Tennessee Deer Talk: Best Food Source

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#1953569 - 06/08/10 04:31 PM

Best Food Source

TennesseeWhiskey
4 Point

Registered: 12/11/01
Posts: 151
Loc: Giles County, Tennessee

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In your opinion, what is the absolute best food source for
sustaining and attracting deer? Acorns, standing corn,
soybeans, alfalfa, hybrid rye grass, clover, etc., etc.?

Thanks in advance for all replies,
TennesseeWhiskey

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#1953592 - 06/08/10 05:00 PM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: TennesseeWhiskey]

Meateater
10 Point

Registered: 08/23/01
Posts: 2987
Loc: Winchester, TN / God's Country

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Acorns and natural browse. From what I have seen, everything else is eye-candy for hunters.

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#1953698 - 06/08/10 07:20 PM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: Meateater]

BigGameGuy
TWRA Biologist
12 Point

Registered: 05/14/04
Posts: 6353
Loc: Nashville

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Early successional habitat. Why settle on giving the deer one course when they would much rather prefer a smorgasbord?

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#1953729 - 06/08/10 07:55 PM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: BigGameGuy]

Hawk
TnDeer Old Timer
12 Point

Registered: 09/03/99
Posts: 6141
Loc: west tenn.

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Early successional habitat.
Care to elaborate.

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#1953742 - 06/08/10 08:09 PM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: Hawk]

BigGameGuy
TWRA Biologist
12 Point

Registered: 05/14/04
Posts: 6353
Loc: Nashville

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In simple terms, early successional habitat is the first growth that takes over when you "let things go". When the land is cleared and sunlight is allowed to hit the ground, the native seed beds is kicked into gear. What bursts forth is usually a plethora of native plants usually beginning with forbes and grasses. After that shrubs begin to dominate the landscape which, over-time will eventually give way to forests (late successional habitat). The best thing about native browse found in early successional habitat is it's tremendously abundant and the variety meets all the nutritional needs of the deer. In fact, it's so good, the deer have been eating it for tens of thousands of years.

The best way to identify early successional habitat is if you begin walking in stuff that's so thick it's akin to walking in a jungle...you already found it! And not only do the deer like eating it, it's primary cover as well so it's one of the best things for attracting and holding deer on your property. It's just a royal pain to hunt in!

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#1953904 - 06/08/10 08:51 PM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: BigGameGuy]

richmanbarbeque
16 Point

Registered: 07/17/03
Posts: 12771
Loc: Middle, Tn

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BGG, I agree with your post but my only question is what grasses are you talking about?

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#1953927 - 06/08/10 09:04 PM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: richmanbarbeque]

tndrbstr
16 Point

Registered: 10/06/05
Posts: 12157
Loc: knox co tn

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Originally Posted By: richmanbarbeque

BGG, I agree with your post but my only question is what grasses are you talking about?

just guessin but I would say BGG might be talkin about native bunch grasses, like blue stem and switch grass. oak ridge wma, and probably others, are lettin a lot of natural grasses take over under power lines and other openings to cut down on maint cost as I understand it.....

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#1953953 - 06/08/10 09:19 PM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: tndrbstr]

Boone 58
16 Point

Registered: 06/23/04
Posts: 13530
Loc: Food Plot

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Acorns........
then grains where available.
Quality browse is hard to beat but Acorns are da bomb.
Then i would rank cat brier and honeysuckle and blackberry as the most common eaten where i hunt in wayne county. It is plentiful and usually everywehere you find cutover. Staghorn sumac is also very common and very eaten....

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#1954022 - 06/08/10 10:07 PM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: BigGameGuy]

Setterman
8 Point

Registered: 12/31/09
Posts: 1783
Loc: Knoxville, TN

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Originally Posted By: BigGameGuy

Early successional habitat. Why settle on giving the deer one course when they would much rather prefer a smorgasbord?

Agreed, it is available most of the year and provides plenty of nutrients as well.

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#1954393 - 06/09/10 11:36 AM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: Setterman]

Football Hunter
18 Point

Registered: 10/22/07
Posts: 24550
Loc: Wilson Co/Perry Co

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Acorns.....and poke salad

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#1954408 - 06/09/10 11:55 AM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: Football Hunter]

Winchester
Non-Typical

Registered: 12/05/03
Posts: 25229
Loc: TN

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Yep, early browse is awesome, however it wont last forever and has to be cut back down every few years to keep the cycle going.
Acorns will draw deer to a very specific location like no ther food source.

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#1955364 - 06/10/10 08:11 AM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: Winchester]

BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
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Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN

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Natural foods: Acorns have to be tops, but acorn crops are seasonal and unpredictable. Natural early-stage succession growth (what BGG desribed) is tops as a year-round food source, although best in summer.

Planted foods: Fruits and many agricultural plants. However, the amount of food produced by planted food sources is rarely matched by what nature produces when you consider a large area. The planted foods may seriously outproduce natural forage in tons/acre, but how many acres of a total property are in planted foods versus natural foods?

My philosophy is, manage the natural habitat to produce all of the food volume needed to support the local deer population, and use values for what the natural habitat CAN prouce as the measure for what deer density to manage for. Ignore the food volume of planted foods in these calculations because planted food production is "iffy." Planted foods can fail due to drought and late spring freezes. Consider planted foods as a "bonus" both for attraction and nutritional value.

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#1956187 - 06/10/10 07:51 PM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: BSK]

richmanbarbeque
16 Point

Registered: 07/17/03
Posts: 12771
Loc: Middle, Tn

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Good Topic. This year I have spent more time noticing natural browse than ever before. The deer are hammering all of my plots and the browse around them. Amazing how much food there is when you let a little sunlight hit the ground.

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#1956301 - 06/10/10 09:35 PM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: richmanbarbeque]

JCDEERMAN
14 Point

Registered: 07/19/08
Posts: 7633
Loc: NASHVILLE, TN

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YUP...Natural browse! Thats why I kinda went around focusing mainly on food plots and select cutting about 70 acres of our place. We are still doing food plots, but I finally realized the deer will only eat a certain percentage of food plots compared to all the natural browse around the area, especially compared to the amout of natural browse around our place (and cover) THATS why we are doing the cutting....to get the browse and to get the cover. Cover is the main thing, but the browse is the next best thing. I want to hold them on the property as long as I possibly can. We will see what happens!

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#1956550 - 06/11/10 07:44 AM

Re: Best Food Source [Re: richmanbarbeque]

BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
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Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN

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Originally Posted By: richmanbarbeque

The deer are hammering all of my plots and the browse around them.

A study at Auburn found that deer spent 60% of their feeding time near food plots eating the fertilized and limed browse growing around the edges of the plot versus actually eating the crops in the plot.

_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan

"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James

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