Storing Acorns and Hickory

[Snicker Bar]

I never worried about storing Hickory Nuts because they never lasted; my girls LOVE them. But I found the biggest tree a couple days ago, nuts everywhere. Can they simply be dry-stored in the shell, and busted to check for decay before feeding?

And the Acorns...I read for the first time the sad post from a few years back, and the discussions that followed. Since then , have there been any new recommendations about safe storage of Acorns ? As with the Hickory, is there an “expiration date” if they are NOT frozen, but simply kept in a cool, dry place? Or will they mold without freezing after a certain time?

The acorns I’m describing are STAIGHT from the branch. And always busted open before offered. I’ve only hesitantly fed a few over the last couple seasons, and within a few days of collection. I threw away a ton last year some well meaning kids gathered, but they were from the ground .

I have to grey juveniles that I will be overwintering for observation, and potentially release. I want them to know fall = acorns, in case they can be released ( Kanga and Roo). Teenie and Leah ( the Flyers) also love their acorns.

Just double, DOUBLE checking about any new info. that may have come out I missed here,
Thanks friends

[Centerline]

I've kept hickory nuts for months until I run out. They keep well in a dry place. As do black walnuts. I keep them in the house in a single layer in shallow open cardboard boxes so that they get good air. And when the outer shell is dry and open, I get rid of those parts leaving only the inner good part. You can usually tell by the weight if the inside is good or not. My girl usually can tell also. If she doesn't start working on one right away and just leaves it, it's not good on the inside. I don't bother with acorns. The amount of treat inside versus the amount of teeth work too much and I've also read bad things about acorns. I think hickory nuts and black walnuts are awesome. My girl loves them, they give her a good teeth workout, and there's not much treat inside. She gets 2 per day.

[HRT4SQRLS]

I don't think there isn't a problem with storing hickory nuts. I would keep them in a dry, cool place inside the house.

The acorns are a different story. There once was a time when we all stored acorns in the freezer. Those days are gone for most rehabbers. I no longer 'store' acorns. I do give my rehab squirrels and also my flyers fresh acorns. The key word is 'fresh'. I either pick them from the tree or if they have just fallen I am OK with that. I can actually pick out a just fallen acorn. The circular area of the acorn under the cap is bright orange. This is on a laurel oak. If it sits a while the area will turn tan.
After I've acquired an acorn I will only keep them a day or two if not fed immediately.

I can remember a time in the past of collecting many acorns in a bucket. You could actually feel the heat generated from them if you stuck your hand deep into the container. That in itself is part of the problem (not the only problem) as it sets up a perfect warm environment for the fungus to grow.

I pretty much limit the time that I acquire acorns to the few short weeks when they are ripe and falling. When the ground is littered with acorns I steer clear. I know this is what partially sustains wild squirrels through the winter but I don't want to be responsible for any injury or death by not using the utmost of caution.
Many rehabbers won't fed an acorn period. I'm not in that camp. I will fed an acorn but it has to be fresh. Everyone has to decide for themselves but to answer your question more directly, I don't store acorns.... maybe a day or two but no more.

[CritterMom]

I've kept hickory nuts for months until I run out. They keep well in a dry place. As do black walnuts. I keep them in the house in a single layer in shallow open cardboard boxes so that they get good air. And when the outer shell is dry and open, I get rid of those parts leaving only the inner good part. You can usually tell by the weight if the inside is good or not. My girl usually can tell also. If she doesn't start working on one right away and just leaves it, it's not good on the inside. I don't bother with acorns. The amount of treat inside versus the amount of teeth work too much and I've also read bad things about acorns. I think hickory nuts and black walnuts are awesome. My girl loves them, they give her a good teeth workout, and there's not much treat inside. She gets 2 per day.

Is your squirrel an NR or are you releasing her soon?

I ask because those are both EXTREMELY hard shelled nuts - I feed them both as well. I think they should be much more occasional than 2 per day for a squirrel who is a "pet." In the wild, honestly, they tend to die fairly young in comparison to captive squirrels who can easily live more than 10 years. One of the big issues with older squirrels is the creation of odontomas at the roots of the front teeth. There is a lot of links to trauma to the teeth - from injury when young from falling on the face; from chewing cage wires (1/2" hardware cloth eliminates this); and I think that many years of LOTS of very hard shelled nuts is also a recipe for odontoma. In the wild, a squirrel would not have a chance to create these with food alone...but I want my squirrel to live, if not forever, then as close as I can get!

I try to purchase the very tiny hickory nuts - the ones that are less than an inch long have tough but not the rock hard shells. Those are my go to nut. The black walnuts are given maybe once or twice a month. They take days to finish.

[Snicker Bar]

Thanks this answers all my questions and hopefully helps others. And the NR vs wild, and risk of Odontoma ... I never thought of that. I always
Bust them for my girls; pre-crack I guess you could say. But maybe I shouldn’t even give these to Doodles with all her teeth issues. But I do have two releasable (?) juveniles that I had thought may need the practice . I need to post an updated pic of Kanga.. her head tilt is nearly gone. I’m just not sure how much of a tilt ( it’s occasional now, usually when she’s still) would make her be considered non release . That’s a different topic, guess will deal with that question later I don’t want her to leave lol.

[Diggie's Friend]

Did you know that hickory and pecans are the same family of nuts, pecans having a thin shell and a closer (Ca:P) ratio than Hickory nuts.

Pecans have been found to have the least incidence of toxic fungus of common nuts.

Black walnuts have a poorer Ca:P ratio than both these nuts, and a greater oxalate to calcium ratio, making them a bad choice to include in a captive squirrel diet.

[Diggie's Friend]

HRT4SQRLS wrote:

I can remember a time in the past of collecting many acorns in a bucket. You could actually feel the heat generated from them if you stuck your hand deep into the container. That in itself is part of the problem (not the only problem) as it sets up a perfect warm environment for the fungus to grow.

What you have observed about the heat in acorns makes allot of sense, as fungus on the inside of nuts is related to insect infestation by nut worms while still on the trees, and other insects once the nut weevil larva exit the nuts by boring out of the shell. The holes are visible after exist. Sometime you may be able to see the smaller hole made by the parent weevil that bores into green acorns and other nuts to deposit their eggs. Organic nuts are more likely to have fungus, yet the fumigation source is a toxin also. Nuts other than those certified organic are required to be fumigated to qualify to be sold in markets in the US. The best option is to feed organic nuts only which have been shelled examined for obvious fungal growth, which not visual, blanching for a couple of minutes is recommended to destroy non visual fungus. Boiling won't destroy all the spores; yet it is fungus that produces the mycotoxins, not the spores directly.

Insects in stored grains create heat also. In corn, wheat and other stored grains heat and moisture play a key role in the development of toxic fungus that produce mycotoxins. This why most grains are treated to kill this fungus.

Many of the samples contaminated by fungus of Aspergillus spp. were also contaminated by
insects (Da Mata et al., 1999). The association between Aspergillus flavus and stored grain
insects has drawn the attention of many authors. A population of insects in the grain bulk if not
controlled may create local temperature and humidity conditions that stimulate the fast
development of fungus, which may lead to the grain bulk deterioration and mycotoxin production.

[Snicker Bar]

Didn’t know this.... and dang if I just bought a big bag of walnut halves for boo balls . Is there a nut “ ranking “ of best to worst , for recipes ? I’m thinking I read almonds were one of the better choices; the girls just don’t like them as well ..

[Diggie's Friend]

Continued from previous post:

Low oven heat following blanching of nuts, and patting dry, is also needful to remove moisture from the nuts after this process is completed.

Don't feel bad about it Snickers Bar, I just found this file today. We had fed both pecans and walnuts to our squirrels. Hard to say why one passed earlier in life, but it may have been from eating a contaminated nut. You see alphatoxins produced from the fungus are carcinogenic.

Though for the research diet I feed only organic pecans, for the wilds I feel organic walnuts from a good source. If the nut kernels are soft or rancid don't feed them. Examining the inside of the shell, and blanching the kernels if they have no apparent fungus, does much to support that the nuts are move over fungus free. Storing them too long is a real issue as HRT4SQRLS has related. It is interesting that Aspergillus Flavius fungus also produces oxalates; all the more reason to include MTS elixir for your NR's diets.

[Diggie's Friend]

In your region pecan is the best nut. Pecans grow in the SE to southern Mid-western region, and SW US.

This article relates a natural insecticide that is non toxic SBO (Soil based bacterium) is being used to prevent fungus in pecans. Also insect control with insects.

https://agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/2008/nov/pecans

SBO in the diet as a pre-probiotic, also lends some protection from toxins in nuts. This is the route I see to go, not back to toxic fungicides.

Considering English walnuts do well in the dryer regions of the west makes sense that our walnuts may not be as susceptible to Aspergillus growth. Our girl was fed whole walnuts for all her life, and to our knowledge didn't succumb to a fungal infection to her liver.

As for our wilds, the only year we had a very wet winter was when we found fungus had developed on the shells of the nuts we had stored in our garage for the wild years after our squirrels had passed. This was not toxic A. Flavius that is black, yet in discovering this I threw them out. Some fungus aren't toxic, not to say that they don't produce oxalates, but the most produced is from the toxic black A. Flavius species as another study I located relates. Our dryer climate clearly is the key to which nuts are safe. In our area that is E. Walnuts are the main crop, in dryer regions of Texas pecans are grown. I saw the source online. Consider providing pecans from this source.

[Snicker Bar]

Wow , thanks Diggies Friend , and friend to many beginners here like myself Love your research, and I always try and take the time to read and print these things in my ever growing homemade manual . Said it before; you could write and publish a guide for healthy squirrels , and their owners , if they would follow the same general plan ha!

[Diggie's Friend]

Thanks, we all begin some place; thing is this isn't my research, it is others. What is mine is mostly my own experiences, that everyone has on this and that.

Occasionally I find new source of knowledge that I desire to pass onto others here.

I'm not a rehabber, nor have good writing skills, which makes composing tough going for me. If in the future there was a good writer who would

like to support such a venture on the diet, I might be interested. For the present I'm in the process of renovating our home, and then time on the board.

As for hickory with thick shells, that I have as yet to find info on fungal contamination, but I will keep looking.

[Diggie's Friend]

Snickers Bar wrote:

Is there a nut “ ranking “ of best to worst , for recipes ? I’m thinking I read almonds were one of the better choices; the girls just don’t like them as well ..

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/art...ort=objectonly

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4444134/

Though this study could have used a larger number of samples, the results do cause one to pause and consider that the nuts fed may indeed matter.

Fungal Presence in Selected Tree Nuts and Dried Fruits

Sixty-four tree nut samples (almonds, pecans, pine nuts, and walnuts) and 50 dried fruit samples (apricots, cranberries, papaya, pineapple, and raisins) were purchased from local supermarkets and analyzed for fungal contamination using conventional cu…

[Diggie's Friend]

In our study, pecans had minimal fungal contamination. This is in contrast with past studies that reported the presence of various mold contaminants in pecans with potential to produce mycotoxins.11,26 Schroeder and Hein11 demonstrated the presence of A. flavus (found in 43% of the samples) and A. glaucus (encountered in 35% of tested samples) in in-shell pecans

Conclusion all nuts may carry some percentage of toxins; this is why taking the precaution of opening all nuts fed NR squirrels, to be organic,
and the shelled kernels blanched for a couple of minutes, then oven dried.

From attached study file:

Available oxalate content of nuts

Conclusions

Data from this experiment suggest that some nuts (almonds, Brazil, candle, cashews and pine nuts) should be placed in Group 1 as defined by Noonan and Savage (1999)9 and should be consumed in moderation.

While other nuts (hazelnuts, ginkgo, pecan, peanuts and pistachio nuts) should be placed in Groups 2 or 3 because they contain only moderate amounts of intestinal soluble oxalates.

Keeping in mind that this second study's recommendation to limit the higher oxalate nuts according to "all things in moderation" is for human diets, and so based upon human digestive physiology, that doesn't significantly absorb Calcium oxalate, as the GI tract of rats and tree squirrels do when consuming these same nuts. Based upon the significant difference in GI physiology in humans to rats and tree squirrels, the high oxalate nuts (Group I)should be eliminated from tree squirrel diet, and the nuts with a moderate level of oxalates (group 2) (pecans hazelnuts) should be fed in moderation (limited to a small measure daily). Walnuts not included in this study, but included in similar studies, and the USDA listing, show this nut, that is moderate in oxalates, also belongs to (Group 1). (Group 3: Ginko, peanuts, and pistachio) nuts not optimal nut sources to include in the diet of tree squirrels.

[Snicker Bar]

Great info as always , thanks for all you do! You are a rehabber ; from a distance I guess you could say. You are a valuable educator passing on a wealth of knowledge for those who currently do have critters We no longer have ANY classs being offered in my state , until further notice. And even when they were offered it was only once a year. So literally , TSB members here are my only instructors; can’t thank y’all enough

[Centerline]

I just realized that the previous post from CritterMom was directed at me. My girl is a pet Eastern Gray. She won't be released. It has never crossed my mind that such tough nuts could lead to problems later in life. I thought that work was good since I don't see much evidence that she works on her deer antlers very much and she only destroys one of her tree sticks occasionally. Thanks for the warning! The good news is that I have always split the walnuts. From now on, I will split the hickory nuts also. I have already reduced the quantity on the advice of Diggie's Friend concerning her diet and a possible UTI we are working through. Thanks again.

[Diggie's Friend]

You could do what a friend of mine does with the thick shelled species of Hickory nuts to give her squirrel a nut to gnaw on. Remove the shell and check both the kernel and under on the inside surface of the shell to ensure there is no sign of fungus nut weevil worms, or an exit hole made by them. Then boil the shell for 5 minutes, and drain the water, then soak the shell halves a few times more in hot water, then rinse, and oven dry on low.

[Katrina48]

I store my nuts in 100% cotton pillow cases and lay them flat in a dry cool place. The cotton absorbs any moisture that may occur and it’s breathable. That’s just me though. My Gus Gus has a living space of 14 ft long, 8ft tall and 10 ft wide so I have a spot for dirt so he can hide his own nuts. It works for us anyways. Good luck friend. Lots of cool information on this post.