Sweet Potato

[catmut]

My 8-week old foxer is loving the new veggies in his diet. I want to try to give him sweet potato or butternut squash, but do squirrels eat them cooked or raw?

[Shewhosweptforest]

My guys like them raw :great but I don't give them a lot....just a small chunk a day :great

[Gardentoes11]

My boy Jasper Hans loves raw sweet potato! Not so much the butternut squash, or even pumpkin, which squirrels are supposed to adore. Definitely raw, though. I can say that even if your little buddy doesn't go for a food right now, he might decide he likes it later. These stinkers are so fickle! Jazzy used to love carrots, but now he won't touch them. Wouldn't do broccoli, but now it's his favorite. I just offer him a variety & whatever he won't eat goes to the neighborhood wilds.....

[Mel1959]

Yep, I put all those yummy greens and tasty sweet potatoes and squash out for my wilds and they wouldn't touch a single one! Guess the wild food pickins are pretty good in Florida!

[Rocky1]

Me:
Raw, sliced into wedges (wedges like how watermelon is served to people). My squirrels then eat it just like people eat watermelon, leaving the peel behind.

[Rexie]

Fyi, acorn squash is a big hit with my foxer..

[island rehabber]

I feed two types of sweet potato: the regular orange yam type, just a couple of small wedges (raw), and a couple of chunks of the "yama", "batata" or "Korean sweet potato" that has been available now for several years. It's a beautiful red-purple on the outside and very white inside. It's loaded with vitamins and has less sugar than orange sweet potatoes. I've yet to find a squirrel who didn't love it. Squash for me has been 50/50....half the kids like it, maybe. Owena never really liked it but if I give her pumpkin with some seeds attached she'll eat that. I did try steaming the squash once, at a TSB member's suggestion, and it didn't really improve the odds....:dono :grin2

[lennysmom]

My fuzzers have always been picky (I know it has nothing to do with me spoiling them!:grin) But my fuzzers won't touch sweet potatoes unless they are nuked in the microwave for about a minute. I cut a half inch slice and nuke it and let it cool. They love them like that! As far as squash goes, I have one who loves zucchini squash, so he gets a small piece with his veggies daily. :)