Coal?

[Mennome]

Does anyone have any information on coal in the squirrel diet? I often feed coal to some of my livestock, mainly pigs. I had brought a few small pieces in the house as a "gag gift" for someone....give them coal instead of a gift. A piece must have fell on the floor. Two of my girls found it and loved it. I think they would have chewed and eaten it if I hadn't wrestled it away. BUT the enjoyment was real and they promptly set about searching me for the piece.

Sulfa/Sulpher has medical properties, coal is known to be a great natural deworming, mineral content is good.

Does anyone have thoughts or experiences on feeding coal to squirrels??

TIA! :grin3

[Mennome]

Hmm...so this must be a "no-go" if no one has heard of it. LOL I know it sounded strange!
:grin3

[Nancy in New York]

Hmm...so this must be a "no-go" if no one has heard of it. LOL I know it sounded strange!
:grin3

:dono

[Lighten-Up]

I don't know this answer, but I do want to say that I really appreciate you posting it, it got my attention because I had a dog who used to steal coal all the time from my coal bucket in winter. I thought it was bad for her, and finally moved the bucket out of reach for her. She's long gone, passed on years ago.

So your post made me research coal and animals. I found that many dogs will chew on coal to self medicate a digestive system that is upset. Now I feel bad/ignorant that I removed her ability to self medicate. Now I know, thank you.

I suppose it's very possible that it could be helpful in squirrels too, but since the pool of info regarding squirrels is much less than dogs, we just might not know. I do not yet understand what makes one thing that benefits one animal, harmful to another.

I have a coal pile out in the yard. I don't think I've ever seen a squirrel snitching from it, but I've never really looked either, they're out there all day, and I"m not, so it could have happened, I'll keep an eye out for that.

Thank you again.