Question about how much to feed of Fox Valley 20/50

[carrothoe]

I have a question - I understand that the 5-7% feeding rule is supposed to be a minimum intake mostly unless digestive issues etc., but i’m confused on if the rule applies to the Fox Valley formula. The website and bag instruct to feed 1 1/2 - 2 tsp per oz of BW split into 4-6 feedings daily, but this seems like not enough formula at all. Thanks.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

I have a question - I understand that the 5-7% feeding rule is supposed to be a minimum intake mostly unless digestive issues etc., but i’m confused on if the rule applies to the Fox Valley formula. The website and bag instruct to feed 1 1/2 - 2 tsp per oz of BW split into 4-6 feedings daily, but this seems like not enough formula at all. Thanks.

Hi Carrothoe and welcome to The Squirrel Board! First off, I have no idea as what if any scientific methodologies were utilized in order to arrive at the 5-7% "rule" but this has been presented as a common range of stomach capacity in milliliters per weight of the Squirrel in Grams. I do not know how this got started nor am I aware of who first came up with this "rule." In fact, this is not really a "rule" at all; but those starting out with raising a baby Squirrel would be best off at first in treating it as such. In reality, the 5-7% "rule" is a very reasonable guide! Regardless of who first came up with this or whether or not it was based upon "real" scientific evidence; it has proven very effective for gauging the amount of formula that can be safely ingested by a Squirrel of a particular weight and more to the point is that utilizing the 5-7% "rule" by virtually every Squirrel Rehabber for the raising of countless generations of healthy and successfully released Squirrels over many years lends this great credibility!

One of the primary advantages to TSB is that here, Squirrelers can reap the benefits of a vast database of other's experiences in raising and caring for Squirrels! The labeled directions on the Fox Valley bag are generic and do not take into account any specific species or animal's age and virtually all syringes which is what should be utilized for dosing formula are calibrated in milliliters and fractions of milliliter and NOT in teaspoons so accuracy is best achieved by using the metric system for all weights and volumes. BUT, if you do feel inclined to correlate the directions on the FV labels with the 5-7% "rule," the numbers are not that far off! Again, I can say with almost total certainty that none of us allow the generic directions on the FV bags or other containers of appropriate Squirrel formulas to trump the guidelines that have been derived, tweaked and if I might say, perfected over many years and baby seasons by our members and others in the Squirrel Rehabbing World!

Carrothoe, your post begs the questions and those are; are you raising a baby Squirrel and would you like or need some help or advice?
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Spanky]

I have a question - I understand that the 5-7% feeding rule is supposed to be a minimum intake mostly unless digestive issues etc., but i’m confused on if the rule applies to the Fox Valley formula. The website and bag instruct to feed 1 1/2 - 2 tsp per oz of BW split into 4-6 feedings daily, but this seems like not enough formula at all. Thanks.

The 5-7% applies to all formulas with each feeding. The only variation I am aware would be with Zoologic 33/40; with Zoologic you still feed 5-7% but in general the milk line takes longer to go down so the feedings get spaced out a bit more. Zoologic is typically only used by places doing lots of babies since the smallest portion you can buy is 5lbs.

To break down the question though, an OZ is approximately 30 grams. Just suppose your feeding a baby that is 90grams (3OZ), that would be 2 tsp (approximately 10ml) X 3 OZ = 30ml per day. Feed 5X a day and that is 6ml per feeding or 6/90 = 6.66%. So it is in the same general range, but the 5-7% rule is tried and true leaves less variation than the overly general instructions from Fox Valley.

Of course we feed younger babies more often (and generally closer to the 5%) and as they age the feedings are spread apart more and feedings in crease closer to the 7%. When they get even older (say 8 - 9 weeks and older)and are getting formula only 2 - 3 times a day, they can easily take around 10%.

Attaching cheats sheets for guidance...
Feeding Frequency.pdf