Harold the Shy

Young Harold was rescued from drowning in the swimming pool of Jude Dobson - a local TV personality, as a teeny baby of 120gms. Narelle raised him to young adulthood but wasn't happy about releasing him 'cold turkey' as he is a shy wee man and she felt a supported release would help him to eventually succeed as a wild hog.

So, on May the 11th Harold came to Palais Belgravia; as Narelle has taken to calling our Hog Hotel, and was installed into my smaller pre release pen. This pen is handy because you can remove one end of it. This way the hoggie can have some time in the pen getting settled in and then when the  end is opened, their food and bedroom is still there for them as long as they want it to be.

I took this approach with Baldric and it was really successful. He stayed in his 'bedroom' for 4 nights before moving himself into a bedroom box in the Fernery - Posh's old one actually, and as we know, he still pops home every week or so for a sleep over.

Pre/Supported release pen with bedroom box

 The night of May the 13th was the big night for Harold. I gave him his dinner, opened his pen and left him to it. The next morning I opened his box to see if he was still 'at home' and yes, he was - LOL.




Today, as I write this, he is still here with us in his pen. I must try to remember to put the IR camera out on his pen tonight to see what he is getting up to in the garden - and I know he is coming out of his pen and into the garden from the lack of poo in his pen and the increase in poo in the garden. I also want to see if he is accessing the wild feeder boxes. I think he might be as the wet food is being scoffed up every night since I let him out, but I'd like to be certain. Once I know he is using the feeder boxes I'll wean him off being fed in his pen until he is only eating from the feeder boxes. He can keep sleeping in his bedroom/pen for as long as he likes until I need the pen for another hog. At that time I'll just shift his bedroom into the fernery where he can bunk with Baldric & 'Red' (Tom Thumb?) when they are 'home' for the night.