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Thread: Crack a Walnut?

  1. #1
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    Question Crack a Walnut?

    I read often on TSB about the "walnut" test to as a piece of the puzzle to help determine if adolescent squirrels are ready to be released. We don't have any walnut trees around here, so its not something my locals get. I found a stand of hickory trees recently and have been bringing home quite a few for the gang that hangs around my house. It seemed to me that none of our gray squirrels are able to actually "crack" a hickory nut. They are able to dig out some of the meat from the "seams" where the stem once was.

    With shelled nuts showing up in the store I bought a bag of mixed shelled nuts and conducted a little (totally non-scientific and uncontrolled!) experiment with the walnuts. All the squirrels seem to like to run off (and I presume bury) the walnuts, but I have never seen a single squirrel crack one open.

    So this makes me wonder if the "walnut test" is more appropriate for maybe foxers and perhaps northern grays, versus our smaller southern grays?

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    Quote Originally Posted by Spanky View Post
    I read often on TSB about the "walnut" test to as a piece of the puzzle to help determine if adolescent squirrels are ready to be released. We don't have any walnut trees around here, so its not something my locals get. I found a stand of hickory trees recently and have been bringing home quite a few for the gang that hangs around my house. It seemed to me that none of our gray squirrels are able to actually "crack" a hickory nut. They are able to dig out some of the meat from the "seams" where the stem once was.

    With shelled nuts showing up in the store I bought a bag of mixed shelled nuts and conducted a little (totally non-scientific and uncontrolled!) experiment with the walnuts. All the squirrels seem to like to run off (and I presume bury) the walnuts, but I have never seen a single squirrel crack one open.

    So this makes me wonder if the "walnut test" is more appropriate for maybe foxers and perhaps northern grays, versus our smaller southern grays?
    Good thoughts. I wonder if it is due to their size like you suggest. I have seen my norther greys crack walnuts ... But now that you meantion it i have not seen much damage to the hickory shell even in the wild population.
    Stephanie Carlson

    St. Melangell Small Mammal Sanctuary
    ODNR Permitted Cat 2 Rehabilatator
    https://www.facebook.com/StMelangellSmallMammal/

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    No, this test is to be used with all squirrels........ and I still use the old walnut
    test on all my Florida grey squirrels --they must be able to crack open a shell
    walnut or they will be not be placed outside in the release cage for 30 days.

    My Release Info:
    http://mothernaturesrescue.webs.com/release.htm

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    Eastern grays in MS can cut black walnuts and hickory nuts. I think they could cut through about anything! Haha it does take a quiet of bit of work though . Really amazing considering I just totally warped my personal pecan cracker on some black walnuts recently. You should try a black walnut and a hickory if you haven't ever ate one they are so delicious ! The fresh hickory or scaly barks smell like hazelnut coffee when you crack them open and the black walnuts taste like raspberry dark chocolate to me. I see why the squirrels love them so.

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    My squirrels are also rabid about over cusp acorns as well. They are so big like giant acorns. I find them here in the swamps or around lake beds. I v
    Have yet to try one for myself though.

  6. #6
    Sqyrl Guest

    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    I'm not an expert, but "cracking" may not be the right term to use for squirrels opening a nut. We humans use a leveraged force to make the shell crack and fail.. squirrels do not exert that force. They chew through the shell until they can get the inner nut meat. From what I have read, squirrels can chew through any possible nut shell and actually they need to wear down their continuously growing teeth. This time of year, nuts in the shell become available in stores and I know my wild squirrels like pecans since they were the only in-shell nut besides peanuts available at Walmart until 2 months ago. I feel that they think a full size walnut is a bigger prize for them since most nuts get carried away and hidden/buried and of course a walnut is twice the size of a pecan. I know they can chew them open since I have seen parts of the shells near my tree, but think most of the opened shells end up in neighbor's yards since no squirrel lives in the only tree that is in my yard. I do buy shelled pecans and walnuts year round and my squirrels do eat them, but prefer something big they can run away with and hide. I do believe a squirrel is happiest when they are doing that.

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    I will keep trying to see one crack / chew one open. There are plenty of hickory nuts under the trees that have been split open and I have seen the wilds "chew" into the hickory nuts... mostly a hole in the "seam" where the stem once was where they work their teeth into the nut and get at least some of the meat out. They make quick work of making any walnuts placed out disappear and they always seem to be the first to disappear. They are definitely running off and burying them, so I am thinking when the time is right they will and can get into the shell. Just because I have not seen it does not mean they are not; it just made be curious. Pecans, hazelnuts, etc. they get into in short order.

    If we ever have another we are releasing I will be sure to get some walnuts. I have always used the pecans and hazelnuts just because they are more accessible for me. In a cage it would be much harder for them to chew open the shell and feast without me knowing.

    Thanks for all the insights!

  8. #8
    Sqyrl Guest

    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    A few yrs ago I bought a couple 5 gallon buckets full of (I think) black walnuts which were kind of tiny. At that time, I was cracking open "in-shell" nuts except for peanuts.. thinking the shells would be a nuisance in the yard. These tiny walnuts were hard to get much out of... you crack them open and you mangle what is inside and can't really get much compared to full size walnuts. I gave up caring about the yard and hard shell fragments... how often do I really walk barefoot outside?? The squirrels seemed to get the good part out without a problem and of course they probably hid more than they ever ate.

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    OK, so here's proof I really have no life lol

    I've literally sat and watched my two 4 month olds eat hickory nuts for hours. That sounded wrong, let me revise... LOL I'm not that bad a squammy!!!

    I have hours of experience watching them eat hickory nuts (better?)

    I'm so obsessive over possible contaminants that I only give nuts with no visible splits or seams, so I know Miss Cass & The Sly Guy are starting from scratch. Their first step is more of a scraping than a direct force. The noise it makes is unreal, LOL kind of has that fingernails-on-chalkboard quality. They break through the shell after several minutes of scraping and usually just chip off a small piece about the size of a green pea to get started. They scoop as much of the meat out of the little hole as they can get using their bottom teeth. When they can't reach any more, they'll turn the nut a little bit and use a slight side angle, combination of mostly top incisors with a little help from their rear jaw teeth, and chip off a bigger section of the shell. This leaves much more meat exposed. Only 1/3 to 1/2 of the shell is left, and its easy pickins from there.

    I have a video I've been working on getting posted that's actually titled "Eatin Hickory Nuts", but I can't remember if it shows their technique. I'll put it up in their sorely neglected Nursery thread "Here's... Cassie" here in a few minutes.

    Did I mention I have no life?

  10. #10
    Sqyrl Guest

    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    I find nothing odd about paying that kind of attention to something you're interested in. You learn by watching... that's not having a life... it's having an interest. Not having a life would be throwing something to a pet and going back to watch TV. I have an interest in metals... used in drills and knives. Actually a drill is in some applications a knife that is going in a circular movement... not to get too involved in that area. I've watched my wild squirrels and they are funny creatures.. sometimes taking 10 minutes to find the right spot to hide or bury a nut and I'm sitting on the steps with a can full to give them another.. just thinking... bury the darn thing and come back for another. Sometimes they try to hide it under a leaf or just shallow bury it and you can still see it... I have read they bury/hide short term and then go back to take it to a larger stash. I have Bluejays that watch them and go after the peanut as soon as they leave the spot.

  11. #11
    Sqyrl Guest

    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    Having no life is...
    having more unwatched dvds than you could watch in a year and having no one to list on your insurance at work as a beneficiary. We just got forms to redo everything for the upcoming year and our company insurance was 12k, now 30k and for a couple years I've had a neighbor listed and I haven't had a conversation with her for maybe 6 months. I seriously may list TSB as full or partial beneficiary. If I drop dead, nothing is owed to anyone and unfortunately I'm kind of short of people I would really like to benefit. Please don't respond to this... would get the thread more off topic.

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    I believe it's called cutting. A squirrel "cuts" a nut. And your right the noise is unmistakable. They love the little worms inside the nut too! My girls inhale them. I love watching them eat a nut of all kinds.I have hours of experience too. Hehe!

    Quote Originally Posted by RobinTN View Post
    OK, so here's proof I really have no life lol

    I've literally sat and watched my two 4 month olds eat hickory nuts for hours. That sounded wrong, let me revise... LOL I'm not that bad a squammy!!!

    I have hours of experience watching them eat hickory nuts (better?)

    I'm so obsessive over possible contaminants that I only give nuts with no visible splits or seams, so I know Miss Cass & The Sly Guy are starting from scratch. Their first step is more of a scraping than a direct force. The noise it makes is unreal, LOL kind of has that fingernails-on-chalkboard quality. They break through the shell after several minutes of scraping and usually just chip off a small piece about the size of a green pea to get started. They scoop as much of the meat out of the little hole as they can get using their bottom teeth. When they can't reach any more, they'll turn the nut a little bit and use a slight side angle, combination of mostly top incisors with a little help from their rear jaw teeth, and chip off a bigger section of the shell. This leaves much more meat exposed. Only 1/3 to 1/2 of the shell is left, and its easy pickins from there.

    I have a video I've been working on getting posted that's actually titled "Eatin Hickory Nuts", but I can't remember if it shows their technique. I'll put it up in their sorely neglected Nursery thread "Here's... Cassie" here in a few minutes.

    Did I mention I have no life?

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    Quote Originally Posted by RobinTN View Post
    They break through the shell after several minutes of scraping and usually just chip off a small piece about the size of a green pea to get started. They scoop as much of the meat out of the little hole as they can get using their bottom teeth. When they can't reach any more...
    I think this is what I have seen but I would end the sentence... they drop the nut and move on to the next one. Or even an unshelled one if it is available.

    Could be that they have such an ample supply of food that the "easy pickings" they don't need to work very hard?

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    Quote Originally Posted by Short tail View Post
    They love the little worms inside the nut too! My girls inhale them.
    So I have this plastic jar / jug about 4 cups large that at one time was full of almonds and walnuts. I had added some walnuts a few weeks back and noticed this week there were some worms (small caterpillars), developed quite a bit of webs in there and a few days later small moths were inside the jar. Quite the micro-environment! I placed the jar out in the freezing cold thinking I'd have to toss the nuts and I did not want to risk a moth infestation (and an issue like that once from a bag of sunflower seeds that had to of had the worms in there).

    Maybe I should go ahead and feed the nuts out if the extra protein is not a threat to the squees?

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    Quote Originally Posted by Short tail View Post
    I believe it's called cutting. A squirrel "cuts" a nut. And your right the noise is unmistakable. They love the little worms inside the nut too! My girls inhale them. I love watching them eat a nut of all kinds.I have hours of experience too. Hehe!

    So they really? I just had the oppurtunity to buy pecans discounted.. Had been human grade and I found a grub thing in it and put them back on the Scratch and Dent Shelf... I was afraid that if it had grubs it might have mold.. Maybe I should go back and get em??
    Stephanie Carlson

    St. Melangell Small Mammal Sanctuary
    ODNR Permitted Cat 2 Rehabilatator
    https://www.facebook.com/StMelangellSmallMammal/

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    Quote Originally Posted by Spanky View Post
    I think this is what I have seen but I would end the sentence... they drop the nut and move on to the next one. Or even an unshelled one if it is available.

    Could be that they have such an ample supply of food that the "easy pickings" they don't need to work very hard?
    Yeah I've noticed that too when I pick up nuts from under the big hickory tree in my yard. If I get 20 nuts, at least 12 have small bits eaten from them. I'd never thought they might have been intentionally dropped, but it's possible. There were so many nuts on that tree, and now that most of them have fallen I've noticed much more ground foraging.

    Cass & Sly (the ones I watch obsessively lol) on the other hand don't waste a single bite. Their supply is much more limited

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mommaluvy View Post
    So they really? I just had the oppurtunity to buy pecans discounted.. Had been human grade and I found a grub thing in it and put them back on the Scratch and Dent Shelf... I was afraid that if it had grubs it might have mold.. Maybe I should go back and get em??
    I would've thought/done the same thing

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    Quote Originally Posted by RobinTN View Post
    Yeah I've noticed that too when I pick up nuts from under the big hickory tree in my yard. If I get 20 nuts, at least 12 have small bits eaten from them. I'd never thought they might have been intentionally dropped, but it's possible. There were so many nuts on that tree, and now that most of them have fallen I've noticed much more ground foraging.

    Cass & Sly (the ones I watch obsessively lol) on the other hand don't waste a single bite. Their supply is much more limited
    it is safer not to pick up off the ground, because when nuts sit on the ground, they can end up moulding faster. Wild sqs probably know how to tell a good nut from a bad nut, but home-raised ones won't.

    It is best to pick them directly off the tree.

    Another thing some people do - they spread a sheet under the tree and collect the fallen nuts right away - this way the nuts don't touch the ground and you know which ones have just fallen.

    Also, always do a floating test (floaters are bad, sinkers are good).
    Although floating test is not always 100% proof, it does eliminate bad nuts with a very high degree of success. (and of course, if there are any cracks or holes, however tiny they might be - discard, because through cracks and holes mould sets in much faster).

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mommaluvy View Post
    So they really? I just had the oppurtunity to buy pecans discounted.. Had been human grade and I found a grub thing in it and put them back on the Scratch and Dent Shelf... I was afraid that if it had grubs it might have mold.. Maybe I should go back and get em??
    I live in MS and an avid outdoorsman so I have a lot of opportunities to gather all kinds of nuts. I always gather them fresh. I am not afraid to get them off the ground as long as they have not been there for to long. There is a window or season to gather nuts as with most things in life. If you get them early they will be green and not as tasty. If you wait to long they will either begin to rot, mold, or just shrivel/dry up. From my understanding the rotting or mold process is due to moisture and air getting inside the nut. All nuts are different. Most nutshells are waterproof or weather proof for a given amount of time but they still breathe to an extent. I have six mature pecan trees in my yard plus a huge water oak and a few maples. We have tons of pecans. I eat them too, all nuts, you will learn a lot by this. I hardly have problems with pecans. But have noticed after a long rain they will be a little soggy but a good day in the sunshine and will be back to normal. That's why I say they breathe. If the temp changes rapidly like sunshine in the day but cold at night they will crack themselves like when I put some I've picked up on my Picnic table where it's dry. They seem more regulated when I leave them on the ground.

    Now grubs or worms are a whole different issue than rot or mold. If you see a little hole in the nutshell this is where the grub has come out to live in the soil. From my understanding the grub develops in the "sealed" shell along with the nut. It Was placed there as an egg in the Downy inner lining of the shell covering and hatches a couple weeks later. Lives there until the nut drops to the ground then chews through to the soil for further development. I see slot more grubs in hickory and scaly bark nuts than anything else. I don't think I've ever seen one in a black walnut. Im not sure if it has something to do with the black walnuts magic toxic shells or what. Recently I picked up several hickory nuts I knew had been on the ground to long. I cracked them myself some were good and I fed to my girls. Some were rotten but each contained about 3-5 grubs each. I just picked the grubs out til I had about 2 dozen. My girls ate them like they were gummy bears. It was hilarious. Then came to me looking for more.

    Anyway I try to gather my nuts fresh. I do like the floater/sinker test but it is not foolproof. I put all fresh nuts in a ziploc and freeze all that I gather (grubs freeze in the nut and keep too) except pecans. I just keep them in a cool dry place. They will keep for a year just dry up and lose taste. My indoor girls will cast away a bad nut. But I have to believe all squirrels rather indoor or out will eat a little nastier nut than is ok with us. I throw away any with a hole in them or appears to be moldy. I crack a few for myself just to investigate but give them whole to my girls so they can cut them or stash them or growl at me over them or act generally crazy as they normally do. Sorry so long just my .02 worth. You can also google most of this I suppose. Hope it helps.

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    Default Re: Crack a Walnut?

    That makes a lot of sense! Thank you!
    Stephanie Carlson

    St. Melangell Small Mammal Sanctuary
    ODNR Permitted Cat 2 Rehabilatator
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