squirrels?

[Eva Haley-Lock]

i have thousands of squirrels in my backyard. seriously, there is no way to get them out, there is just too many. im afraid that they will get into my coop and steal some eggs.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Squirrels don't eat animal protein so wouldn't know what to do with an egg.
They're primarily seed and nut eaters. Never heard of a squirrel eating an egg.
If they're really hungry because they deplete the local food sources, they may eat your feed or scratch.

 

[Eva Haley-Lock]

thankyou

 

[CMV]

Actually, squirrels eat eggs. Just about everything eats eggs, including deer. I saw it with my own eyes, so I can attest to it. Crazy, huh?

I had a major rodent issue a few years back and had chipmunks actively eating eggs from my coop, and was losing about 3x more feed than normal. I used a combination of live traps, snap traps under milk crates, bucket traps and a .22 rifle with scope. I ended up getting 104 mice, 54 chipmunks, 8 squirrels, and 3 other rodents. A feral cat moved into the neighborhood briefly during this time and also did her fair share of clearing. By the end of that season, the population had been knocked down to a reasonable level. Last year I only managed to kill 5 squirrels, 3 chipmunks, and a handful of mice all year. Clearly, the efforts of the year before had some impact.

If the rodents are a problem in your area then do not hesitate to actively address the issue. The several years of mild winters have been too kind to rodents. Hopefully, that has changed after this year. I left my problem far too long and it cost me quite a lot in lost feed, lost eggs, and lost gardens. I should have been more proactive, but I tend to have a "live and let live" policy until it grossly impacts me and mine. I was quite pleased when my feed bills started lowering substantially, though.

Good luck.

 

[enola]

Squirrels don't eat animal protein so wouldn't know what to do with an egg.
They're primarily seed and nut eaters. Never heard of a squirrel eating an egg.
If they're really hungry because they deplete the local food sources, they may eat your feed or scratch.

You need to google squirrel information. Eggs are definitely on the list of food that sqirrels eat.

I know for a fact that squirrels were eating eggs in my coop earlier this winter. The hens layed a few eggs all winter, suddenly they stopped completely. Then I noticed sqirrels playing in the rafters. After catching 3 of them in traps suddenly I was getting eggs again.

that was all the proof I needed.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
We have rock squirrels here in the southwest that eat eggs and small chicks. I caught one in my coop last month eating eggs. We've also had other members on the AZ thread that had eggs and chicks taken by them. It's not that uncommon out here.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

At any time, I can see 20-30 grey squirrels all over the yard, gardens and chicken pens. I often collect eggs during the day and leave them out in flats. I've never lost an egg to a squirrel. I guess they just aren't hungry.

 

[ivan3]

Our Grey Squirrels (AKA tree rats) have been observed carrying Northern Red Bellied & Western Earth Snakes (both species no longer than Night Crawlers). Along with the Black Rat Snakes they are the most prolific depredators of Southern Nocturnal Flying Squirrel nests (eat the pups). Prior to the maturing of the fruits of the Hickory, Black Walnut and Oaks, they keep their teeth at a manageable length by gnawing off any new branches, on those trees, with diameters from 3/16-5/16 inches (ground/roof of house/runs, some years, completely covered by the `clippings'). I've had to listen to the same, tired, BBQ'ed squirrel joke, on four occasions, over the past 20yrs delivered by the REC repair crews sent out to reset the transformer fuse on the pole where the power line crosses the road into our tree line (squirrel highway) - did encourage us to get a generator. All of our 4 cats are `ditch cats' (kittens ditched along our tree bowered `dip' on this country road - all adult ferals are retired). Our most recent addition appeared in Nov of `10. The briefest glance of a `tea cup' sized black smear disappearing over the edge of the front deck `was it a bird???' Somehow, it survived, on its own, until paw prints were observed in the January snow. It was a pretty severe winter, we'd occasionally toss the chooks and turks a can, or two of corn in the mornings; some of the corn would end up being dropped outside of run fencing. We started feeding, and otherwise ignoring, the kitten. By the end of March it was `habituated' sufficiently to sneak up and stretch out between us when we'd sit on the back steps. She was then crated up and hauled off to be fixed. She is our only indoor/outdoor cat. The other 3 never leave the house. She is an outstanding `squirreler' and will stalk them by climbing up into crotches of trees so as to claw them into her jaws if they pass too close. I only mention this as what `should' be on the menu is often defined by how hungry the `juvenile' is and what is on the platter. Our chooks got chopped up tomatoes as chicks. They were pullets & cockerel when our tomatoes came in that July. They would only growl at, and then ignore, the unprocessed product (preferences set early on). What was very interesting was their absolute trashing of the Fuschia Princess (like little garbage disposals) when it was set out on the back deck for the summer. They'd never seen it before. My best guess is that it was instinctual (harking back to Jungle Fowl appetite - Fuschias hailing from that part of the world). The kitten only had half frozen canned corn & mice from under the house. As an adult, she will still come running when a can of corn is opened, and will glom down a couple of tablespoons full (that a cat would crave such a previous `life'...). Squirrels? What she doesn't get, we do (turkey hens chase them if they get too close to poults - but otherwise none but those stragglers remain so that is the only squirrel/poultry observation I've made)

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Our Grey Squirrels (AKA tree rats)

Aint that the truth.

Where have all the red (fox) squirrels gone?

 

[jetdog]

The squirrels around here are so smart, as soon as I open a door or a window they are gone, I guess they have seen to many of their friends take a dirt nap.Just seems as soon as I rid the world of 1,4 more show up, never ending battle.