Esbilac: yay or nay?

[Starfish]

Hi Guys,

I haven’t been in the group in a few years busy growing my human family.

I’m just catching up.

Last I was here....

Esbilac was terrible for squirrels.

Fox Valley was just becoming recognized as problematic.

I’m now flipping through sticky notes and seeing that FV remained a problem and esbilac was back to being the solution again.

But the eabilac May have become problematic again so the answer is the goat’s milk recipe/yogurt/cream recipe (at least the 4 first weeks).

Have I read/gathered my info correctly? Not urgent, just like to be prepared and also advise others correctly.

Also, some folks on social media are advising kitten formula. Apparently based on vet advice. Thoughts on this?

Thanks.

[CritterMom]

You have it close to right.

At this point, skip the Esbilac, and use the homemade goats milk formula until 4 weeks of age, then do a slow transition onto FV 20/50. The "FV issues" have all been with the 32/40 which is supposed to be for the bitty babies and is REALLY not good for them.

No to kitten formula. Cats are obligate carnivores. They eat meat. Only meat. Cats eat vegetation to make themselves vomit. A vast number of health problems cats have come from feeding inexpensive foods that are made from vegetable products like corn to stretch the more expensive protein sources. Any formula created for felines should have WAY too much protein in it for a squirrel.

[Starfish]

Thanks.

I had use the homemade stuff in the early days (wayyy back when) and I think invested in FV a few times once they were older.

No worries on the cat food from my end. I’m trying to correct advice thatsbeing given out. ‘A vet told me to use kitten formula and it worked for me and it’s better than nothing’<—— I fully believe people on both points and somewhat agree with the last part. But there’s better than’better than nothing’. It’s hard to try to give the right advice; people get offended when the intention is to provide better/safer/more optimal advice.

[SammysMom]

I have rehabbed 25 so far this season and I fed Zoologic 33/40 with Fox Valley 32/40 with heavy cream. I know of at least 150 successes and no issues have been seen with the blend.
It is based on mother squirrel's milk and is fed birth to wean. If you want to look at the nutritional information on all formulas, go to ewildagain.org and take a look at the nutrition section. There is actually a calculator to check the nutrition of the formulas against squirrel's milk. It is an amazing resource of information and is all based on independent laboratory testing.

Hi Guys,

I haven’t been in the group in a few years busy growing my human family.

I’m just catching up.

Last I was here....

Esbilac was terrible for squirrels.

Fox Valley was just becoming recognized as problematic.

I’m now flipping through sticky notes and seeing that FV remained a problem and esbilac was back to being the solution again.

But the eabilac May have become problematic again so the answer is the goat’s milk recipe/yogurt/cream recipe (at least the 4 first weeks).

Have I read/gathered my info correctly? Not urgent, just like to be prepared and also advise others correctly.

Also, some folks on social media are advising kitten formula. Apparently based on vet advice. Thoughts on this?

Thanks.