Sunday, August 2, 2009

What other than corn can I feed deer?

They recently started to clear some land by my house and the deer are coming out looking for food. They started to eat my rose bushes and my red bud tree. I don't mind because I know they are very hungry. I have fed them corn but want to know what else I can give them.
Answers:
first of all thats the wrong attitude to have.you know their hungry.?look.. deer have survived for millions of years on food other than your roses.please ..if you have to feed the deer..first keep them out of your pretty roses by taking a ziploc baggy and slice some small half inch cuts in the baggy,and shave some soap bars into the baggy. and tie them to your rose bushes..next.get some real deer feed from your local outdoor / hunting store..some examples are apples,salt blocks,corn, and sugar beets.Put this food far away from your flowers as possible.If the soap doesnt keep them away try some predator urine such as coyote,bear ect..and spray that on the ground next to your roses..plese dont feel sorry for them and let them eat your roses..also you may want to check local and state laws cause feeding deer isnt always legal in many parts of the country..you may unknowingly help the deer transmit diseases to eachother such as bovine tb and cronic wasting disease and you may be killing the deer your trying to help
Deer also eat marigolds
They eat soybeans (in the field) and I hear they love apples. You could get some goat feed, they will eat that, but be careful for you may humanize them and they will have no fear of man and there lies another danger, the hunters.
oats
Deer love apples, and other fruits, they also munch on fruit wood. here, we have alot of apple trees, and pear trees. They eat the apples, pears, and the branches. Even crabapple branches. Hope this helps!
True they do like apples.. but they will eat all types of greens and fruits. they don't need you feeding them. Thou we know you mean well. They may hang around for a few days.. but they will on to green pastures
In warmer weather, *salt licks* are also good too, deer like those.

But yeah, you really don't want to catch yourself feeding them too much..once deer lose their fear of man they might start *attacking* people when they are in heat, or during their "rutting" season. It is a big problem, they are a lot stronger for their size than they look.

Just saying. ;)
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I hate to see animals like this. Even makes me cry. Anyways. whatever you lay out for them to eat do it sometime in the day when they are not around because like that other person said you don't want to humanize them because of hunters.
You can feed them anything you would feed a horse..hay, grains, fruits, and greens..
In some states there are restrictions against feeding wild deer populations due to CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease).

Feeding deer artificially concentrates them in one location for extended periods of time. CWD is most likely transmitted from deer to deer by direct contact between animals, or indirectly through contact with waste food, urine, and feces that build up at feeding sites, although the exact transmittal mechanism is currently unknown.

Other diseases, such as Bovine Tuberculosis, can also be spread quickly at feeding sites, where animals are in close contact with each other and with waste products every day.

Another risk associated with deer feeding is the possibility that the infectious agent of CWD could be present in commercial feeds. Some commercial livestock feed may be produced using rendered animal parts, which could contain the infectious agent.

Feeding can cause more deer to survive than the natural habitat can support, which can lead to long term degradation of the natural habitat.

In addition, some deer foods used by people can be detrimental because they do not meet the nutritional requirements of deer in winter. Deer are ruminants similar to a cow and have a multi-chambered stomach, with a more complicated digestive process. If food types are suddenly changed, it can take considerable time for the digestive process to adapt to the new food, during which time the animal receives little nutrition when it needs it most.

One suggestion instead of using feeding is to: cutting trees and brush in deer winter yards makes the browse in the tops of the trees or brush accessible to deer. This browse is the food deer are adapted to eat in the winter. This cutting can only be done on private land with the permission of the landowner. It cannot be done on state forest preserve land, and requires permits on other state lands. The landowner can use the trunks of the trees for firewood or timber, leaving the tops for deer to eat. Anyone interested in providing browse to deer by cutting trees or brush should contact their regional DEC deer biologist for suggestions on tree species and quantities.

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