Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game Squirrel Breeding

I won't claim to be the most prolific hunter of squirrels but after years of hunting them in PA, I moved to SC and just killed my first squirrels in the south. One of them had three babies inside. I have never seen that before, maybe because our seasons were different up north. Is it unusual for hunting season to coincide with breeding season?

The rut in November here. Season lasts til end of Feb. Females will be carrying babies.

In Missouri the hunting season runs from the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend at the end of May until February 15 of the following year. Daily limit is 10 squirrels. From the MDC website...

"In gray squirrels, the mating period begins in late December or early January and again from late May to early July. Pregnancy requires about 45 days. Most litters are born in February or March, and July or August. A litter comprises 1–8 young, but 2 or 3 are most common. The young are hairless at birth, have their eyes and ears closed, and possess well-developed claws. They come out of the nest for the first time when 6–7 weeks old, and in another week or so they are weaned.

In fox squirrels, the cycle is similar, but they begin breeding 10 days to 2 weeks earlier than the grays."

Well crap!
The way things run here I thought this was some pervert breeding squirrels.
HAHAHAHAHAAA

Hang on....this thread might get there!

I was going to say that, judging by the numbers around here, squirrels didn't need any help breeding!

In a serious vein, the squirrel season up here doesn't start until the middle of September and runs through February. One might see some pretty small squirrels from a second batch at the start of the season but they are old enough to be on their own. The weather is such that there doesn't seem to be a third litter.