New food for my Flyers...

[JewelsFlyers]

I went to my local Wallymart and bought some stage 3 baby foods...Only the kind that was pure with no artifical sugar etc...I got a jar of Butternut squash and some other veggies..They LOVE it!...I have a hard time getting them to eat fresh greens..They love fruit, blocks, nuts, UN-salted crackers etc...So, since they like the jar foods and they are very healthy I will supplement them with those for the greens and other veggies they wont touch..makes it much easier to apply their calcium as well:D Anyone else feed their Squirrels this?

[muffinsquirrel]

I use them as a change of pace for my flyers. They are really handy for those times you discover that you have run out of everything your flyer will eat!

muffinsquirrel

[Ardilla]

Hmmm...I have some baby food in my pantry that my toddler never ate. Green beans, or maybe spinach. I should check the expiration date.

[JewelsFlyers]

I use them as a change of pace for my flyers. They are really handy for those times you discover that you have run out of everything your flyer will eat!

muffinsquirrel


Are your Flyers picky at all?..Mine are so picky it drives me insane!..lol I did find some pine nuts at wallymart that are 100% pure "pinenuts" and they love those as well...I will be giving them some pinecones in the Spring too, so they can nibble on them...They love pine needles and oak tree branches with moss..They go crazy for some moss:D But, I find they wont touch any veggies I offer...Curious though..Baby foods only last 2 days in the fridge..do you have any advice on keeping them longer?

[Ardilla]

You could put the baby food into ice cube trays and freeze it, then take one cube out at a time.

[JewelsFlyers]

You could put the baby food into ice cube trays and freeze it, then take one cube out at a time.


I thought about that..I've done that for my Goldfish food..(I make their food) Thanks!

[Ardilla]

The stuff in my pantry was organic sweet peas. I put a spoonful in a dish for Penny. She sniffed it and ran into her pouch.

[JewelsFlyers]

The stuff in my pantry was organic sweet peas. I put a spoonful in a dish for Penny. She sniffed it and ran into her pouch.


LOL! Well then, we know she wont eat it..Maybe some fruit or other type of veggies...Try the butternut squash...it was very cheap under 50.

[muffinsquirrel]

Are your Flyers picky at all?..Mine are so picky it drives me insane!..lol I did find some pine nuts at wallymart that are 100% pure "pinenuts" and they love those as well...I will be giving them some pinecones in the Spring too, so they can nibble on them...They love pine needles and oak tree branches with moss..They go crazy for some moss:D But, I find they wont touch any veggies I offer...Curious though..Baby foods only last 2 days in the fridge..do you have any advice on keeping them longer?

I have about 30 flyers, indoors and out. That doesn't leave much of a chance for leftovers!! :rotfl
Go easy on the pine nuts - they are strictly for treats. Mine like broccoli with the stems, bok choy, sugar snap peas IF I cut them in half - they won't touch them if the whole bean is given to them! Sweet potatos are usually a big hit, and they will get on a carrot kick sometimes, and just as quick they'll decide they hate them. They like oatmeal - just plain old dry oatmeal. And pumpkin seeds - we buy up pumpkins after Halloween and take out the seeds and roast them in the oven for a short time and then just freeze them. Keep trying different things - eventually they'll eat them. And don't be shy about going in the store and buying one mushroom, 3 green beans, 3 cherries and begging the produce manager for one leaf of lettuce! You meet a lot of interesting people when you buy things in small dabs, and I figure it brightens people's day to think about the crazy lady that bought A green bean for her squirrels!

muffinsquirrel

[TinyPaws]

Timothy's been on baby food for awhile now, he loves it....It can also be left out longer for him without wilting.....

[fsalter53]

you have 30 what do you do with them, you said inside and out, they must be bigger, right, did u raise them???? you have a big family.:grouphug

[Ardilla]

you have 30 what do you do with them, you said inside and out, they must be bigger, right, did u raise them???? you have a big family.:grouphug

I'll let muffinsquirrel answer for herself, but here is her Wild Bunch thread where she talks a bit about how she came to have so many (post #5).

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14793

I got my sweet Penny from her, and have had the pleasure of seeing her flyers and her cool cage set-up. :)

[TexanSquirrel]

The stuff in my pantry was organic sweet peas. I put a spoonful in a dish for Penny. She sniffed it and ran into her pouch.

Typical kid! :crazy

[JewelsFlyers]

I have about 30 flyers, indoors and out. That doesn't leave much of a chance for leftovers!! :rotfl
Go easy on the pine nuts - they are strictly for treats. Mine like broccoli with the stems, bok choy, sugar snap peas IF I cut them in half - they won't touch them if the whole bean is given to them! Sweet potatos are usually a big hit, and they will get on a carrot kick sometimes, and just as quick they'll decide they hate them. They like oatmeal - just plain old dry oatmeal. And pumpkin seeds - we buy up pumpkins after Halloween and take out the seeds and roast them in the oven for a short time and then just freeze them. Keep trying different things - eventually they'll eat them. And don't be shy about going in the store and buying one mushroom, 3 green beans, 3 cherries and begging the produce manager for one leaf of lettuce! You meet a lot of interesting people when you buy things in small dabs, and I figure it brightens people's day to think about the crazy lady that bought A green bean for her squirrels!

muffinsquirrel

Thanks for the info:thankyou Yes, pine nuts are only given in small amounts..like 1 nut just a few times a week...This goes for their other nuts as well...Carrots they wont touch..same goes for ANY greens...I tried cranberries yesterday and they took one bite and through it down:osnap So, I guess I will be making homemade sauce for my human family..lol I've tried everything possible that they can eat...wonder about ginger root? Can they eat this? As far as the greens goes, I've tried fresh, frozen you name it..they simply wont eat it..They do however enjoy the rodent blocks..which is fine by me..I also give them protein like bugs..They love spiders!:tilt My rehab friend who comes by and weighs them for me gives her babies and older flyers frozen pinkie mice (from petsmart)..she only gives them 1 per month or so..says they go crazy for them...Should be ok for me since I have a snake and feed her...But, I dont understand why they wont eat their veggies because this was a food that I introduced while their eyes were still closed and teeth were in...Like liked greens then but now throw it at me:rotfl Pumpkin seeds are something that I have too..They ate some last night...I also froze mine with pumpkin...They love em...

[Ardilla]

Guess what? I found depressions in the sweet peas! She ate some!

[muffinsquirrel]

you have 30 what do you do with them, you said inside and out, they must be bigger, right, did u raise them???? you have a big family.:grouphug

Yes, when we hear the pitter-patter of little feet around here, it sounds like a buffalo stampede! I only have 5 flyers that live in the house (that number is subject to change at any given moment) and 6 greys that are being wintered over or are, at the moment, NRs. We have 2 big outside cages (8' X 8') for the other flyers. One is the Wild Bunch cage, with the rehabs and rescues and some that are my own babies. They are let out to be wild or stay tame each winter. When spring comes, I close the cage back up, because we have a lot of snakes out here in the country. Most of the flyers choose to stay in their cage. If they are not inside when I close the doors, they will jump on my shoulder and ride back in when I feed them. The other cage is where I keep the flyers that I am trying to breed for color - they have white tips on their tails, and a little more white on their bellies than the others do. I don't know if I will ever accomplish breeding a different color in flyers, but it is fascinating to work with. We also have 5 smaller outdoor cages - 4' X 8' X 7' high - that are out soft release cages for our rehab greys and foxers. We have enough land that we can release them here on our property, and enough cages that they can take as long as they wish to be wild. They often stay around for months, sleeping in their cages. A lot of the releases still come up to take nuts from our hand - some of them come up and bang on the door if they want pecans. And some of them just ambush us and go through our pockets and pick out which pecan is the best one for them!

In the summer I have a fan on the outside of each cage, to keep them cool. The weather down here gets really hot and humid. During the winter, they manage just fine in nice, warm nestboxes with lots of fleece, Viva paper towels, and tissue for bedding. They all live together in one or two nest boxes and stay nice and cosy. I don't put any covering up on the walls unless we are expecting some really really cold weather.

I used to give talks to the schools, taking some squirrels with me and telling the kids all about them and how rehabbers rescue squirrels and other animals that are hurt or in trouble. But since the hurricanes, I haven't had time to do that, and I really miss it.

Anyhow, that's how and why I am over-run by squirrels of every kind.

muffinsquirrel