What Do Deer Eat? Everything
When you’re sitting up in your treestand overlooking an awesome looking food plot that’s empty, it’s easy to ask yourself “what do deer eat since they are here eating my food plot?”. That being said, it should still come as no surprise to you that deer will eat just about anything if their food sources are limited. Though many people believe that deer will only eat plants, that’s actually not the case. In fact, deer will even eat evergreen trees if it’s the only thing around that is at their level. If you check out the video below, you are going to see a deer eat a bird. If that doesn’t prove to you that a deer will eat almost anything, then nothing will. Make sure you have your sound turned up while you’re watching the video because the woman behind the camera has a great reaction.
What Do Deer Eat? When it’s Ready is Just as Important
Every fall, you hear lots and lots of hunters talk about how the deer are hitting the acorns like crazy once they start dropping. The same concept should be thought about when planting your food plots. Some plants are preferred during the summer while others aren’t eaten until late winter. This is especially true if you are thinking about adding some fruit trees to enhance your food plots. Just walking in to your local nursery and buying a bunch of apple trees or pear trees without doing any research is a huge mistake. Not all varieties of apples or pears or any fruit for that matter are going to be ripe and dropping at the same time. Some tree will drop their fruit in late August while others wont start being ready until early to late October. Lucky for you, I’ve already done some research and have provided a short list of some food plot trees that will have deer eating fresh fruit while your on stand and able to hunt.
What Do Deer Eat? Conclusion
The American Chestnut, Candy Crisp Apples, and Gala Apples are great because they all ripen/fall during October while a Purdue Pear would be a bad choice because it’s fruit ripens in early August. So next time you are looking at planting some fruit trees on your property, make sure you know when the fruit will be available. Though it’s nice to provide food for deer during the off season, the whole point of doing habitat management for a deer hunter is to attract and hold deer DURING the season. Happy Hunting!