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LittlestMonster
05-28-2022, 11:58 PM
With the information I found on this forum, we successfully raised and released our boy, Kevin. Watching him climb the huge oak tree in our front yard and leap from limb to limb was simultaneously the most joyous & heartbreaking thing I've ever witnessed. Whoever coined the term "the pain of success" knew exactly what I was feeling. It's been 11 days now, and Kevin seems to have made his home in the oak tree, sharing it with at least one other male. We've been blessed to see him at least once every day since his release, and he looks good. Before this, we never paid much attention to the squirrels that visit & forage in our yard, never fed them, and certainly never recognized one squirrel from another. Now though, we are outside in our chairs every morning and every evening for what we call "Kevin Watch." We're starting to recognize individuals, and since we're feeding Kevin (Healthy Blocks & veggies in the morning, veggies & a nut in the evening), I started putting out some nuts & seeds & veggies for the other squirrels and the cardinals that visit our yard.

For the past three or four days, we've seen this little guy whom we've named Baby Groot. He comes out when Kevin comes out and will forage in the yard at the same time. He doesn't bolt when we come out and will continue foraging as long as we stay in our chairs. Shy but curious, he's bold enough to come down to the little feeding station while we're out. I'm definitely not an expert, but he seems pretty young to me, small and still fuzzy, and he seems kind of thin. We'd like to support him nutritionally. I realize that nuts & seeds aren't great, but I've yet to see him nibble on any veggies. We've also left Healthy Block pieces, but those go untouched too. I'm hoping that someone can offer advice on what healthy foods he might take.

We don't know where he's nesting--possibly in the oak tree but maybe not. We've seen him jump over from some other trees. Is there any way to encourage him to nest in our yard?

Binkers mom
05-29-2022, 08:55 AM
He is adorable!
We built and placed wooden nesting boxes all over the yard and our releases move in very fast. There are design plans on the internet...make sure there is an access door to clean them out occasionally.
I have had success mixing Henry's healthy pets vitamins and minerals supplement And calcium supplement into a piece of avocado... Then I know my little babies are getting are getting better nutritional support.