squirrel research

[sandmannd]

Is rodent even any good? How many do you need for a meal? I think I could find better things to hunt and eat that a tree Rat. But hey, if you like 'em have at 'em. I'd probably try it once but the day I need to survive on them, well I'll go dumpster diving! 

[The General]

That's some funny stuff Sandman.   

[dakids]

Sandman, they taste great if you prepare them right. If you hunt it you should eat what you kill.  They are also a blast to hunt for with the kids.  A squirrel has the ability to sit still just about as long as a 10 year old.  Its a lot like fishing for sunnies with kids (I can't stand cleaning them) there is almost always action for the kids.

[JCAMERON]

The one time I brought a squirrel back from the field my mom wouldn't let me put in the fridge. It was a red squirrel. She said that red squirrels carry diseases. Is this true? Is there a species that you shouldn't eat? Thanks.

[Bobby Bass]

Is rodent even any good? How many do you need for a meal? I think I could find better things to hunt and eat that a tree Rat. But hey, if you like 'em have at 'em. I'd probably try it once but the day I need to survive on them, well I'll go dumpster diving! 

  Just what do you think them squirrels are eating out in the wild? They are munching on the same berries, nuts and buds that those Deer, Grouse and Pheasants are eating. They are raiding the same gardens, bird feeders and corn fields. Do you have a problem eating them? 

[Dotch]

The one time I brought a squirrel back from the field my mom wouldn't let me put in the fridge. It was a red squirrel. She said that red squirrels carry diseases. Is this true? Is there a species that you shouldn't eat? Thanks.

As far as anything I know or have heard, there is no disease they'd carry that'd be any different than any other squirrel. More apt to have problems with cottontails and tularemia in our neck of the woods. There is a possibility squirrels could carry the disease so just like handling and cooking rabbit, you should wash your hands well after cleaning and the meat should be well cooked before eating. As these links point out, red squirrels are small so it'd take a bunch of them to feed many people. From those I know who tried to eat some harvested in northern MN, they said they tasted like a pine tree. Not a bad thing if you like gin perhaps.  Just like deer and other critters, what they eat would likely influence how they taste. 

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snapshots/mammals/redsquirrel.html

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/mammals/mammals/redsqrl.htm

[trout whisperer]

here is some links to the original text.........


http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_11705040

Tim Bremicker, who is heading a DNR squirrel-management task force, said DNR researchers will meet Tuesday to outline a new $5,000 research project that will jump-start the agency's knowledge of squirrel management.