Basic Nutrition

[astra]

just to add some food for thought (no pun intended):

one can take a look at any fortified food (e.g., cereal, sports protein bars, sports protein drinks etc.) - the "food" ingredients, i.e., the ingredients that make this stuff edible, are listed first, and all the fortification (vitamins and minerals) are listed after precisely because they are concentrated. If they were listed first, this wouldn't be "food" really, it would be an equivalent of a multivitamin pill.

Similarly, nuts which are listed first in HHBs fulfill the same function - they simply help make the block palatable and food. Otherwise, it would be just a baked equivalent of a multivitamin pill.

Also, some commercial blocks list corn and other less desirable foods among their first ingredients. Yet, because these blocks have concentrated vits. and minerals, the latter neutralize the harmful effects of corn, too.

No, it is not a "popular belief."

HHBs have been used with success as the foundational block for squirreles for many years.

Being adamant about first ingredients being nuts reveals one's lack of knowledge of what determines the order of ingredients on a food label.
The order of the ingredients on a food label is determined by WEIGHT, NOT by concentration of nutrients in a given ingredient.
Hence, since BY WEIGHT nuts outweigh other ingredients, they are listed first.
BUT the vitamins and minerals are CONCENTRATED, so even though they are lighter in physical weight, they "OUTWEIGH" the "heavy" nuts by nutritional concentration.
IN other words - nutrition-wise vitamins and minerals overpower the nuts.

MOREOVER, the concentration of vitamins and minerals in HHBs has been based on lab data about rats. THAT means, that HHBs have been formulated pretty much like all that rat block (i.e., based on the same data) yet with a special focus on squirrels, and what makes them far superior to even good commercial block is that they use all human grade ingredients and NO fillers.
The carefully calculated concentration of vitamins and minerals in HHBs neutralized ANY and ALL possible undesirable effects of nuts. Thus, nuts are only fulfilling their function of making block attractive to squirrels, while concentrated vitamins and minerals fulfill their nutritional "healthful" function.


Comparing block to block, commercial rat block (and some more so than others) use a lot of fillers, and not great ones (soy one of them).
For large rehab and for very, very tight budgets commercial block is used just fine.
But for singletons or whenever budget permits, HHBs are still superior.

There has never been ONE single squirrel with MBD on HHBs.
Furthermore, there have been countless squirrels who recovered from MBD and other injuries on HHBs as their block.

So, to imply and suggest that HHBs are somehow harmful and their benefits are a "popular belief" is a rather grave misinformation.

In order to get over this whole "nuts are listed first" people need to learn that ingredients are listed by weight; and people also need to learn about the differences between weight of a substance and a concentrated substance of lesser weight and so on and so forth.

Different people have their own preferred modes of feedings - and that's fine. But when shared it is best to share them exactly as "personal preferences" and not as some kind of authoritative statements labeling others - in this case HHBs - as a "popular belief."

While more experienced board members may be able to sort out through such comments, newbies may not.

Let's keep personal preferences as such and, when some strong statements are made as in this case of labeling the benefits of HHBs as "popular belief" - let's support such strong claims with facts (such as what determines the order of ingredients in a food label) and not with one's own "preferred beliefs" and misinformation.

Thus, so far there are such facts about HHBs:
1) not one squirrel became ill with MBD on HHBs. EVER. NEVER.
2) a great number of squirrels recovered from MBD on HHBs
3) They are formulated specifically for squirrels with rat data as foundation.
4) ingredients on food labels are listed in the order of weight, NOT concentration.
5) HHBs use all high quality human grade ingredients.