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the Daily hi thread
Hunting What Squirrel Feed? What the Science Says....
- Thread starter Dr B
- Start date
52 years under my belt
Scientific research just like the Covid jab
52 yrs of doing it wrong!!! Covid is banned on here mate - best park it there.
You carry on shooting the same number of squirrels every year, and the rest of us will reduce them (year on year cos we know what we're doing) and we wont have the quiet periods on the feeders you've been having by your own admission.
I'm not the only one to spot your nonsense......
iduxbury
Super member
Suppose a good test would be to put 2 feeders side by side, one with wheat and one with peanuts and watch which one the squirrels go too most often!!
32:1
Member Extraordinaire
Would it be beneficial to hoard acorns to keep feeders full through winter-spring
32:1
Member Extraordinaire
I’ve done that and peanuts win, due to cost I’m just in the process of using mixed bird seed, with extra maize. It’s been slower for sure but I’ve just started to take the odd couple, Id say I’m about 75% down on last winter.
I can see peanuts getting mixed in to give them something to rummage through and hopefully get numbers back up
You really are aren’t you52 yrs of doing it wrong!!! Covid is banned on here mate - best park it there.
You carry on shooting the same number of squirrels every year, and the rest of us will reduce them (year on year cos we know what we're doing) and we wont have the quiet periods on the feeders you've been having by your own admission.
I'm not the only one to spot your nonsense......
I like I said I can’t shoot on this permission all year round , 7 months which I can’t which will give them time to bread . Like I said one feeder was full of peanuts and most went soggy , that was a few months ago in February . Wheat does it for me and have explained why , so just accept my findings52 yrs of doing it wrong!!! Covid is banned on here mate - best park it there.
You carry on shooting the same number of squirrels every year, and the rest of us will reduce them (year on year cos we know what we're doing) and we wont have the quiet periods on the feeders you've been having by your own admission.
I'm not the only one to spot your nonsense......
Many others have reported quite periods , not just on this forum !!!
Because they're using wheat in the winter and feeders that leak or generate condensation and I've reported plenty still about!!!! Yes there is a small drop in numbers for a few weeks (there always is at this time of year), but they still kept coming in for the peanuts.
Peanuts cannot go soggy before wheat - and that's a fact my friend. If it went soggy, it would take longer and likely suggests you put the feeder in the wrong place (as outlined in the OP if you just take the time to understand it). They wont go for anything if its in the wrong place unless I suppose if there was simply no other option. The OFT explains this. By far the best food to use (as a trade off) is a mix with peanuts at its core and other seeds / mixes as well. What you dont seem to acknowledge is that many of us never get the greys in on maize / wheat etc, they're not interested round our way so I abandoned that approach over 30 years ago.
Which is exactly what the science has already been doing for the last 40 years! It's all been done with a variety of foods, in a variety of woods, with lots of factors controlled for / counterbalanced / randomised etc. The findings from that work are summarised in the OP.
There are older studies that even used radio tagging to see how far they would come in for the feed. The better the nut, the further they came. However, they do prefer a 'mix' nuts + seeds etc and wheat in small amounts could add an additional scent but its not what they're coming for when all other factors have been controlled for.
Well I will give peanuts another go come next winter and see if they do bring in more squirrels. Will report back my findings.
Like I said the squirrels are all over the pheasant feeders when the gamekeeper starts fill them up in September time and through out winter
So how far do you think they travel for food / nuts ?Which is exactly what the science has already been doing for the last 40 years! It's all been done with a variety of foods, in a variety of woods, with lots of factors controlled for / counterbalanced / randomised etc. The findings from that work are summarised in the OP.
There are older studies that even used radio tagging to see how far they would come in for the feed. The better the nut, the further they came. However, they do prefer a 'mix' nuts + seeds etc and wheat in small amounts could add an additional scent but its not what they're coming for when all other factors have been controlled for.
IIRC it was several hundred yards in the study Im thinking of. I myself have seen them leave a nearby wood, run through an open pasture sheep field, jump onto a dry stone wall and run down the top of it coming towards my feeder. They then enter the woods and appear on the feeder - all in all - likely around 400 yards (seen on thermal as well). It's impressive as the wood it emerged from is large and the one it came into was a lot smaller - but this wood had a nice peanut mix stash in it. It clearly lived in the big wood and just came to this one for food - food it could smell.
Wheat wont keep them out of the canopy in late August through to October assuming you have tree species that bare their nutty goodies at that time of year. Nor will peanuts. They are hard-wired to bulk up on the natural banquet on offer. Once those foods fall to the floor they will begin to cache the food. Soon after (around November and December) they will be back on the feeders and they will come to them sooner with nuts. Around pheasant feeders they will indeed hit that stash as its available and there are no obvious threats to getting the food (as outlined in the OP). However, a well placed feeder containing foods that give more sustenance will gain attention and you can, in some woods, lure them away from the pheasant feeders. Use what works for you my friend - my points were really to say that your observations are not in friction with the OP and you could optimise your methods more with better foods in the right place so that rather than shoot 200 greys every half-year, the numbers actually come down.
All the best with it!
I’ve seen squirrels take hazel nuts in September, chestnuts October/ November same with beech nuts . Unfortunately only have 5 month period on this permission
Dan giliballs
Member Extraordinaire
Ive got a 40m wide, 800m long wood adjacent to my main feeder which is in the farmers garden
Ive had over 30 from the garden, there is 1 drey in the garden, the wood is 300 yards from the garden
Farmer has seen them travelling along the paddock, stopping off at the small row of trees which is 1 wide and 30m long
I’ll clear the garden, then within a couple of weeks a new batch arrives and picks up where the last lot left off
I Had mixed bird seed in during the Xmas break, I checked it a month later and still full, checked again last week and it was empty and they had eaten half the lid, same with the one next to the wood - took a while to empty, when I use peanuts, they disappear within a week, I guess peanuts are as attractive to squirrels as a curry is to a pisshead.
Stew
Proactive member
I've hot two feeders on two plots in the woods where I have permissions, both with peanuts in as its the only thing I have found that brings in the squirrels best.
It's still quiet on both of the feeders so might have to consider moving feeder location?
It's still quiet on both of the feeders so might have to consider moving feeder location?
Wrong make of peanuts
Yes. As you say, peanuts can often be the only thing that brings them in. If they fail, something else needs to be considered.
Can you spend sometime in the wood and watch for them using particular paths through the trees or on the ground - if so put a feeder on a tree along that highway - that'll give it a good chance of being intercepted.
If that's not possible, simply try to look for a good tree offering some seclusion in the area but also a species greys like.
Never use wheat unless you only want sub-optimal shooting...... 
dessyb
Proactive member
i use rice had 25kg given to me toped all feeders up tree rats loved it