deer diet | Buck Manager

Conditioning Deer to Eat New Foods

The new year is well underway and spring is just around the corner. That is a good thing because habitat conditions are as tough as I’ve seen them in some time and bitter cold weather really works on a white-tailed deer’s body condition. But a new year means resolutions to do new things—even when it comes to deer management. Though the supplementation of a deer’s diet is far from a new idea, I am confident that many landowners and managers will begin offering supplemental feed during late winter, spring and summer for the first time ever.

Most of that feed will be in the form of protein pellets. Regular readers of this site know that food supplementation is just a small part of an overall deer management program, but it can be an important component for maintaining and increasing the overall condition of the deer herd found on a property. This is especially true during the food stress periods that occur each year, summer and winter. Right now is as good of time as any to start, but I recommend following the simple suggestions below when beginning a supplemental feeding program for white-tailed deer.

Supplemental feeding itself is not rocket science, but there are some things you can do to increase its effectiveness. First and foremost, do not use supplemental feed as a tool to maintain substantially more deer on a property than the habitat can support. Habitat management and population management are much more important than pouring feed into a system.

If a deer manager can combine good habitat and the appropriate number of deer with a supplemental feeding program kicker, then the result will be far superior to just placing out feed and expecting quality deer to simply show up.

It also needs to be said that protein pellets should not be put into timed, spin-feeders. The unfortunate hunters out there that have tried this delivery method will attest to this advice. For one thing, dispensing “supplemental” foods from timed feeders is not really supplemental. It’s bait. And deer can not consume enough in this manner for it to truly supplement their diet.

Protein pellets contain much more moisture than corn or roasted soybeans and will sweat inside a feeder once temperatures begin to rise. It does not take much heat to make the temperature rise rapidly within a confined area. Because pellets move through timed feeders very slowly, this release of moisture will cause the feed to mold and cake-up. Use free-choice feeders.

Do not be disappointed if deer ignore your tasty offerings. Whitetail know a lot about their natural environment, but deer do not have an understanding of manufactured feeds or any new-to-them feed for that matter. Although deer are quick studies, don’t expect them to hammer your protein feeder right off the bat. There is a learning curve involved.

I’ve been contacted my numerous managers and hunters over the years that have filled new protein feeders with tons of high-protein pellets only to be disappointed when they return to their property and not a deer has touched it. In many cases, the problem is simply about timing.

Properties that have offered free-choice feeds for years know that deer consume supplemental foods in varying amounts during different times of the year. This phenomenon is especially evident during the spring and fall, when forbs and mast are abundant and readily available. This happens even on properties where deer have been supplemented for long periods of time. When available, whitetail deer prefer high quality natural foods over any supplemental food we can offer. This is why good white-tailed deer habitat is so important.

To get to the point, do not expect a lot of activity around your feeder when habitat conditions are good, such as after spring green-up or when acorns fall or during those rare years when rains continue throughout the summer. And although habitat conditions come into play, the time of year is not the only factor that can impact deer use of supplemental foods. It also depends on deer density and feeder density.

Lastly, when new foods are introduced onto a property deer must be conditioned to consume these new foods. Managers can either introduce the new food and just wait them out, or the new food can be mixed with foods that are familiar to deer. For example, if deer on a ranch commonly eat corn, then mix corn with the new feed to introduce it to them. Then, decrease the amount of corn and up the percentage of the new food. This is by far the best way to transition white-tailed deer to consume new foods.

Again, getting deer to eat new foods is not terribly difficult, but there are some factors that can effect how fast they hit new food sources. Habitat conditions, food availability, deer density, season and other deer management practices can all impact the consumption of supplemental foods. Simply keep all of these variables in mind if you plan on introducing new foods to whitetail and prepare to be surprised. Because once deer begin using their new food source you may be looking for supplemental income to help pay for it all!

Food Preferences of White-tailed Deer

Ever wondered about the food preferences of the deer on your property? It’s something you should know if interested in managing for good deer habitat and a healthy whitetail herd. White-tailed deer actually eat a wide diversity of plants, with seasonal use varying with the availability and palatability of the plants found in their habitat.

Whitetail seek out the best foods at all times. That is, they want high quality foods as less time spent foraging means using less energy. Deer diet varies by location because of the environmental and plant diversity found across the whitetail’s range.

Food Preferences by Forage Class

Seasonal food preferences of white-tailed deer in have been developed based on identification of stomach contents in deer harvested during all seasons of the year. In whitetail food studies, plant preference are typically determined by comparing availability of the forage in the habitat versus the percent it comprised of deer stomach contents.

This allows researchers to determine the deer’s preference for particular foods, as well as their relative value. The importance value of a particular species quantifies the volume of a particular plant species in the deer diet. Native plants that had a high importance value made up a higher percentage of the seasonal or annual diet.

Deer Food Habits by Plant Category

For those that are not familiar with white-tailed deer, a knowledge of deer use of food items by general forage class is as important as knowing the specific plants species eaten by deer. The forage classes identified during the study were defined as:

Browse: This classification refers to the growing soft portion (stems and leaves) of perennial woody plants, trees, shrubs, vines and plants typically referred to as “brush” fall into this category.

Forbs: These are plants that are often called “weeds” by farmers, ranchers, landowners, and those that love well-maintained urban lawns. These plants are herbaceous (non-woody, normally broad-leafed, flowering plants. Forbs include all flowering herbaceous plants that are not grasses.

Mast: Refers to the fruit of the plants defined as browse species. Mas includes things such as oak acorns, mesquite beans, prickly pear fruits, berries, and similar items. As a group, mast is seasonally important in deer diets and can vary greatly from year to year.

Grasses: This includes grass and herbaceous grass-like plants such as sedges and rushes.

Grain Crops: This food class includes forage items that are planted for farming, grazing, or specifically for wildlife in the form of food plots. Cool season crops typically include clover, vetch, wheat, oats, and ryegrass. Common warm season crops include peas and other legume varieties, mile, and millet.

Commercial Feeds: This includes sacked feeds such as true supplements or those simply considered deer hunting attractant. The most common sacked supplement is a deer pellet that is at least 16% protein and is distributed through free-choice feeders. The most common deer hunting attractant is whole corn distributed with timed deer feeders prior and during the white-tailed deer hunting season.

Deer Diet: A Texas Example

Data collected in west-central Texas from over 230 deer in 6 counties indicated the average annual diet of white-tailed deer consisted of 36% browse, 20% forbs, 20% mast, 12 grasses, 7% planted agricultural grain crops, and 5% commercial feed.

Are the results form Texas similar to the food preferences of deer in your area? Although the specific plant species consumed by deer in your area will no doubt be different, deer preference by plant category will likely be very similar across the whitetail’s range, with the exception being the consumption of additional crops in areas dominated by row crops.

Browse and forbs are the key plants required by white-tailed deer. They also use mast and agricultural crops when available. Deer are very selective foragers and shift their focus to the best plants available to them as the seasons change.

Fire Creates Better White-tailed Deer Habitat

White-tailed deer, like many wildlife species, prefer habitat that is at lower successional stages. Simply stated, deer like plant communities that are dominated by plants that are considered first responders after disturbance. Any disturbance helps set back plant succession, whether it be disking established areas, clear-cutting portions of forests, or natural or prescribed fire. And although hunters understand that deer management practices are designed to improve habitat, many habitat management practices are really only designed to mimic processes that occur naturally.

Of course, when it happens naturally land managers have very little control. Such was the case last year in Texas when the almost 15,000 acre Chaparral Wildlife Management Area (WMA) unexpectedly caught fire. It was March of 2008, but because of extremely dry spring conditions, a fire that started adjacent the area burned 95% of the state-owned WMA! Anyone that knows anything about the Chaparral WMA knows that the area is representative of South Texas brushland, but active habitat and deer management practices maintain a healthy deer herd that boast some big ole whitetail bucks.

Prescribed fire is an effective management tool for deer throughout the white-tailed deer’s range because most native brush species respond well by root-sprouting, regrowing, and providing high-protein browse. You see, most plant species are well-adapted to fire, but all deer managers that use fire as a management tool prefer prescribed or controlled burning. The fire that swept across the Chaparral WMA, on the other hand, was a wildfire. And although wildfires and prescribed fires ultimately have the same impact on native plants, prescribed fires are planned and allow burners the most preparation. Prescribed fires allow landowners the ability to pre-select the areas to be burned and the conditions under which they are burned.

For those interested in using fire as a management tool, it’s recommended that no more than 20% of a property be burned annually. This keeps different successional stages of plants located throughout the property and provides deer with optimal forage. I mentioned earlier that the wildfire that crossed the Chaparral burned 95% of the research WMA. Keep in mind that the perimeter of the area is game-fenced and very few deer were found dead post-fire, so that left all the deer found on the 15,000 acre property about 700 non-burned acres to forage. But white-tailed deer are resilient animals.

Chaparral WMA staff and researchers from Texas A&M University-Kingsville used the effects of the wildfire to monitor how deer living on the area would respond. What would deer eat in the short-term? Would there be enough food to maintain body condition and support fawning? That was just a few of the questions managers needed to answer to determine if the deer herd could respond the the widespread setback in habitat.

It’s important to note that the month of March is smack-dab in the middle of a white-tailed does’ pregnancy. And pregnancy requires a high amount of dietary input. Researchers collected does at two week intervals from mid-April to mid-June and recorded live weight, body condition, rumen contents, and the number and size of fetuses. A total of 28 does were collected and 23 pregnant does carried 6 single fawns, 16 twins, and 1 set of triplets. Shortly after the fire, rumen contents consisted primarily (90%) of cactus and grasses. However, deer shifted to forbs and mast (fruits) as these foods became available after the fire.

Data collected on the Chaparral WMA found that deer were able to maintain body condition and pregnancy after a large-scale fire. However, the management area did have a lot of things going for it that may or may not be available in some areas. First, the deer herd was below the carrying capacity of the land prior to the fire. In addition, the area was fortunate to have an abundance of cactus that provided a moisture-rich post-fire food for white-tailed deer. Although deer were able to switch their diets in order to survive, would this be the case in your area after a wildfire?

Fire is one of the most beneficial tools in wildlife management because when used properly it is very economical. In addition, fire releases nutrients that are bound in dead organic material, fire stimulates the germination of certain plant species, and fire controls plants such as blueberry cedar that are not fire adapted. And although we have learned that whitetail can cope with large-scale fire in South Texas, I do not recommend burning more than 20% of your property on an annual basis. Just keep in mind that with burning 90% of the work takes place before you strike the first match.

Deer Habitat Should Provide Deer Foods

Each landowner or property manager must recognize the habitat needs of white-tailed deer on a continual basis and direct management towards meeting those needs. Since white-tailed deer have a relatively small home range of about ½ to 1 mile in radius over an annual basis, all of their needs for growth, reproduction, and cover must be met within this unit. Deer management is about food management–as in habitat.

Whitetail will seldom move from within their home range to meet their needs, even though better conditions may exists in the surrounding area! Deer are very versatile in their feeding habits and will eat a wide variety of items, including fruits, browse, forbs, agricultural crops, and even small amounts of grass. Deer “perform” best in habitat where a great variety of preferred food items are present. Continue reading “Deer Habitat Should Provide Deer Foods”