Deer food?

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RKenney

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Maury Co.
Besides acorns, what would ya'll say is the most important "natural" food for Whitetail Deer to be healthy and grow big, both in antlers and body weight? When I say natural, I mean crops and food plots don't apply.

I have my ideas and I would like to hear some of yours.
 
Broadleaf weeds and other native herbaceous plants will rival and sometimes exceed the nutritional content of any "food plot" you could plant.
 
During the summer growing season, what Quailman said--forbs (broadleaf weeds). During the non-growing season, honeysuckle and greenbrier (which aren't all that nutritious, but it's the best they have available at that time of year).
 
BSK said:
During the summer growing season, what Quailman said--forbs (broadleaf weeds). During the non-growing season, honeysuckle and greenbrier (which aren't all that nutritious, but it's the best they have available at that time of year).
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You posted Quailman,and honey suckle,in the same post :)
 
Football Hunter said:
BSK said:
During the summer growing season, what Quailman said--forbs (broadleaf weeds). During the non-growing season, honeysuckle and greenbrier (which aren't all that nutritious, but it's the best they have available at that time of year).
Click to expand...
You posted Quailman,and honey suckle,in the same post :)
Click to expand...

He will probably slap me the next time he sees me!!!
 
I've never seen a deer that din't like honey suckle. Not just for the food, but late season cover as well. Invasive...or not.
 
Yep, they live on green briar, honeysuckle, and blackberry year round in Wayne county timber leases, departing from it totally in Acorns a plenty and then returning as soon as they are depleted. here are some interesting photos of two does i killed in late season, traveling together, both killed at same time. note the difference in color. one doe green dominate, the other had gorged on sumac pods and this stain had changed her "green" material to look as if she was predominately ingesting acorns when in fact she was browsing on food plots and honeysuckle, green briar. She was full of the tiny seeds from the sumac pods.I see this quite often as staghorn sumac is quite common over much of the south.
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The smaller of the two does was a few weeks pregnant.

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BSK said:
Peak blackberry usage should be in spring, when new leaves and stems have no hardened thorns.
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I guess that is why we are seeing so many tracks on my land this time of year. Late season I figuere we draw the deer because of cover and green briar which I have a lot of (and am trying to keep by dropping trees to let light in).

This time of the year I didn't know why we always see so many tracks but it could have to do with the fact that we call the land Blackberry Ridge Farm.
 
BSK,
Do they eat the ripe berries or even the unripe red black berries? I often wondered that, as I have never seen a deer actually eat a blackberry. I can't think of a reason that they wouldn't, because they love other type fruits.
 

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