What is the Best Food for Indiana Squirrels?
As the Indiana weather begins warming up, you may start seeing your backyard squirrels out and about again. A common question we get here at Daily FamilyFarms in Hope, IN is what is the best food for squirrels? Squirrels are always hungry, especially in the springtime. If you’d like to start setting out food for your furry friends, it’s importance to know what kinds of food are best for them and what kinds of food you should avoid putting out. It’s also important to think about how you’re going to set out fresh water and how you’re going to help the squirrels with portion control.
Squirrels need access to natural food and fresh water to help them stay healthy and keep their bones strong. What kinds of foods are good for squirrels?
Corn (either feed corn or corncobs)
Sunflower seeds (in the shell)
Native Indiana Nuts (these are hickory nuts, black walnuts, butternuts, and hazelnuts)
Raw fruit (in small quantities)
Raw vegetables
All of these foods are easy to obtain, making squirrel feeding a fun and easy hobby. The only food you’ll want to be careful about is the corn. You need to make sure the corn is fresh and free of mold. This is why at Daily Family Farms, we package our quality farm corn fresh and ship it straight to you. Squirrels like eating feed corn or corncobs, so you can set out either you prefer for them. Squirrels enjoy corncobs because it’s a challenge getting the kernels off the cob.
If you live in an urban area, be careful not to feed squirrels food that is unhealthy or really sugary (such as donuts and cookies). Although they’ll love them, they’re extremely bad for the squirrels. As long as you feed the urban squirrels a balanced, wild diet, they won’t become picky for sweeter, unhealthy food. Squirrels are opportunistic feeders, so they’ll eat almost anything you set out for them. Make sure you take care of them by setting out a good, wild diet.
Because squirrels are opportunistic feeders, they’ll keep eating as long as you keep setting food out. If you’d really like to begin feeding your backyard squirrels, we recommend purchasing a feeder to help guard against overeating. Duncraft sells several corn feeders that would be great for your backyard. Feeders can be purchased for either feed corn or corncobs, whichever you prefer. Both help with portion control for the squirrels.
In addition to food, we mentioned that squirrels also need fresh water. It’s easy to overlook this simple fact, but squirrels get thirsty, too! You can purchase a simple water bowl from a pet supply store if you would like. We’ve also heard of people attaching pet rodent drinking bottles to their trees. Either way, make sure that you change the water regularly to keep it fresh. The squirrels will appreciate this, especially as the weather starts heating up.
Thanks for stopping by to learn more about what you should feed squirrels! If you have any questions for us, feel free to let us know at (812) 371-5644 or by email at [email protected]. If you’d like to purchase our fresh farm corn and corncobs, we sell various sizes and amounts of corn to meet your needs. Our furry friends need something to tide them over until the trees bloom. The largest size case we offer is a 40 lb. case. You can purchase this online, and we’ll ship the fresh corn straight to your home.