Red Squirrel Picnic
What is the very best food for Red Squirrels?
Of course, it is the wide range of nuts and seeds that red squirrels find whilst foraging in their natural habitat. Depending on the time of year that may comprise hazelnuts, beech mast, pine seeds, grass seeds, flower seeds, fruits and berries.
If you decide you’d like to supplement their natural forage, use a mixture of nuts, seeds and fruit.
Here is the list of the ingredients we include in our own Red Squirrels' Picnic:
- Hazel Nuts in the shell
- Peanuts
- Sunflower hearts
- Black Sunflower Seed in the shell
- Groundnuts in the shell
- Dried Banana chips
- Calcium Supplement (trace)
We only use best quality ingredients: Hazelnuts are Grade 1.: Peanuts are whole Indian Bold 70/90 grade; Pine nuts are best quality in the shell; Black sunflower seed is the whole seed and we use black rather than cheaper striped seed because black is higher in oils: Groundnuts are peanuts in the shell, because squirrels need to gnaw to keep their teeth healthy: Walnuts are very expensive, but are rich in vitamins: Dried fruit, whether apple or banana is a rich source of vitamins. Calcium Supplement is vital for nursing females and youngsters.
We do not include Maize or Wheat because this is a favourite food of Grey Squirrel, which we do not want to encourage. Peanuts should not be given exclusively, but only as part of a varied diet. This is because young red squirrels can suffer from calcium deficiency if they over-indulge on tasty peanuts
Composition: hazelnut, peanut, sunflower hearts, black sunflower, ground nut, banana chip, calcium supplement