What do you feed your wilds????

[sassysquirrel]

What food do you feed your wild squirrels??????

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

all left over veggies, don't throw any away,
anything I make for Simon that he won't eat(brat)
Peanuts(raw)
Some of the "Squirrel Food"bags , with the dried corn"
Nut mix in the shell.

[SammysMom]

Nuts in the shell from anuts.com by the ton! Plus some HHBs and Sammy's leftovers. :D :D :D

[yoyo]

I do not have any, but outside my apartment are two squirrels and I gave them bread ,cookies, unsalted peanuts, peanut butters, chips, rice, chicken, any left over they eat anything, even cats food.

[Scooterzmom]

Nuts (shelled and/or unshelled) and raw peanuts, suet, some leftover veggies and a couple of them get some HHB's and boo-balls - when I can afford to make extras. Of course they also help themselves to the birdseeds in my feeders *little brats

[Kristal]

I have just been giving them more of whatever they will eat. Right now that includes grapes and fresh coconut (those are great favourites) avocado, pomegranate, butternut squash, pear slices, orange slices and mangos plus nuts in shell of all kinds and boo-balls when I have them. I keep trying to add new things hoping that they will eat those, too. I have a fantastic, little store near me that sells fruit and veggies for less than half of what you would pay in the supermarket, so that is a blessing.

I would love to get some more healthy things into them including veggies and blocks. They won't touch them yet, though. Does anyone have ideas as to how to get wilds to eat more healthy foods?

[SquirrelRefuge]

I put out left over fruits, veggies and squirrel block (not rodent block as I haven’t seen a wild squirrel yet that is all that interested in commercial rodent block). You will quickly find out what foods your squirrels like and what gets left behind. I always feed my orphans the homemade squirrel block and take whatever they dont eat and put it out for the wild squirrels... who stand in line for it!

Another suggestion is to plant filbert/hazelnuts. They grow as a tree or a large scrub. Can even make a hedge row. They are inexpensive and produce nuts in a few years (much faster than most nut trees). Just plant two varieties close to each other as they have to cross-pollinate to produce nuts.

[Kristal]

What do you mean by squirrel block, SquirrelRefuge?

[redwuff]

i HAVE BEEN PUTTING OUT MAZURI RODENT BLOCK WITH PEANUT BUTTER DRIZZLED OVER AND THEN HEATED IN OVEN TO GET OIL SOAKED IN BLOCK A BIT. IT IS FUNNY TO SEE THE FIRST ROUND OF FUZZY
EATERS LICK ALL THE PEANUT BUTTER OFF AND THE REST DO EAT THE BLOCK.

[madtowntom]

I order bulk nuts in the shell - pecans, walnut, hazel and almonds to feed them. They also occasionally get peanuts - I put those out for the Bluejays and if they are around they devour them before the squirrels have a chance otherwise the fuzzers get some, but my guys will also eat all the rodent or primate block I put out there, so they get plenty. It makes me feel better that they eat the rodent block and I can then spoil them with the terrible nuts and occasional striped sunflower seeds I feed them. Of course I have released approximately 25 squirrels in my back yard over the last five summers so the majority of the ones that hang around my yard were raised on rodent block:tilt

[SquirrelRefuge]

What do you mean by squirrel block, SquirrelRefuge?

I make the squirrel block based on a recipe that was posted on the nutrition forum here on the squirrel board by user 4SKWERLZ (I am pretty sure). It is made from protein powder, ground nuts, egg, whole wheat flour, vanilla, baking soda and added vitamins and minerals.

I've modified it a bit to use a vanilla flavored protein powder isolate/concentration mix (6lbs/$39), that my squirrels seem to much prefer over the unflavored isolate, use a bit more egg for moisture and a little more whole wheat flour to add more carbs and less fat. I added up the nutritional values for all of the ingredients and then amended to meet the IWRC A1 wildlife rehabilitation course recommendations for vitamin supplementation for wildlife (A, D, E, C) by food weight plus added calcium and magnesium to make the correct 2:1 calcium/phosphorus ratio. The eggs bring a lot of good vitamins and minerals too.

I am not a qualified nutritional expert by any means but all of my squirrels can be clearly distinguished from their wild cousins by their larger builds and bushier tails. I am sure the pure unflavored isolate is healthier than the vanilla isolate/concentrate formula, but it just makes getting them to eat the block a lot easier from my experience. Besides, the block smells really good. I have to smack my husband's hand to keep him out of it (seriously)

Making the squirrel block is time consuming and not cheap so if you can afford to buy it from henrypets.com, I would. I just make between 6 and 24 batches a week (depending on my squirrel load and husband snatchings) so I cant afford to get it 'store bought.'

The squirrels prefer the pecans over all nuts but they are the most expensive by far. I get a bag at Costco of 2 lbs/$14.99 and then mix in less expensive nuts like walnut (3 lbs for $14.99 at costco) and filbert ($5.29/lb at Winco in bulk bin). Filberts have a lot of really good nutrition in them but don’t seem to grind as smoothly, but mix well with both walnut and pecan. I sometimes mix in Almonds (3lbs 9.99) because they are inexpensive, but not with the filberts because neither grinds really finely in my grider. I supplement the block with lots of seasonal fruits and veggies to keep costs down. The trick with squirrels, from my experience, is to keep switching it up.

I am going to start weaning my released squirrels off of depending on me for food as soon as spring comes and more food is available since I will have a new batch moving through. I just like to give my winter release squirrels extra food to get them by til spring.

I’d be happy to share my recipe but you should probably go with what 4SKWERLZ has because it seems to be squirrelboard approved and I have just made modifications that work for me that might not be right for every squirrel situation. The squirrel block has a lot more fat and protein than the standard rodent block so I thinks its very important to supplement the block with other foods. I just cant get my squirrels to eat rodent block of any variety.

I am going to try rodent block again with my next batch, but in my experience, squirrels find if uninspiring.

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

:thumbsup :thumbsup [QUOTE=SquirrelRefuge]I make the squirrel block based on a recipe that was posted on the nutrition forum here on the squirrel board by user 4SKWERLZ (I am pretty sure). It is made from protein powder, ground nuts, egg, whole wheat flour, vanilla, baking soda and added vitamins and minerals.

I've modified it a bit to use a vanilla flavored protein powder isolate/concentration mix (6lbs/$39), that my squirrels seem to much prefer over the unflavored isolate, use a bit more egg for moisture and a little more whole wheat flour to add more carbs and less fat. I added up the nutritional values for all of the ingredients and then amended to meet the IWRC A1 wildlife rehabilitation course recommendations for vitamin supplementation for wildlife (A, D, E, C) by food weight plus added calcium and magnesium to make the correct 2:1 calcium/phosphorus ratio. The eggs bring a lot of good vitamins and minerals too.

I am not a qualified nutritional expert by any means but all of my squirrels can be clearly distinguished from their wild cousins by their larger builds and bushier tails. I am sure the pure unflavored isolate is healthier than the vanilla isolate/concentrate formula, but it just makes getting them to eat the block a lot easier from my experience. Besides, the block smells really good. I have to smack my husband's hand to keep him out of it (seriously)

Making the squirrel block is time consuming and not cheap so if you can afford to buy it from henrypets.com, I would. I just make between 6 and 24 batches a week (depending on my squirrel load and husband snatchings) so I cant afford to get it 'store bought.'

The squirrels prefer the pecans over all nuts but they are the most expensive by far. I get a bag at Costco of 2 lbs/$14.99 and then mix in less expensive nuts like walnut (3 lbs for $14.99 at costco) and filbert ($5.29/lb at Winco in bulk bin). Filberts have a lot of really good nutrition in them but don’t seem to grind as smoothly, but mix well with both walnut and pecan. I sometimes mix in Almonds (3lbs 9.99) because they are inexpensive, but not with the filberts because neither grinds really finely in my grider. I supplement the block with lots of seasonal fruits and veggies to keep costs down. The trick with squirrels, from my experience, is to keep switching it up.

I am going to start weaning my released squirrels off of depending on me for food as soon as spring comes and more food is available since I will have a new batch moving through. I just like to give my winter release squirrels extra food to get them by til spring.

I’d be happy to share my recipe but you should probably go with what 4SKWERLZ has because it seems to be squirrelboard approved and I have just made modifications that work for me that might not be right for every squirrel situation. The squirrel block has a lot more fat and protein than the standard rodent block so I thinks its very important to supplement the block with other foods. I just cant get my squirrels to eat rodent block of any variety.

I am going to try rodent block again with my next batch, but in my experience, squirrels find if uninspiring.[/QUOT
:thumbsup

[virgo062]

I feed a fruit and nut blend and Pecans for the ones that come and take them from me....Wish I had not started that Pecans are almost $10.00 a pound....The G's see us outside and come running for their Pecans and we better have some:soapbox They also get unsalted peanuts in the shell and sunflower seeds...Since they are wild they get their nutrition from the plants and trees so a few treats wont hurt them:Love_Icon

[SquirrelRefuge]

I usually buy walnuts and filberts when they are in season from local growers. I can usually get them in-shell for $2/lb in late fall/winter here in the pacific northwest. It takes about 300 lbs to fill my large full sized freezer. I just bag them in gallon sized bags and pull them out as needed throughout the year. I wish I lived somewhere with pecans because the squirrels like these a lot, but they are a special treat here in Washington state.

This year I planted 6 Hazelnut (Filberts) in my yard for the squirrels. Hazelnut trees are native to North America and can be grown successfully in most regions of the United States. Unlike most nut trees, Filberts are really a woody shrub or can be grown as a small tree (up to 15 feet) and can start producing well after a few years (when planted from nursery stock) but if you have more time, you can grow them from seed. There are all sort of online resources if you google, “How to grow filberts”.

They are not expensive but you may have to call around to several nurseries to find them. They should be available now in more temperate regions. They are easy to grow and fairly notorious as nuts go: One ounce of raw hazelnuts contains 4 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, 86 percent manganese, 24 percent copper, 21 percent vitamin E, 11 percent magnesium, 12 percent thiamin, 24.4 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids, and 2,193 milligrams of omega-6 fatty acids.