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catmom5
05-31-2012, 08:29 AM
Since I have many squirrels who come to eat, and after learning that there is something better for them than sunflower seeds and peanuts, I am ordering or buying the Mazuri Rodent Breeder pieces today. My question is how do you feed them? How much? Do you just put on the ground or create some kind of feeder for just those?

Sorry to sound like such a "dumbie" but I'm new to all of this (not feeding them, but how to take care of them properly).

I got my "mangey" boy to take a walnut with the paste yesterday, so am a bit concerned about the liver issue (but put just a tiny bit the size of a grain of rice) but needed to do something for him. So if I can improve their nutrition, I am definitely going to to do that.

Thanks for your help.

Sweet Simon's Mommy
05-31-2012, 08:47 AM
Hi :wave123
I think it is great you want whats good for them, but in my experience they wont touch them. Others have covered them with peanut butter and baked them .

Because they are in the wild and not a cage, they know what they need for good nutrition, so what I do is give the "better" treats like walnuts , hazelnuts, almonds, when I run out of them I always have roasted but not salted peanuts.:D :D :D

CritterMom
05-31-2012, 09:04 AM
I am the rat blocks for wilds person here. This is exactly what I do:

I dump a couple cups of the blocks in a microwave proof bowl, and drizzle a small amount of canola oil on them. The amount depends on how many you are making - but you only want *just* enough oil to coat them when you stir it up, not so much that they are sitting in oil. I then put a couple spoonsful of peanut butter in the bowl and nuke it for a minute or so to soften the peanut butter. Stir, stir, stir until everything is evenly coated - it isn't alot, just enough to coat everything. Back in the microwave and now I hit them at high for about 5 minutes - you want them screaming, boiling, bubbling hot! Stir again and set aside to cool. As they cool, they "suck up" all of the peanut butter.

A 50 pound bag of these lasts me about 2 weeks. Believe me, the squirrels like them!

Pip
05-31-2012, 11:36 AM
I gave rodent blocks to my :Love_Icon wilds :grouphug in the very early days of spring when there were not even leaves on the trees yet and they ate them all up and kept coming back for more! Apparently they liked them! :multi :multi :multi Either very hungry or special squirrels :thinking

Sweet Simon's Mommy
05-31-2012, 12:35 PM
I am the rat blocks for wilds person here. This is exactly what I do:

I dump a couple cups of the blocks in a microwave proof bowl, and drizzle a small amount of canola oil on them. The amount depends on how many you are making - but you only want *just* enough oil to coat them when you stir it up, not so much that they are sitting in oil. I then put a couple spoonsful of peanut butter in the bowl and nuke it for a minute or so to soften the peanut butter. Stir, stir, stir until everything is evenly coated - it isn't alot, just enough to coat everything. Back in the microwave and now I hit them at high for about 5 minutes - you want them screaming, boiling, bubbling hot! Stir again and set aside to cool. As they cool, they "suck up" all of the peanut butter.

A 50 pound bag of these lasts me about 2 weeks. Believe me, the squirrels like them!
which block did you use??

CritterMom
05-31-2012, 12:58 PM
Mazuri Rodent Breeder, I believe their internal number is "6F" or something like that... I pay about $24 for a $50 bag. They have another one geared toward the pet trade (this stuff is for people who breed rats for selling to pet shops for food:shakehead ) that is higher in protein and pricier - about $20 for a $25 pound bag.

Mazuri is owned by Purina. If you can find a feed store that sells Purina feeds (and they are a huge company so that isn't hard to do) they can order it for you if they don't carry it normally.

TinyPaws
05-31-2012, 09:10 PM
I use harlan teklad for my rats and the wilds here love them too. I've seen them sitting on my fence munching away on them.

2ndHandRanchRescue
05-31-2012, 10:56 PM
Yep, last winter I did the Mazuri and peanut butter microwaved and the wilds chowed on them - I figured it was so good nutrition for the winter and cheap. I get mazuri 50# for $14 at the feed store.

jo_schmoe
06-01-2012, 10:05 AM
Yep, last winter I did the Mazuri and peanut butter microwaved and the wilds chowed on them - I figured it was so good nutrition for the winter and cheap. I get mazuri 50# for $14 at the feed store.
Oh man...Im so trying this!!
I have sooooo much block that just gets tossed out after my spoiled brats wont touch it.....I will see if they like it better cooked with peanut butter. Even the coons wont touch the block...:thinking

P.s.....is it normal for a fox squirrel to NOT like peanut butter?? Neither one of mine will touch it...but I bet the wilds will!!!

Squirrelis
06-26-2012, 09:39 PM
I just made the peanut butter rodent block recipe-some of them burned a little black on the outside- I microwaved for 4 1/2 mins.:dono is this normal? Ok or not to feed the wilds? I used LM brand rat and mouse block from petco-

Margie
06-28-2012, 12:13 AM
I don't know how strong your microwave is, but about 40 seconds would melt peanut butter in mine. Four and a half minutes would petrify them. Have you seen any squirrels using those blocks for hockey pucks?

pappy1264
06-28-2012, 06:44 AM
Wow, will have to try that! Would be great if I could get them to eat block!!!! Thank you Crittermom!

CritterMom
06-28-2012, 07:21 AM
My micro is about 1000 watts - my old was 900 but it recently started shooting flames (!!!) si I replaced it, and I am down to about 3-4 minutes. I do a LOT of them though probably 4-5 cups at a time.

Fireweed
06-28-2012, 04:52 PM
I've gotta try some of those microwaved goodies for the squirrels. :thumbsup

Here's what I do for the wilds (besides straight up almonds, walnuts, pecans and fruit pieces): I mix a couple different rodent blocks together in a mortar. Could be Harlan Teklad, Kaytee, Oxbow, whatever. Then I moisten the finely ground stuff with very warm water so it makes a paste. I then put almond butter in this paste and roll it into little balls, big or small depending on the size of squirrels. Served fresh or chilled right to their greedy little paws. :)

If you meet a wild squirrel for the first time and you want to feed them, they will take rodent block and chow down happily, usually. It's only after getting all the addictive nuts and seeds that they tend to refuse the blocks.

chinni
12-13-2012, 03:33 PM
If I give them these rodent blocks coated with peanut butter,sometimes they may not eat and they may hide the food in some places.after few days or months,they dig it and get the food from the holes.i have seen them doing it.please advise.will it be healthy for them?because it's peanut butter coated and little oil coated.i feed wild .i don't have any pets.