Typically, courtship is brief and the dominant males do the majority of the breeding. Gestation lasts 44 days, and litters averaging three young are born in either February or June. Young are born hairless and blind, and are about 4.5 inches long. Weaning usually begins in the seventh week, and the young squirrels start nibbling on buds and leaves. During the spring young squirrels eat swelling buds, and in the fall they are normally weaned about the time acorns and dogwood fruit become available.
Squirrels use both tree cavities and leaf nests.
Most litters are reared in cavities, but some are reared in leaf nests, although these often will produce fewer young than the protected cavity. Gray squirrels tend to be more dependent on tree cavities for nursery dens than fox squirrels. Juvenile squirrels will usually remain with or near their mother until the next denning period. Then the squirrel families will break up and the young will relocate several miles away and assume their adult roles. Recommendations on this web site do not endorse any commercial products or trade names.