Hello, I'm new and would like nutrition information for my wild backyard squirrels.

[Vidia]

Hello, I'm new to this board. I am trying to find information on what I should be feeding my wild backyard squirrels. They have their own area now separate from the bird feeders, but I know they must need more than sunflower seeds, corn and peanuts. I want to try and do more for them, if I can afford. Do they need some type of calcium block etc......? Thanks

[BamaHam]

Wild squirrels eat a lot of things in the wild and Mother Nature supplies them with a variety of foods that maintains their balance. Blocks are expensive and don’t really hold up well in outdoors. You can add pieces of pecans or walnuts if you want. Birds like them as well. My wild babies that I released get pecans from me as treats. There’s probably some websites that sell specialized feed for squirrels but like I said it’s probably a little expensive and not really necessary

[Chirps]

Hi! If your local feed store carries the Mazuri rat and mouse diet that would be a good supplement. Not sure about the price. I get a 25lb. bag for $17.95. It used to last 2 months, but as I get more and more customers, well, it's down to about a month now. I just put handfuls at different stations- the lid of an unused feed can, a treehouse platform, and the top of a cage. They come and go and it's all taken away within 15-20 minutes. I try to only put out enough that each squirrel gets 2-3 pieces. I want them to eat them up and not cache or bury them, because as BamaHam said they won't hold up. Putting them at a few locations keeps the bullies from hogging it all.

I also have a couple of those hollow beef bones that you get for your dog to smear peanut butter or whatever inside. I string a piece of baling wire thru and hang it on a tree. I guess a wire hanger like from the dry cleaner would work too. Something they won't chew thru. I never see them chew them but I see the gnaw marks.

EDIT: If you get the Mazuri, it tends to get very crumby, like at least a cup or more when you get to the bottom of the bag. So I make "coco cookies" with the crumbs with organic coconut oil. I melt the oil slowly in increments in the microwave in one of those plastic storage containers. Then mix in the crumbs and guesstimate the proportions (Still haven't got it perfected in one go yet) so when it hardens you can just use a spoon to break it into chunks.

[Mel1959]

I make boo balls for my yard squirrels. There are recipes in the squirrel nutrition section. I also feed avocado chunks (no skin or pit), fresh coconut chunks and fresh corn chunks.