Good Read On Deer Nutrition

[SD51555]

I found this when doing some digging on asters after Native picked the ID. Not a ton of new info, but a great top to bottom explanation in one article. It makes me wonder if the migration to acorns marks the switch from protein to carbs.

http://extension.missouri.edu/p/g9487

 

[Greta&Gus]

Excellent read. One thing it makes me think is that with the shift of seasons there is clear reasons for deer to shift their home range to meet their eating demands. It also shows that crops are never the primary source of food. I think we would all agree that food plots are great and help out a property but clearly they are not true driver of the deer's stomach.

 

[SD51555]

I got to thinking about the quality of forage in summer, which is why I ended up reading through this. When we pulled camera cards over the weekend, I couldn't help but notice how the fawns looked fat. They had larger guts compared to the paper thin fawns I'm accustomed to seeing.

 

[bueller]

A majority of our fawns also look very "bulky" to me compared to past years. Is this the result of an easy winter and early spring or is an indicator that mother nature is preparing for a BRUTAL winter :eek:?

 

[foggy]

^ Agree. The deer on my land looked fat all year.....even looked fat this spring after a mild winter.