Suddenly feeding deer a new food type can actually kill them . Here is a strategy to provide food for deer during the heart of the winter. #seedstodreamsdeer
Thanks so much for your information on what to feed the deer in the winter. I had been feeding them apples and bird seed for the last 2 winters. I found out a few weeks ago, that these are harmful to deer in the winter because their digestive systems change in the winter to accommodate the change in their diet. I have stopped doing that. I came to RU-vid hoping to find info. on what is safe to feed deer in the winter. We have an unpruned apple tree and a red maple on our property, so I'm going to use your good advice on how to cut the branches for the deer. I live in beautiful western NY, too. Thanks again for the good advice.
Thank you so much for this! I live in Duluth MN and our massive snow cover plus varying layers of ice between the snow have made it really rough for our little herd along our walking trail. I've lived here for 29 years hiking the trails and getting to know the woods. I don't usually intervene with the deer, they have a pretty good situation in this area. But this year I started worrying by February. I've had this neat little herd I've watched for generations that come into my yard. I had Big Doe, about 5 years old, her twins from spring, and Little Doe (the daughter), 2 years old, with one spring fawn. Then sure enough, a week and a half ago Little Doe died, not far from our walking trail. There are no struggle tracks. I didn't see her until 2 or 3 days after she died, so I can't be sure what happened, but I didn't see wound areas either, although they could have been hidden by predation. I believe she either starved or was hit by a car on road close by, then made her way there to die (no blood trail). Big Doe took over with Little Doe's young one, so Big Doe is watching over all 3 lil uns. I'm determined to help them get through April, if I can. Their trails have changed drastically - they're sticking to a few main trails, where they've already eaten anything, as they sink so deep once they break the crust everywhere else. I'm a woman with a bad back, so cutting upper branches would be challenging (but believe me, I'll consider it). I started putting down carrots and apples, small amounts spread out along their trails , not dumped in one area. I knew I needed to be careful to not shock their system and make this worse. A couple neighbors are concerned too. We thought about sliced squash, or broccoli too, or oats. The alfalfa in our whole area is literally sold out. You're video is helpful, to be careful what we put out. If you have any other ideas on what could help them w/o harming them for another couple weeks, Please let me know. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks for watching! It takes a few weeks for the bacteria to change in a deer's stomach (4 parts) so that's why feeding new kinds of food can harm them...they can't break down the new food. They are tough but the winter will claim some of them as does the road...could be either with your little doe as they often die of internal bleeding from automobile incidents. Any native branches you can clip down will help. It's probably best to do a little every few days rather than a lot all at once. You mentioned your back is bad so picking await at cutting native browse may help you endure your way through it. Kids, grandkids, neighbors and friends can help if you are unable to prune yourself. You could maybe get a trail camera and put it up about 10 yards back from the fresh cut browse and this could be an incentive to show others who may help you with pruning see their work making a difference. This is the homestretch of winter so they don't have to hang on too much longer. Best wishes!
I feel like I’m the Midwest or at least where I’m at there so much corn fields standing and cut that I don’t think feeding corn is a problem. I put out alfalfa and sprinkle corn and pellets over them for more attraction and it’s also a “shed trap”
I have deer caught on my camera system. I worry it’s hungry. I was told it’s okay to chop apples and some carrot. Is this true? I don’t want them to die. I also have a couple of rabbits triggering the camera system. They need something too. Recently a huge farm was purchased and developed and they lost some food sources. Thanks for advice
Pearl, the metabolism of deer drops drastically in winter so their food needs are less. The challenge when it comes to food is that deer have to change the bacteria in their digestive tracts as their diet changes...and this normally takes several weeks. Giving deer food they can't digest can cause more problems than the challenges that already exist. Corn, a favorite feed source, is actually an allergen for deer even though deer love corn. I know people that feed corn to deer all winter without any known problems but studies also show that deer have been found with their bellies full of corn yet they starved to death...they couldn't digest it. If the deer are eating corn consistently there doesn't seem to be as big a problem. The biggest problems develop when a 'new food' is introduced in the middle of the winter. Carrots and apples would be better than corn but browse (the ends of shrub and tree branches) are safest because that's what deer are already eating. If you have land, consider putting in a food plot of winter rye or wheat in the fall...it will be a constant food source throughout the winter and it's fun to watch deer in this way. Additionally, if you have space you can prune back small trees and shrubs so deer can reach the branches for browse. Here's a video I made about pruning red dogwood for deer ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tOCFj1Wg0NU.html . If you don't have much land your options are more limited. Deer are tough and often do best without any intervention on our part. But I understand the desire to want to help them out. Are they eating your bushes and shrubs near your house? Thanks for watching.
