huffing and puffing to zero effect, hahaha! I take it from your other comment that she's regularly a bit of a diva then...
In summer i used to leave the back door open to let some air in while sat on the sofa watching TV. One night, getting increasingly annoyed by the scratching noises coming from underneath, i bent over expecting to find the cat playing with a dead mouse or something and got a surprise.
The hedgehog was equally surprised to find my ugly mug suddenly appear a few inches from his snout and darted across the room, disappearing under a big pile of assorted belongings stored under the stairs.
I put a bowl of cat food nearby and about half an hour later the hog came out, noisily ate it's fill and slowly wandered off outside again.

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GemmaJF View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GemmaJF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Mar 2017 at 5:53pm
Originally posted by chubsta chubsta wrote:

Well, the advice on decanting the frog-spawn to large trays was a great success, today i put a good few thousand wrigglers into the pond, the fact there are now no predators such as fish in there will hopefully mean that this year will be a bumper crop of froglets.

The weed in the pond is starting to grow in the good weather, the duckweed is being kept well under control and there is lots of fresh water going in from the rain - very positive start to the year.

I have had to remove the fountain for a while until the tadpoles are strong enough to not get sucked in but don't anticipate any issues around water quality as it should only be for a couple of weeks i think until it goes back in.

Great news, mine are all released now and the pond spawn hatched about 10 days behind the clumps I brought indoors. Just in the last couple of days the taddies have started to spread out all over the pond. Up to then, they were all huddled together munching on the remaining spawn jelly.

We have a big bloom of ivy leaved duckweed this year, it has been multiplying almost on a daily basis. The taddies seem to be munching at it (or algae growing on it), so perhaps it has its uses.


Edited by GemmaJF - 31 Mar 2017 at 5:54pm
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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Mar 2017 at 6:33pm
Had a look at the pond today and it is heaving with tadpoles - they seem to be growing very well although there are still a few smaller ones, there are much larger numbers of big fat ones. What was potentially going to be a disaster with there being no weed for the spawn to stick to has been turned around into a potential record season.
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Suzi View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Apr 2017 at 4:24pm
My taddies are still in containers outside in the shade -well half an hour of sun or so a day. I will release them when they are bigger so they stand a chance against the many things that eat them. I have ten containers of them.
Suz
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GemmaJF View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GemmaJF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Apr 2017 at 3:56pm
Lovely outside today, we still have 3 adult frogs hanging around in the pond. Taddies are around the edge of the pond busy feeding so the water is shimmering and alive. Smooth newts popping up for air now and again and the females laying eggs. Lizards are out sunning themselves, who could ask for more! 


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Liz Heard View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 2017 at 12:37pm
On the subject of tadpole 'farming', i usually put a tiny bit of spawn in this mini 25 x 10 cm 'aquarium' (actually the bin of a manual paper shredder!), on the kitchen windowsill so we can watch them develop.
Coming along very well - and rapidly -so far!





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Suzi View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 2017 at 9:34pm
Ah memories of school, a tank of taddies.
What is the weed Ben?
Suz
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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Apr 2017 at 12:05am

Not there best photos but give some idea of the sheer quantity of tadpoles in the pond!
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