The most common foods that white-tailed deer eat are:
- Wild plum
- Dogwood
- Smooth sumac
- Prickly ash
- Ragweed
- Pokeweed
- Asters
- Wild lettuce
- Wheat
- Wild strawberry
- Acorns
- Corn
- Grapes
- Berries
- Chestnuts
- Apples
- Pears
- Fescue grass
- Ryegrass
- Oats
- Lichens
- Mushrooms
...
The most common foods that white-tailed deer eat are:
- Wild plum.
- Dogwood.
- Smooth sumac.
- Prickly ash.
- Ragweed.
- Pokeweed.
- Asters.
- Wild lettuce.
What is the best food for whitetail deer?
[36] Douglas Fir: In the west, fir needles are commonly the best available food where whitetails, muleys, and blacktails take winter shelter. Deer seem to have a special fondness for red maple leaves.
What is a whitetail deer favorite food?
- Mouth The teeth structure, jaws, and stomach of the white-tailed deer are strong and very useful for masticating & eating vegetation, but they don’t use them for thick grass. ...
- Stomach Another reason is that white-tailed deer have a different set of microbes in their stomach. So they don’t process mature weed as normally. ...
- Fruits & Nuts
What is the best gun for whitetail deer?
What is the best caliber rifle for whitetail deer hunting?
- 7mm-08 Remington.
- 280 Remington.
- 7mm Remington Magnum.
- 30-30 Winchester.
- 308 Winchester.
- 30-06.
- 300 Winchester Magnum.
- You might be surprised by the number of hunters that use the 300 as their primary deer rifle. ...
What is the optimum height for a whitetail deer feeder?
Ideally, the roof is at least 72” or more off from the ground. Use any second-hand metal for the roof of the deer feeder. On the other hand, the trough should be at least 24” from the ground. This height allows the fawns easy access the feeder.
What can I feed the wild deer in my yard?
A wide variety of fruits and vegetables – including apples, grapes, cherries, pears, carrots, and snap peas – are eaten in nature by deer. Therefore, it is safe to feed deer these fruits. Acorns are another safe food source.
What is the best food to feed wild deer?
What To Feed:Natural Food. If possible, it is best to feed natural food. ... Deer Pellets. Most farm feed outlets carry a specially formulated ration for deer or can tell you where it can be bought. ... Cereal Grains. ... Hay or Alfalfa. ... Fruit & Vegetables.
What food do wild deer eat?
Deer eat a variety of food types, including browse (leafy parts of woody plants), forbs (herbaceous broad-leaved plants, including agricultural crops), hard and soft mast (seeds), grass and mushrooms/lichens.
What should you not feed a wild deer?
Do not feed hay, corn, kitchen scraps, potatoes, lettuce trimmings or any animal proteins from animals rendered into feed. Deer may actually starve when fed supplemental foods during winter if they have a full belly of indigestible foods.
Is it OK to feed deer in your yard?
Supplemental feeding of wild deer is harmful and can lead to bouts of severe diarrhea and dehydration, which could be deadly.
What is the cheapest thing to feed deer?
An inexpensive way to feed deer is with corn. Deer love corn and many hunters rely on it for supplemental feeding. That being said, corn is not an excellent source of protein, which is essential for antler growth and the nursing of fawns.
Is corn bad for deer?
Corn is high in starch and a good source of digestible energy, but can cause problems in a deer's digestive system. When deer eat too much corn or other high-‐carbohydrate food, many complex changes occur in the rumen. Some microbes proliferate while others die.
What is a deer's favorite vegetable?
When food is scarce, deer eat just about anything, including prickly-stemmed okra and hot peppers. Vegetables that deer seem to prefer include beans, lettuce, cabbage, and cole crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.
Do Deers eat carrots?
After planting carrots they take around 70-80 days to finish growing. Over time, it has become not just an edible food for humans, but deer are also consuming these vegetables. Deer love to eat carrots, which is bad for farmers and can cost them millions of dollars per year.
Is it OK to feed deer corn in the winter?
Although corn has poor protein, it has high carbohydrates. Whether it's planted in a food plot, or fed at a feeding site, corn can be a great benefit to whitetails during winter. Most deer managers are more than willing to plant their plots in the spring and summer.
Does deer eat bird seed?
Unfortunately, deer eat bird seeds even if they're not the first or second food choice. If you own a feeder, birds may not be your only diners. Deer can quickly empty out birdseed, which costs homeowners more money. You'll need to purchase more seeds for your flying friends.
Do deer eat potatoes?
Do deer eat potatoes? Yes, they do, especially the sweet potato variety. They will also eat other potatoes, including toxic potato leaves if hungry enough. Potatoes are equally used in certain areas to feed deer, so they are not deer deterrents.
Is it OK to feed deer corn in the winter?
Although corn has poor protein, it has high carbohydrates. Whether it's planted in a food plot, or fed at a feeding site, corn can be a great benefit to whitetails during winter. Most deer managers are more than willing to plant their plots in the spring and summer.
Is it OK to feed deer corn?
Using only corn or other fermentable carbohydrates as a primary deer food can be dangerous. Eating a large amount of corn can affect the deer' digestive process and cause a flush of lactic acid in their stomach. In most severe cases, this leads to the dehydration and death of the deer.
Will Peanut Butter attract deer?
Deer love peanut butter, so it is an excellent bait. You can use peanut butter alone or in a mixture to lure deer into an area for hunting or just to enjoy watching them. Peanut butter is much cheaper than most commercial deer attractants and works as well or better.
What do you feed deer year round?
BioLogic's new BCP feed (beans, corn, protein) has a great ratio of fats, carbohydrates, and protein to help deer recover from the rut and winter stress to get them headed into the spring in top physical condition.
What Do Baby White-Tailed Deer Eat?
White-tailed deer fawns drink milk from their mother and start foraging after a month.
How Do White-Tailed Deer Find Food?
White-tailed deer have a great sense of smell that helps them find food and avoid predators.
What is the best food for a whitetail?
When the whitetail is lactating, high calcium and high phosphorous food are preferred. The calcium is necessary for milk production. Mushrooms are perfect sources of calcium and phosphorous.
What Do Whitetail Deer Eat In The Fall?
During the fall the deer builds up fat reserves for the winter. High carbohydrate foods like pears, apples, and other fleshy fruits are preferred. Nuts that have high-fat contents are also sought out by whitetails.
What do deer eat in winter?
It is, therefore, a time when deer are least selective. They will eat acorns, hickory nuts and buds of available woody plants. When hunting during the winter, try protein foods like soybeans and fruits like pears. In short, what the deer cannot source elsewhere.
What predators eat whitetail deer?
All the big predators have a love for venison. Bears, mountain lions, wolves, and coyotes will hunt deer. Smaller predators go for the fawns. This combination is what eats a white-tailed deer.
Do whitetail deer eat dead animals?
They will eat hatchlings and dead animals occasionally. They do this when they are desperate for calcium. You cannot, however, use meat as bait. They do not like it that much. Now, armed with the knowledge of "What do whitetail deer eat" map your hunting grounds.
Do succulent forbs keep deer water?
Succulent forbs are well-loved in the summer. The high water content helps the deer keep its water levels up without visiting the watering hole. Predators and some hunters usually lay in wait for whitetail at the watering holes.
Do whitetail deer eat wheat?
Do whitetail deer eat winter wheat? Yes, that and anything else they can find. They will, however, still prefer food plots with fruits and soybeans.
Where to put mineral supplements for deer?
Where should you be placing your deer mineral supplements? The most obvious and beneficial spots include food plots, bedding areas, and near water holes. When deer enter food plots ready to feed, they will usually seek salt and minerals as well, so placing a mineral site just off a trail entering the food plot will create a natural stopping point for them. Similarly, providing a slow-releasing mineral block near or within a summer bedding area will make it easy for deer to get ample minerals during the day without you having to constantly replace it throughout the summer. Finally, combining water holes and mineral sites can be a dynamite option. After consuming salt and minerals, deer will crave water and vice versa.
How often should I feed deer?
Depending on the size of your feeder and how hungry the deer are, you may have to refill the feeder several times a week or only every few weeks. If you’re making a commitment to a whitetail deer feeding schedule, you should keep it stocked at all times for the most impact. If the food quality is lacking on your property, you should keep several feeders going. But if you already provide lots of year-round food plot acreage, you can get by with only one feeder or none at all. A good way to combine the best of both worlds is to mix a bag of corn or feed with some Big&J® mineral attractants and a block. This will draw deer in to feed and they can also get their vitamins (i.e., mineral supplement) at the same time. This is a great spot for trail camera surveillance too!
How many mineral sites do you need for deer?
Some farms with limited deer herds or abundant natural mineral sources may only need one mineral site per 200 acres, while others with high deer densities or no natural mineral sources could use one site at each field or bedding area. Let the deer tell you how much deer minerals you need. As soon as your mineral blocks for deer, like the Big&J ® CUBE™ disappear, it is time to replenish them.
What are deer attractants?
Deer attractants are by definition, very attractive to deer and tend to concentrate them in close quarters. This can produce a lot of nose-to-nose interaction and it is believed that bodily fluids (e.g., saliva, urine, etc.) are the primary cause of spreading the disease.
What are the seasons for deer?
As with nutritional/caloric needs (see the section below), a deer’s need for minerals changes throughout the year too. The spring and summer are the most critical times of year for deer to get enough minerals in their system, while fall and winter don’t offer as much of a benefit.
Why are deer supplements called supplements?
They are called “supplements” for a reason. If your property is lacking quality food (e.g., ag fields, food plots, native woody browse, etc.) and shelter, supplements may help, but you need to work on patching those bigger holes in the bucket first. Here’s what you need to know about feeding whitetail deer.
When to use trail cameras for velvet bucks?
Because they are best used in the spring and summer, it also coincides perfectly with monitoring velvet bucks with trail cameras on your property before the fall hunting season. Minerals in bedding areas are difficult to check discreetly, so focus your trail cameras on food plot mineral sites.
