What can I feed my backyard deer?

Asked by: Jill Warren

A wide variety of fruits and vegetables – including apples, grapes, cherries, pears, carrots, and snap peas – are eaten in nature by deer. Therefore, it is safe to feed deer these fruits. Acorns are another safe food source.

What can I feed my local deer?

What To Feed:

• Natural Food. If possible, it is best to feed natural food. …
• Deer Pellets. Most farm feed outlets carry a specially formulated ration for deer or can tell you where it can be bought. …
• Cereal Grains. …
• Hay or Alfalfa. …
• Fruit & Vegetables.

What is the cheapest thing to feed deer?

An inexpensive way to feed deer is with corn. Deer love corn and many hunters rely on it for supplemental feeding. That being said, corn is not an excellent source of protein, which is essential for antler growth and the nursing of fawns.

What is the best food for deers?

The 9 Best Late-Season Deer Foods and How to Hunt Them

• Acorns. In most areas, there are still plenty of red oak acorns on the ground for deer to feed on. …
• Newly Seeded Alfalfa. …
• Apples. …
• Soybeans. …
• Brassicas. …
• Corn. …
• Hard/Woody Browse. …
• Shrub/Brushy Browse.

What human food do deer like?

A wide variety of fruits and vegetables – including apples, grapes, cherries, pears, carrots, and snap peas – are eaten in nature by deer. Therefore, it is safe to feed deer these fruits. Acorns are another safe food source.

What else can you feed deer besides corn?

Some good fall food sources include hard mast (e.g., oak acorns, beech nuts, chestnuts, hickory nuts, etc.), soft mast (e.g., apples, pears, persimmons, etc.), and agricultural crops (corn, soybeans, brassicas, cereal grains, etc.).

Is it OK to feed deer in your yard?

If you feed deer in your backyard or at a park, you could be harming them instead of helping them. Bringing deer together at feeding sites increases their risk of contracting communicable diseases, such as chronic wasting disease, from other deer.

Can I feed deer apples?

They’ll benefit more from easily digestible foods during the winter months. Deer naturally eat apples, and apples are perfectly safe for use in a deer feeder. Apples provide deer with a sweet treat that gives them a large nutritional boost. However, deer aren’t capable of properly digesting apples.

What food can deer not resist?

5 Deer Attractants Bucks Seem Unable Resist

• Deer Cane Black Magic. Cabela’s. Black Magic by Evolved Habitat has made its mark in the deer attractant category. …
• Apple-Flavored Attractants. Amazon. …
• Orange-Flavored Deer Corn. Orange Corn Company. …
• C’mere Deer. Bass Pro Shops. …
• Tecomate. Amazon.

How do you make homemade deer feed?

Cracked corn, whole kernels, or ground corn all work well for deer treats. Mix an equal amount of your corn with your whole oats. Amounts will vary depending on how much deer food you want to make.

Is it OK to feed deer bread?

A small amounts of white bread cannot do any harm, but if a single deer were to eat anything more than a few slices of bread there is always the potential for life-threatening lacticacidosis. It is certainly not wise to put out large amounts because you cannot control how much each deer might eat.

Is dried corn good for deer?

Many articles, presentations, and campfire conversations about deer nutrition state emphatically that corn is not good for deer. In a general sense, this is true because corn is low in protein (9%), has a poor mineral profile, and can cause digestive upset and metabolic problems.

Do deer like carrots?

Over time, it has become not just an edible food for humans, but deer are also consuming these vegetables. Deer love to eat carrots, which is bad for farmers and can cost them millions of dollars per year.

Should deer eat apples?

Deer naturally eat apples, and apples are perfectly safe for use in a deer feeder. Apples provide deer with a sweet treat that gives them a large nutritional boost. However, deer aren’t capable of properly digesting apples. For that reason, deer typically only eat them at the end of the winter.

What can I put out for deer to eat in winter?

Deer eat woody browse in the winter. This can be leaves, berries, saplings, bulbs, or buds. In wintertime, they will take their pickings from the ground. They can also have some lush forage such as kale, radish, turnips, apples, or cabbage if it is available.

Will deer eat potatoes?

Yes, they do, especially the sweet potato variety. They will also eat other potatoes, including toxic potato leaves if hungry enough. Potatoes are equally used in certain areas to feed deer, so they are not deer deterrents.

Do deer eat carrots and celery?

Do deer eat celery? Yes, they do. Deer will eat your celery plants to the ground if you let them. Therefore, you need to invest in the right deer deterrent methods to keep them out.

Do deer eat fallen apples?

Whitetail stomachs can handle apple in small quantities. In fact a deer will likely gobble down this treat with glee. Apples contain ample calories for deer, and they will even eat an apple that is starting to rot after falling from a tree.

What vegetables do deer like?

When food is scarce, deer eat just about anything, including prickly-stemmed okra and hot peppers. Vegetables that deer seem to prefer include beans, lettuce, cabbage, and cole crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.

What wont deer eat?

Daffodils, foxgloves, and poppies are common flowers with a toxicity that deer avoid. Deer also tend to turn their noses up at fragrant plants with strong scents. Herbs such as sages, ornamental salvias, and lavender, as well as flowers like peonies and bearded irises, are just “stinky” to deer.

Will deer eat peas?

Winter peas. Both deer and deer hunters love them. They’re nutritious for deer and are a great draw during most of the season. It provides hunting opportunities and helps provide needed nutrition when food sources are oftentimes limited the most.

Will deer eat blueberries?

They are not just delicious to deer but offer a vast range of nutrition. Blueberries contain many essential vitamins such as vitamin c, which is one reason deer relishes this high-energy fruits. Deer will not only eat the fruits but the twigs, stem, leaves, and other aspects of your blueberry plants.

Will deer eat grapes?

Deer eat grapes and grape vines. They can especially be a problem when vines are young and trying to get established and when fruit is ripe. The only sure way to keep deer from entering the vineyard is exclusion using fencing. Electrified, tall fencing is the most effective method.

What fruits deer Cannot eat?

Anything in the nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant…etc), and rhubarb are examples of plants deer avoid because of their toxicity.

Do deer eat tomatoes?

Deer love tomatoes, but other plants in your garden might also be at risk. Other favorites of the deer are the Swiss chard, strawberries, sweet corn, raspberries, and some varieties of beans.

Can deer eat banana peels?

Look at that they do a look about it Wow sweet banana Joe in a banana peel.

Can deer eat cucumbers?

Deer don’t like thorny vegetables, like cucumber, or vegetables that have hairy peels, like certain varieties of squash. Other vegetables not particularly palatable to deer are tomatoes, peppers, carrot roots, eggplant, asparagus, leeks and globe artichokes.