Early Nutrition : Compare for yourselves

[jblwired]

These are the two best options for comparison that I know of for baby squirrels.

This first link is to the stuff I will always feed my baby mammals as a replacement for the real thing, for humans or otherwise, and can even be WAY safer than the toxic waste dumps that mothers sometimes turn their bodies into these days. It makes babies poop comes out a normal, firm brown, and turns 8 week old critters into tough, muscular, tubby tummy, daddy stalking, tiger pawed, kung-fu masters. Works great for me and I know it's good, nutritious formula that has been balanced, tested, and tweaked by an experienced 85 year old company!

http://www.gerber.com/allstages/products/formula/gerber_good_start_soy_plus_formula_ready_to_feed.a spx (check out the nutritional tab)

.....and this next link is to the stuff I quit using on my babies due to digestive distress, and then used the remainder to feed to the microbes in my poor septic tank, that I soon after had to have pumped out after it spit everything up and spewed runny yellow-green crap in my lap, I mean, yard. Won't do that again!

http://www.foxvalleynutrition.com/product-lines/milkreplacers/day-one-2050/

Anyway, everybody please judge for yourselves, as these are just my personal observations and experiences on baby nutrition. Just please remember, vitamins and minerals have to be in balance to assist each other in the absorption process, cause if one gets out of balance, then you can end up with a domino effect of multiple serious nutrient deficiencies.

[island rehabber]

Sorry jblwired, but you're not going to get support here on The SQUIRREL Board touting a formula meant for HOMO SAPIENS. Not gonna happen, my friend.

I raise and release approximately 20-40 orphaned baby squirrels per year. Not so many, except that a large portion of these babies come in as neonates -- less than 1 week old. I use Fox Valley and only Fox Valley. My babies live. I do not have bloating, diarrhea, or any other GI distress with these babies.,......EVER. In fact the only time I do see this symptom is when I get in an older baby (6-7 weeks) who has been messed up by its first finder with cow's milk, GatorAide, Esbilac or (GOD FORBID) Hartz Mountain. Eventually, the Fox Valley straightens them out.
Your rant is colorful and funny but a lot of good, true research went into the development of Fox Valley for SQUIRRELS.......I prefer to go with the experts and so does THe Squirrel Board.

:peace

[Anne]

Amen Sister IR, amen!

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Formulas designed for humans may have higher grade ingredients in them, but they are not OK for baby squirrels, bunnies, or opossums. Human babies require much much much less fat and protein than baby bunnies, squirrels, and opossums. Think about how fast wildlife grows up, they need a lot of protein and fat to fuel that. Then think of how fast a baby human grows up. The rate of growth in a baby bunny in the first 6 weeks of life is equivalent to a human's growth and development of a year or more. Giving something for humans without seriously beefing it up is just not going to provide the protein and fat that a wild animal needs.

I have had issues with fox valley as far as digestibility goes, but now mix it with a homemade formula that another board member helped me come up with and I have great success. A human formula is NOT the solution to your problems!

[Nemehoto]

Human babies do NOT grow to adulthood in 1 year or less. Animal babies require huge amounts of nutrients, fat, and protein compared to human babies. They need different ratios of many minerals because of their growth rate. Are the QUALITY of the components higher in human formula? Honestly I would say yes 30 years ago... Now? I seriously doubt it, most of it is made from imported milk products, imported vegetables etc. from countries who do NOT have strict regulatory controls on food production and sanitation.

As a farmer, I can tell you horror stories of what is in our grocery stores. As a person who is going to COLLEGE for sustained agriculture, I can tell you if we don't change what we are doing in agriculture, by 2050 we are going to have a hard time eating anything healthy or safe.

Ooooo don't get me started... I will rant for pages on the food system in the US and these so called baby foods and formulas and added hormones... AAHHHHHH... I'll shut up now. Scary book... read it sometime... "Silent Spring" by Rachael Carlson

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I didn't mean that babies grow to adulthood in 1 year, I meant their growth in 1 year is equivalent to a baby bunny's growth in 6 weeks (6 week cottontails are far from adults).

I was on the same side of the argument as you!

Products might be similar in human and animal food but the difference is that animal products aren't forced to recall when things don't go well, human products they are.

[IrishHarps]

I found this a little offensive to people who are planning on breastfeeding as well (some of us still watch what goes into our bodies!). There are a lot of downsides to formula feeding human babies too... I'm not sure if you meant it to come off that way (I find that online communications can come off a lot harsher than they may have been meant to) but please consider wording things carefully when discussing what people do with their own babies... it is very easy to make a mother pissed off!

And yes, everyone here uses FV and it works out wonderfully :) Maybe you just got a bad batch one time?

[stepnstone]

Sorry jblwired, but you're not going to get support here on The SQUIRREL Board touting a formula meant for HOMO SAPIENS. Not gonna happen, my friend.

I raise and release approximately 20-40 orphaned baby squirrels per year. Not so many, except that a large portion of these babies come in as neonates -- less than 1 week old. I use Fox Valley and only Fox Valley. My babies live. I do not have bloating, diarrhea, or any other GI distress with these babies.,......EVER. In fact the only time I do see this symptom is when I get in an older baby (6-7 weeks) who has been messed up by its first finder with cow's milk, GatorAide, Esbilac or (GOD FORBID) Hartz Mountain. Eventually, the Fox Valley straightens them out.
Your rant is colorful and funny but a lot of good, true research went into the development of Fox Valley for SQUIRRELS.......I prefer to go with the experts and so does THe Squirrel Board.

:peace


:thankyou IR! :bowdown

[Nemehoto]

Squirrelsrule&bunniestoo, Oh my I was ranting at the original poster not at you. I am very sorry if I implied that! I was upset that jblwired was stating human formula was good for wildlife. From the get go I meant there is no comparison of human growth and animal growth so the components of the formula would be different. I read your post after I made mine :( Sorry I did not mean to offend