Tom Collins
Well-Known Member
Very cool
Hedge apple / Osage orange and deer...
- Thread starter catman529
- Start date
Mike Belt
Well-Known Member
I think it's dependent on the local. I haven't seen them eat them much here in west Tn but down around Ackerman Ms tey eat them on a regular basis.
LanceS4803
Well-Known Member
I think it was on QDMA, that deer will eat them, but are definitely not preferred. Indicative of extremely low browse available to eat.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I would not place them high on the preference list, but in some locations, such as eastern Oklahoma, they are a major food source.
I don't think they eat them as a preferred food source but i watched several eat from my oat patch to privet leaves, bodock fruit and then end up in my standing corn . This was mid December. My observation is they may eat a portion of some on the ground and then move on to something else. Maybe they provide something in digestion or something . I've always heard you can put them in crawl spaces and barns to repel spiders and other than popping they are one of the hottest burning woods there is along with locust.
Safari Hunt
Well-Known Member
Osage orange is a preferred wood for making a longbow.
I have a buddy that makes longbows out of Osage if Interested pm me and I'll put you in contact with him. I'm sure he can find you some Osage.
sallee-bo
Well-Known Member
Whew... I never get a craving for liver.
I see the deer it them some but it seems to me only after most everything else is gone.
Chickasaw National Wildlife Refuge in Lauderdale County is covered with the trees, thats part of the reason it was saved. There have been some monsters up there over the years... They love those hedge apples up there...
Seen them eat them many times
41Magnum
Well-Known Member
I've read that the Indians preferred Osage for making bows as well.
The name " bois de arc" is where we get bodock. Comes from the French seeing the Indians making bows from them . It's "arc of the bow " in French or something similar.
It's a French word for "Wood of the Bow". The early trappers noticed that the Osage Indians preferred this wood for their bows. It's native to the Red River drainage of Oklahoma and Kansas, down into Texas. I love it for my bows as well.
It was transplanted here years ago to be used as natural fence rows, mainly on large Plantations. It's almost impossible to kill off once it takes hold. After it was planted in long rows as fence lines, it can be trimmed back every so often, and "suckers" will come back on the stumps, and the row will be even thicker and thornier.
The branches can be trimmed and bunched up tightly and used as livestock corrals if needed. I've heard that the Confederates in Franklin used that tactic as barriers against the Union.
A few of the farms I used to hunt and collect it from are full of it, and on occasion, I have noticed deer eating the fruit.
philsanchez76
Well-Known Member
Love the info y'all make available here.
Emmet
Well-Known Member
If you are coming to the Jackson area, give me some notice and I will try to cut you a branch or two. If I can find a straight one.
Jon54
Well-Known Member
The few sticks I've used for hiking sticks I bought on EBay. Maybe I'll trade some 22 ammo for a good straight one. I go to Henderson every now and then
KPH
Well-Known Member
It makes great fence post and will last over a 100 years. My dad always called it bodock and was his only go to fence post. Him and I put up a fence with them I know over 60 years ago and a few years ago I went by there and it was still tanding
My dad always told an old hunting story about hearing something weird in the woods. When he was finally able to locate the source of the sound, it was a buck busting them up with his hooves by stomping on them and then eating them.
Emmet
Well-Known Member
Just give me some notice. I know there is one tree about a 10 min walk behind my house.
