What To Feed Squirrels
Nuts In The Shell
Nuts in the shell are important nutrition for squirrels and help them satisfy their gnawing needs! Natural nuts in their shells provide good chewing exercise and provide essential fatty acids and protein in their most natural state. While nuts do provide an important aspect of squirrel nutrition, they should not comprise the bulk of a squirrels diet! Squirrels love nuts, and would eat them 24/7, but like any diet where the same food is eaten exclusively, the balance of nutrition suffers. Squirrels are nut eaters, but they are also predominantly herbivores, and as such require a balance and variety of vegetables, vitamins and minerals in their diet! I like to reserve the nuts in the shell as dessert for my squirrels. They get their nuts after they finish their vegetables. Squirrels are like kids, given the choice, they will eat what they like first, and leave the rest.
Whenever possible, it's a good idea to gather nuts that are native to your area. Where I live, there are an abundance of American Walnut, Hickory, Beech Nuts and Butternut trees. In late Fall I stock up on Filberts and other non-native nuts as they come available. I've heard it said that squirrels should not be allowed to chew on the shells of Pecans, but people who grow pecans say that squirrels eat them all the time.
Nuts in the shell are important nutrition for squirrels and help them satisfy their gnawing needs! Natural nuts in their shells provide good chewing exercise and provide essential fatty acids and protein in their most natural state. While nuts do provide an important aspect of squirrel nutrition, they should not comprise the bulk of a squirrels diet! Squirrels love nuts, and would eat them 24/7, but like any diet where the same food is eaten exclusively, the balance of nutrition suffers. Squirrels are nut eaters, but they are also predominantly herbivores, and as such require a balance and variety of vegetables, vitamins and minerals in their diet! I like to reserve the nuts in the shell as dessert for my squirrels. They get their nuts after they finish their vegetables. Squirrels are like kids, given the choice, they will eat what they like first, and leave the rest.
Whenever possible, it's a good idea to gather nuts that are native to your area. Where I live, there are an abundance of American Walnut, Hickory, Beech Nuts and Butternut trees. In late Fall I stock up on Filberts and other non-native nuts as they come available. I've heard it said that squirrels should not be allowed to chew on the shells of Pecans, but people who grow pecans say that squirrels eat them all the time.
Peanuts and Corn Are Not Good For Squirrels!
Peanuts are not nuts! They are legumes,and unless a squirrel lives next to a field of peanuts where they might dig some
up to eat, they are not a typical food that squirrels eat! Peanuts have very poor nutritional quality. An occasional peanut
will not hurt a squirrel as long as its shell is not growing an invisible toxic mold that can kill them. I just prefer to not go
there and just stick to natural nuts in the shell. Field corn is also not a natural food for squirrels, and can grow the same
deadly mold! Yet millions of people put ears of dried corn out for squirrels.
up to eat, they are not a typical food that squirrels eat! Peanuts have very poor nutritional quality. An occasional peanut
will not hurt a squirrel as long as its shell is not growing an invisible toxic mold that can kill them. I just prefer to not go
there and just stick to natural nuts in the shell. Field corn is also not a natural food for squirrels, and can grow the same
deadly mold! Yet millions of people put ears of dried corn out for squirrels.
Squirrels Are Predominantly Herbivoires
Squirrels are predominantly herbivoirs, and as I said, will act like kids when you try to get them to eat their vegetables!
If you have someone in the neighborhood feeding them corn and peanuts it will be hard to bring them around
to vegetables. Try putting the raw vegetables and small amounts of fruit out for them first. Bring the treats like nuts out
later. It is not good to allow a squirrel to gorge themselves on anything. My squirrels like yellow squash, broccoli, grapes,watermelon,carrots, cantelope, peas and apples. Just about any brightly colored vegetable works well! We go easy on the fruit, because many of them will block calcium absorption. But, a little bit each day "rounds-out" their nutritional needs.
If you have someone in the neighborhood feeding them corn and peanuts it will be hard to bring them around
to vegetables. Try putting the raw vegetables and small amounts of fruit out for them first. Bring the treats like nuts out
later. It is not good to allow a squirrel to gorge themselves on anything. My squirrels like yellow squash, broccoli, grapes,watermelon,carrots, cantelope, peas and apples. Just about any brightly colored vegetable works well! We go easy on the fruit, because many of them will block calcium absorption. But, a little bit each day "rounds-out" their nutritional needs.
Why Are Nut Balls/ Nut Squares Important?
Squirrel Nut Balls is a recipe that originated with a Squirrel Rehabilitator/ Nutritionist by the name of Clarissa Summers.
The idea behind them is the fact that Squirrels, and especially those in captivity, have very unique nutritional, vitamin
and mineral requirements, especially in their need for Calcium and Magnesium. Squirrels that don't get enough Calcium
are prone to the development of Metabolic Bone Disease, a condition where their bones become quite brittle and prone
to fracture. Advanced Metabolic Bone Disease leads to a condition called Rickets where they lose the use of their hind
legs and ultimately die of seizures or heart failure. One Nut Ball per day is like a super vitamin supplement for squirrels.
It prevents calcium deficiency, thereby avoiding all of the above described problems. I've been feeding Nut Balls since
I raised my first squirrel, and have never had a squirrel with a diet related problem! The recipe is Free and we offer it
here on our website,(see form at the end of this page.) We buy our ingredients in bulk because we are making Nut Balls
every 20 days for our Squirrels. We also offer, for people who don't want to go through all the hassle of gathering and
mixing the ingredients. Nut Ball Kits. The kits sell for $7.95 plus $5.15 for Priority Shipping. They are shipped Priority
Mail either the same day or next business day. There is no skimping on ingredients because these are the same Nut Balls I feed my healthy brood! We add Organic Virgin Raw Coconut Oil to all our Nut Ball mixes to give squirrels an extra measureof resistance to Disease and viruses! Read about Raw Coconut Oil below.
The idea behind them is the fact that Squirrels, and especially those in captivity, have very unique nutritional, vitamin
and mineral requirements, especially in their need for Calcium and Magnesium. Squirrels that don't get enough Calcium
are prone to the development of Metabolic Bone Disease, a condition where their bones become quite brittle and prone
to fracture. Advanced Metabolic Bone Disease leads to a condition called Rickets where they lose the use of their hind
legs and ultimately die of seizures or heart failure. One Nut Ball per day is like a super vitamin supplement for squirrels.
It prevents calcium deficiency, thereby avoiding all of the above described problems. I've been feeding Nut Balls since
I raised my first squirrel, and have never had a squirrel with a diet related problem! The recipe is Free and we offer it
here on our website,(see form at the end of this page.) We buy our ingredients in bulk because we are making Nut Balls
every 20 days for our Squirrels. We also offer, for people who don't want to go through all the hassle of gathering and
mixing the ingredients. Nut Ball Kits. The kits sell for $7.95 plus $5.15 for Priority Shipping. They are shipped Priority
Mail either the same day or next business day. There is no skimping on ingredients because these are the same Nut Balls I feed my healthy brood! We add Organic Virgin Raw Coconut Oil to all our Nut Ball mixes to give squirrels an extra measureof resistance to Disease and viruses! Read about Raw Coconut Oil below.
Importance Of Coconut Oil
I'm also a Registered Nurse and know a bit about Nutrition. I've been a student of Holistic Nutrition my whole adult life. Recently, my wife and I discovered the near miraculous health benefits of Virgin Organic Raw Coconut Oil, so I incorporated it into theNut Ball Recipe. My squirrels go absolutely nuts over raw coconut oil! Coconut oil solidifies under 76 degrees F., and I give thema small chunk of it several days a week. They gobble it down and lick every last drop off their paws, (and each others paws and faces!) From the research I've done, I found that Raw Coconut Oil is very high in a substance called "Lauric Acid." When digested by mammals, Lauric Acid is converted to a substance called "Monolaurin," which is one of the key substance found in breast milk that gives infants protection from viral and bacterial infections. Monolaurin is a powerful antiviral substance, there are many countries where Raw Coconut Oil is used to help reduce the viral load in AIDS and HIV positive patients to normal levels! I figure if it's that good at fighting bacteria and viruses, it certainly couldn't hurt me or my squirrels.
If you want really healthy, disease resistant squirrels, start feeding one Nut ball per day, and make sure to include Organic Virgin Raw Coconut Oil in their diet!
ORDER A NUT SQUARE/ NUT BALL KIT
If you want really healthy, disease resistant squirrels, start feeding one Nut ball per day, and make sure to include Organic Virgin Raw Coconut Oil in their diet!
ORDER A NUT SQUARE/ NUT BALL KIT
Get The Nut Square Recipe Free!
To obtain the Recipe for Nut Balls/ Nut Squares absolutely FREE, go to our Contact / Order Page and select it from the drop-down menu. We'll send you a link where you can download it in PDF format. It's our way of saying thank-you for visiting our website!
