Acorns

[Nana3]

Okay, I may sound very stupid here but I need to know what acorns I can give to my 9 wk old greys. We have two Oaks up the street that are full of green acorns. Do I pick them now and save them, feed them green or wait til they turn brown and then pick them?
I have never watched a wild eating acorns other than burying them for winter. I cut branches off to put in the cage but took all the leaves and acorns off. :dono

[SammysMom]

As long as I know they weren't sprayed with anything I give Sammy branches with leaves and acorns at once.

[Nana3]

do you give them green acorns SM? I worry about giving them something that would upset the tummy. I know these trees are not sprayed as house has been in foreclosure for two years.

[SammysMom]

I do let Sammy have the when they are green, but I think he prefers them brown. Not sure what the experts will say and I too am curious.:D

[shellyb1018]

I gave my girl the green ones not long ago, and she loves them. Never a problem. Only question I have here is when I wash them I know to give the "sinkers" and throw away the floaters, but if I wash them and them go to give them in a few days after, they are then floaters. How long do they last? How many can I give to her at one time?
Sorry to thread jack but its all about the acorns. :D :rotfl

[rainrshine]

What about freezing them... just like the magnolia cones?

[iwonka]

What about freezing them... just like the magnolia cones?

You can freeze the magnolia cones? :confused: :sanp3

For the acorns - yes, you can freeze them. :thumbsup

[rainrshine]

Yes, you can freeze magnolia cones and because I live in Fl I have several people scouting the area for these! It seems henry's is already sold out!

[kastillo]

Are magnolia cones the pods with red seeds on the magnolia tree?? Do squirrels eat those?? I have magnolias and if this is a potential source of wild food I'd love to collect some.

[rainrshine]

Are magnolia cones the pods with red seeds on the magnolia tree?? Do squirrels eat those?? I have magnolias and if this is a potential source of wild food I'd love to collect some.
YES and they are in bloom now.

[iwonka]

YES and they are in bloom now.

Not here :( ...

[BamaHam]

I've been giving my squirrels acorns that I picked yesterday. I pick them all fall until you can't find them anymore. I freeze some in ziploc baggies and pull them out of freezer as I use them up. Also hickory nuts and pecans. I found them in large quanities at the mall parking lot, at McDonald's parking lot, and other landscaped parking lots. There are no squirrels depending on those nuts for the winter so I don't feel guilty taking them. Hammy usually picks out the bad ones and throws them on the floor for me to clean up. :D

[kastillo]

So it's ok for squirrels to eat the seeds from magnolia cones. Just wanted to double check before I give them any.

[rainrshine]

Here's a link (out of stock of course) from Henry's who sells them during the season.

http://www.henryspets.com/products/Fresh-Magnolia-Cones-1-lb.html

I wish I had a Magnolia tree! Instead, I'll have to start knocking on doors or looking for vacant houses with some LOL.

[SammysMom]

I may not have magnolia cones, but I have a squirrel who seems to be hooked on green pine cones! :crazy It seems they have to be showing a bit of browning, but he will eat them and hide them around the house for as long as I keep providing them. It's like putting a 3 year old in front of a TV. If he has them, I can ignore him and know that he isn't destroying anything around the house.:thumbsup
Has anyone ever frozen these? I will go pick as may as I can carry for the winter if they can be frozen!

[Milo's Mom]

Yes, I freeze both acorns and pine cones. Green and brown of both.

After I collect my acorns I give them a water bath, toss the floaters keep the sinkers, leave the on the kitchen counter on a towel for a day, then bag them up and freeze them. They've been washed once so I do not wash them again. I feed them frozen throughout the winter. When it is time for the acorns to start falling, I place an old king size sheet or tarp out in the yard (bricks on the corners to hold it down) allow the acorns to fall all day and night and then I collect them each morning. This process keeps the acorns off the ground where the bugs are, makes the collection process very quick and simple, and I am positive I am getting the freshly fallen ones.

Green pinecones are collected as fast as I find them (I cannot climb that high in my trees to pick them...50+ feet), do a visual for bugs and if they are clear into the baggy and freezer they go. I feed them frozen also.

Brown pinecones are not really for eating...the seeds are already gone (that's why they are brown and open), but I collect them and use them as toys...they too are visually inspected, then bagged and frozen until needed.

[SammysMom]

Thank-you! I will be off to the park tomorrow to pilfer their trees! They are loaded this year and there are a whole lot of low branches. I didn't have anything to put them in so I had to dump my full box of dog biscuits into the console of my brand new car:sanp3 I filled that up and just couldn't get more because I didn't want sap on the new seats. I honestly wouldn't care but my husband would kill me:jump
I will be tossing a pile of bags into the car right now for tomorrow!
He doesn't like the brown ones that are open. Just seems to prefer the green ones that are beginning to brown.:thumbsup

[sadie7684]

Thanks for all the info. on acorns and pine cones. I was wondering and all my questions were answered! Oh...I do have one more...how old should a squirrel be before they can have acorns/pine cones? :)

[SammysMom]

I think it is more a matter of them being on a healthy diet including rodent block as the main item. Once that happens, they are okay for these wild treats!:thumbsup

[Nana3]

Thanks for the information guys. I will be off to the trees tomorrow to gather acorns. I want to introduce these little ones to the wild food they will need to find when they are released. Of course I will give them all the other things they need while I have them inside. :thankyou

[sadie7684]

I think it is more a matter of them being on a healthy diet including rodent block as the main item. Once that happens, they are okay for these wild treats!:thumbsup

Thanks SM! That's kind of what I thought but figured I would ask anyway. Over the past few days they seem to be eating more of their HHB's, still picking at veggies tho so maybe in another week or two. :)

[shellyb1018]

I have another question....Do I treat acorns like nuts? Only 2 a day?????

[sadie7684]

I have another question....Do I treat acorns like nuts? Only 2 a day?????
That is how I am taking it! Gave each of my babies an acorn today and they went nuts! :rotfl

[kastillo]

Here's a magnolia cone from my yard. They went nuts for it!! Cloe was the first to dig in:
http://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s418/KrissiStitt/DSC01293_zps9ff8f3c2.jpg

[Kysska]

Just to double check, if the tree has acorns on it, then the branches and leaves are safe to put in the cage? (I live way out in the country so I doubt there are pesticides on the ones near my house) Just want to confirm that ensures they're non-toxic :)

[sadie7684]

I usually put maple sticks/leaves in with my babies and have had no problems so I would assume that oak leaves/sticks would be safe. I always rinse mine in hot water before giving it to them. :)

[Kysska]

Alright thanks for the info, I'll give it a try later. :thankyou

[kcassidy]

What is the deal with sinkers and floaters, I just pick acorns like a loon and give them all to the squirrels and they eat some, ignore some. i don't need to freeze them as I have a gajillion all over in my area

[sadie7684]

Keep the sinkers, toss the floaters! :D

[velo]

Well, here's some interesting thoughts about acorns. I've tried keeping a few around for an occasional treat for my flyer through the winter, but have trouble either with mold or with weevils. Good news is, this year's harvest is robust. Bad news is, the weevils are very prevalent!

Some suggest gathering only the fresh-fallen acorns to avoid grubs -- well, the adult weevil lays her eggs in the acorn before it falls, so that's out.

I googled around a bit and found some discussions about whether squirrels avoid the acorns with the weevils in them (someone theorized that's why we find so many weevil-bearing ones left on the groung), or if the weevils are bailing out of the acorns and into the ground quickly because the squirrels actually enjoy them.

That last question was easy to answer. I gathered up a few of the fresh grubs in a squirrel bowl and offered them to my flyer. His answer - "yummy!"

Probably freezing the acorns is the best way of slowing the weevils, and the decomposition of damaged acorns. I'm not so worried about them any more. Perhaps I'll keep some unfrozen to harvest the grubs - I'd think they'd be pretty nutritious, like meal worms, yes?

[BamaHam]

Hammy, my E. grey, likes to eat the little worms inside the bad acorns. I don't take the time to pick out the good ones...life is to short. I let him pick them out. I put about 7-8 in a bowl along with his veggies and let him pick the good ones out. He'll throw the bad ones to the bottom of cage and eat the worms. The maid (yours truly) will clean his room later on.:D He usually buries extra acorns in his box and wakes up late at night and eats a snack. (just like his squammy)We likes our midnight snacks.:thumbsup

[Nemehoto]

How many acorns are recommended for 11 week old eastern grays? My kids love them but I only give one per squirrel per day... can I give them more than that?

[Squirrelis]

I let my Squirrelis have all she wants:D I pick fresh ones daily and put a big bowl out for her along with her breakfast- she picks thru those acorns all day:rotfl Even though she is a release- she comes to eat breakfast and dinner daily in her patio dining area:D gotta love her:Love_Icon

[SkweeksMom]

I will be off to the park tomorrow to pilfer their trees!

I love the "tree pilfering"! My hubby also pilfers his college campus for special treats we don't have at home. He is attends a local university and there are squirrels all over campus. He watches what they are nomming and then brings some home to Skweeks. He got to the the acorns late this year so Skwee only got a few but there were lots of dog wood berries and he loved those.

[Squirrel Girls Mom]

For those of you that may not know, acorns will discolor a squirrels urine, so don't panic if your squirrels urine gets dark colored after thay eat acorns.

I didn't know that and when I saw dark-colored urine I panicked, took a picture of the pee on a white paper towel, and posted it in the emergency section. :rotfl

[Squirrel Girls Mom]

Yes, I freeze both acorns and pine cones. Green and brown of both.

After I collect my acorns I give them a water bath, toss the floaters keep the sinkers, leave the on the kitchen counter on a towel for a day, then bag them up and freeze them. They've been washed once so I do not wash them again. I feed them frozen throughout the winter. When it is time for the acorns to start falling, I place an old king size sheet or tarp out in the yard (bricks on the corners to hold it down) allow the acorns to fall all day and night and then I collect them each morning. This process keeps the acorns off the ground where the bugs are, makes the collection process very quick and simple, and I am positive I am getting the freshly fallen ones.

Green pinecones are collected as fast as I find them (I cannot climb that high in my trees to pick them...50+ feet), do a visual for bugs and if they are clear into the baggy and freezer they go. I feed them frozen also.

Brown pinecones are not really for eating...the seeds are already gone (that's why they are brown and open), but I collect them and use them as toys...they too are visually inspected, then bagged and frozen until needed.

This is REALLY good info!! Thank you very much. I'll be washin & freezin acorns this weekend. :goodpost

[Badmojo420]

For those of you that may not know, acorns will discolor a squirrels urine, so don't panic if your squirrels urine gets dark colored after thay eat acorns.

I didn't know that and when I saw dark-colored urine I panicked, took a picture of the pee on a white paper towel, and posted it in the emergency section. :rotfl


This is most likely caused by the tannic acid that are naturally in acorns. I remember while I was out on the road an older hippie guy taught me how to harvest acorns and remove the acids so they are edible by humans. Basically just leeching the acids out in water.. the water is very very dark when its done.

Thank you for posting this, i wasnt aware acorns would change urine color.