The physical evidence of deer browsing on leaves, twigs, agricultural crops and natural fruits exemplifies a unique type of deer sign. It adds one more piece to the puzzle and affirms that an area deserves your closed examination. An area plentiful in food should also support a herd of deer. If you cannot find proof of feeding within an area, it may all the same serve as a travel corridor for deer, but you will have to find other signs, such as tracks and trails to affirm this.
To find evidence of feeding, you need to know what deer eat, which includes more than 6-different plants. As browsing animals, they randomly nip off small leaves, twigs and buds of many trees and shrubs. In northern forests, white cedar, maples, dogwood, aspen and blueberry are important natural foods. In the south deer prefer greenbriers, black gum, maples, honeysuckle, sumac and kudzu. Generally they prefer new growth. In starvation times, however, deer will eat pencil-thick stems.
Across whitetail country, the acorns of oak trees remain a key food source from late summer through winter. Fifty-four different species of oaks grow in North America, and almost every species produces acorns of value to deer. Botanists divide all oaks into two groups, white oaks and black oaks. In general, the white oaks produce "sweeter acorns", while black-oak acorns are somewhat bitter. Deer demonstrate preference for the very sweetest whites, such as the chinquapin, the post and swamp white oak. On the other hand, black oaks produce acorns more consistently than white oaks, and deer eat black-oak acorns in years when white oaks do not bear fruit.
Squirrels shuck the shell of the acorn. Deer eat acorns whole, so the physical signs of such a meal are subtle. If you look close, you may detect some disturbance in leaf litter associated with deer, or you may see some tracks in exposed dirt underneath oaks. Parallel wind rows of leaves usually indicate feeding activity of wild turkeys. With snow cover, you can easily recognize where deer have pawed down to find acorns.
Crucial agricultural crops that deer utilize include corn, soybeans, apples and alfalfa. Deer consume these foods in many different stages. In an apple orchard, for instance, deer will browse on apple twigs as well as eat the fruit itself. In a cornfield, deer will nip off the tops of the stalk and silk as well as the mature ear. Given a crack at shelled corn, they will chow down with relish. Often they will also take a cob of corn with them as they leave a feeder or field.
Deer lack incisor teeth in the front of the upper jaw; therefore they cannot nearly "bite" off stems. Instead, a deer used its lower canine teeth to press a stem or leaf against the upper jaw and then tears away a mouthful. The remaining stem or leaf exhibits a jagged edge. By contrast, neatly-pruned stems low to the ground suggests rabbit activity. Broken branches of apple and cherry trees in general represent the work of a bear. Blame the raccoon when you find broken-down stalks of corn. Deer are dainty eaters by comparison. - 31499
To find evidence of feeding, you need to know what deer eat, which includes more than 6-different plants. As browsing animals, they randomly nip off small leaves, twigs and buds of many trees and shrubs. In northern forests, white cedar, maples, dogwood, aspen and blueberry are important natural foods. In the south deer prefer greenbriers, black gum, maples, honeysuckle, sumac and kudzu. Generally they prefer new growth. In starvation times, however, deer will eat pencil-thick stems.
Across whitetail country, the acorns of oak trees remain a key food source from late summer through winter. Fifty-four different species of oaks grow in North America, and almost every species produces acorns of value to deer. Botanists divide all oaks into two groups, white oaks and black oaks. In general, the white oaks produce "sweeter acorns", while black-oak acorns are somewhat bitter. Deer demonstrate preference for the very sweetest whites, such as the chinquapin, the post and swamp white oak. On the other hand, black oaks produce acorns more consistently than white oaks, and deer eat black-oak acorns in years when white oaks do not bear fruit.
Squirrels shuck the shell of the acorn. Deer eat acorns whole, so the physical signs of such a meal are subtle. If you look close, you may detect some disturbance in leaf litter associated with deer, or you may see some tracks in exposed dirt underneath oaks. Parallel wind rows of leaves usually indicate feeding activity of wild turkeys. With snow cover, you can easily recognize where deer have pawed down to find acorns.
Crucial agricultural crops that deer utilize include corn, soybeans, apples and alfalfa. Deer consume these foods in many different stages. In an apple orchard, for instance, deer will browse on apple twigs as well as eat the fruit itself. In a cornfield, deer will nip off the tops of the stalk and silk as well as the mature ear. Given a crack at shelled corn, they will chow down with relish. Often they will also take a cob of corn with them as they leave a feeder or field.
Deer lack incisor teeth in the front of the upper jaw; therefore they cannot nearly "bite" off stems. Instead, a deer used its lower canine teeth to press a stem or leaf against the upper jaw and then tears away a mouthful. The remaining stem or leaf exhibits a jagged edge. By contrast, neatly-pruned stems low to the ground suggests rabbit activity. Broken branches of apple and cherry trees in general represent the work of a bear. Blame the raccoon when you find broken-down stalks of corn. Deer are dainty eaters by comparison. - 31499
About the Author:
Sportsman and author Ethan O. Tanner explains the various signs of whitetail feeding and gives ideas for deciding the signs of whitetail feedingsin comparison to other animals.
