Help..No acorns for squirrels this year

[becky127]

Because of the late spring freeze there are no acorns this year for the squirrels. I want to put out food for them this fall and winter. What do I put out for them? I don't want any of them to go hungry !!!!! I love these guys and I'm really worried about them. I've read a lot of information but this board looks like the very best place to go for the best answers. TIA Becky

[Milo]

i like to give them walnuts they are the cheapest best thing for them. Pecans are good to but more expensive. Sunflower seeds and peanuts are food you can give them it is just that great for them and i have been told that sunflower seeds can be hyperaddictive and both can contain a type of mold. if here are a bunch coming around i put out vegies too.

Jason

[island rehabber]

Corn on the cob and even dried corn is OK too to hold them thru the winter. Almonds are great if you can find them at a good price -- they have gotten awfully expensive. They provide calcium, however, which is good.

[TexanSquirrel]

Thanks for taking care of them!

[4skwerlz]

If this is a regional problem, you could end up feeding dozens and dozens of squirrels! If I were in your situation, I would go to the local feed store and buy large bags of horse feed. You can get 50-pound bags for as little as $6.00. You could try "Sweet feed," dried corn, pelleted feed, or plain oats. Some horse feeds have vitamins added. Also, the "sweet feed" has molasses on it, which will help supplement the calcium for the squirrels. :thankyou THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CARING!!!! I hate the thought of the little guys starving to death this winter. Please keep us posted with how it goes.

[becky127]

You're all so wonderful !!!!! I'm in Northwest Arkansas and we had a very warm February and March. All the trees and plants came out early....then at Easter 19 degrees hit for 4 straight days. All the leaves fell off the trees; therefore, NO ACORNS, no chokecherries, no peaches, nothing. The leaves came back, but no fruit or nuts. We normally have mountains of acorns falling everywhere.

We have many many squirrels, together with all the other imaginable critters. For some reason it's the squirrels that I'm most concerned with. I also feed birds, but know how to do that already.

The horse feed with molasses sounds good as I know they need much more than corn. It will have the calcium and vitamins they need. I plan to also put out leftover vegetables (of course without any salt, etc.) and fruits. If I can find walnuts I'll put those out too. If this isn't a good idea, please let me know. I expect to be feeding a lot of them. I don't dare attempt to make any of them pets as I wouldn't be able to stop. They are so darn sweet.

Thank you all for such fast and friendly help. Becky

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

:D You know what we do we eat less :rotfl 1/2 of my grocery store money goes to buy squirrel food. Are we any thinner? No!:jump

Seriously I get a 50 lb. bag of sunflower seeds (which went from 12$to 20 over the summer) mix in pumpkin seeds, also I buy hard shelled nuts in the winter.
You can still give some peanuts and like the others said corn also.
Thank you for caring for the squirrels.