When hunting season draws to a close some tend to forget that the hardest season of the year for whitetails has just begun. If you are serious about manufacturing healthy deer herds then consider a supplemental winter deer feeding program.
Autumn is a busy time for both deer and deer hunters. As hunters are clearing shooting lanes, sighting in bows, checking game cameras and hanging stands, at the same time whitetail bucks are busy feeding on high-energy foods like legumes, acorns, and cultivated crops to pack on the additional 30 pounds or so that will be required to last them through the rut. During the rut most bucks will dramatically decrease food intake, in addition to spending tremendous amounts of energy chasing does.
As the rut nears, bucks shift their focus from feeding to patrolling their territory and waiting for the first does to come into estrus. Mature bucks are healthy and fat at the beginning of the rut, using their stores of energy to survive the demanding weeks that follow as they chase does, fight with other bucks and remain on the move both day and night.
Much of the whitetails’ annual cycle is related to the length of day and the resulting effect on the deer’s pineal gland, which regulates hormone levels in the body. The events that occur annually in a deer’s life cycle (antler formation and release and increased testosterone levels in bucks and the estrus cycle in does) are directly related to pineal gland activity and length of days more than any other single factor.
As the rut winds down and hunting season draws to a close, bucks begin trying to regain some of the body mass that was lost during the stress of the rut. Bucks that have survived to the beginning of winter have undergone the trying weeks of chasing does, fighting with other bucks and because their single focus is finding and breeding as many does as possible they stop eating, their food intake can be reduced 90% during this period. So weight loss can be significant as the demands of the season take their toll. When the rut ends bucks are left depleted going into the leanest time of year.
Most deer managers are more than willing to plant their plots in the spring and summer. The weather is pleasant and the anticipation of the fall hunting season serves as the necessary motivation to plant food plots. These plots are generally maintained through the beginning of the hunting season, but when the bucks are beginning to think about does and hunters are preparing to pursue bucks, food plot maintenance typically dwindles.
With the exception of the brief period of intense energy expenditure during the rut, there is no more stressful time in the life of a whitetail buck than winter. In northern climates snow covers much of the ground after the end of the rut, making it even more difficult to find food. Already depleted and worn down from breeding activity, bucks face the prospect of surviving the difficult winter months with a limited supply of food. Extremely harsh winters can make it impossible for bucks to gain back the body mass lost during the rut, leading to increased risk of disease or predation or, in some cases, death.
The Importance of a Winter Food Source for Whitetails
For deer managers, winter is largely ignored. The hunting season has ended, the deer are tagged and processed, and the snow and cold weather have come. In northern regions the days are short and temperatures are low. At that point many deer managers are waiting for spring, looking forward to hunting for shed antlers, planting food plots, and warmer weather. It is important, however, not to forget about managing your deer herd during the winter months. Bucks that survived the hunting season face the prospect of many difficult months with poor forage and the constant caloric burden of maintaining body heat. This stress can last throughout the winter as deer are constantly trying to catch up, always trying to find enough food to sustain them through these difficult times.
There is a significant shift in a whitetail’s metabolism between the spring and summer months and late autumn and winter. Deer are not nearly as active when the weather turns cold, and in response to less food and cold temperatures their metabolism slows greatly, reducing the deer’s need for food.
During the winter months deer growth rates drop dramatically. In essence, deer are simply surviving the cold months in preparation for spring. In some cases their metabolism can slow as much as 50% and the focus of the whitetail’s life becomes finding enough food to survive until the climate improves.
The impact of winter can be affected by your latitude as well. Regardless of your location, whitetail bucks are burning energy and calories during the rut and are entering winter depleted. Ideally, these deer would have a ready food source and would be able to rebuild the fat stores necessary to cope with the stress of winter. In cold northern climates deer eat to survive, trying to find enough food to keep them alive until the weather turns better. Supplemental feeding in winter becomes even more essential in areas where deer face extreme cold and lots of precipitation.
There are a variety of winter stressors—snow, cold temperatures, and a lack of food. Snowfall levels, however, play a major role in the deer’s ability to find food. Heavy snows can be deadly to deer herds, as snow makes traveling more difficult (at the cost of valuable calories) and heavy snows can cover food sources. Deer that have to navigate through and dig below piled snow are using more calories than deer in areas with little snowfall. When accumulated snow levels reach a point where deer have to expend tremendous energy to find their food there is a serious risk for winter die-off, particularly among bucks that are already depleted.
Antler genesis begins again in the spring as days begin to lengthen and temperatures warm. Additionally, does are giving birth to fawns at the end of winter and are lactating, which also places metabolic strains on deer that may already be depleted from winter. With bucks, antler growth is secondary to body condition, so if bucks start the spring in a depleted state, full antler growth may not be achieved.
If you are serious about deer management it is essential not to neglect the winter. This critical time of year makes a big difference when you are trying to grow big antlers and heavy body weights.
As stated previously, a whitetail’s life changes drastically between the end of the rut and the beginning of winter. In the southern United States, where the rut occurs later in the year, bucks have a few short months to scrape by and rebuild fat reserves before spring, and snow cover rarely lasts longer than a week. In northern climates deer spend upwards of five or six months after the rut battling against the cold, snow and food that is difficult to come by.
During the winter all deer focus almost solely on finding food and the less energy they have to spend wading in and digging through snow to find that food the better. When the temperatures drop and a whitetail’s metabolism slows, deer tend to remain on south and west-facing slopes, avoiding the exposure to extreme elements as much as possible. This means that these are natural wintering areas and if tillable land is available near these deer wintering grounds that is where you should plant your supplemental winter plots.
Deer do not require as much energy in winter, as previously stated. However, this information can be misleading because although deer require slightly less feed in the winter there is far less feed available, and heavy snowfall means that the deer will sometimes have to dig to find food. Supplemental winter feeding can provide the calories deer need to maintain sufficient body fat throughout the winter and be prepared for maximum growth in the spring.
“In many parts of the country snow will cover up a lot of the browse and mast so supplemental feed really helps the deer out,” says Dr. Mike Messman of Cargill’s Record Rack division. “The key is to get the feed out there so that the deer can consume it.”
What to Feed Deer in the Winter
Selecting a good winter food plot requires researching what type of supplemental plants will survive in your area during winter. In addition, these plants must be palatable and attractive to deer. Selecting a winter crop can be much more difficult than choosing a warm weather crop because you are limited to choosing plants that can endure the worst winter weather, and a plot that doesn’t survive and produce a food source for the deer is of no value. In selecting the right winter crop for your area it is best to choose food sources that have proven to be hearty and palatable to deer. Brassicas and corn are two standbys in the north simply because your herd can access the food.
Corn has proven to be successful for winter plots because deer can reach the cobs above the deep snow cover and the carbohydrates that corn provides means “heat” for the whitetail’s “boiler room.” Although corn provides poor protein and the yield per acre is not that of other popular food plot crops, it has a solid place in an “all-around program” because of its importance during winter.
Other good choices for winter forage are brassicas (greens and root bulbs) and sugar beets (greens and root bulbs). Both of these food types are favorites of deer because they are palatable and provide the nutrients necessary to help deer thrive during the winter and are particularly high in protein content. Not all brassica varieties produce bulbs, which can be added attraction for deer. Most brassicas are relished for the succulent, high protein, green forage they produce. BioLogic’s Winter Bulbs and Sugar Beets or Maximum are good choices for most late-season food plots and will provide forage that will improve the health of winter deer herds, particularly in times of stress. A brassica/beet mix should be planted in late summer or early autumn depending upon your location north to south.
Winter food plots oftentimes become buried under heavy snow, requiring deer to dig to find food items. In times of heavy snow some managers choose to plow their fields or remove snow with a blade to make it easier for deer to access the plot. In reality, though, deer are pretty hearty animals, and in all but the worst conditions and the deepest snow they will be able to access a known food supply.
Winter can be a critical time for whitetails. Most managers totally forget about their herds when cold temperatures and snow move in and the hunting season is over. If you are serious about managing your deer herd, though, it means year-round maintenance, particularly when deer are faced with the difficulties of finding food in winter. By helping bucks get back on their feet after the rut you’ll find that they are back on pace by spring to grow the most impressive headgear.
Begin feeding in late December or after accumulating 12 inches of snowpack (whichever comes first) when deer have likely transitioned to their wintering areas. Proper feed is natural browse items such as; dogwood, maple, ash, birch, or witch hobble. Oats or acorns can be given as diet supplements.
By far the most popular and widely used bait for attracting whitetails is corn. Not only is deer corn highly consumed and well received by whitetails in almost every habitat across the continent, but it's also one of the cheapest options for hunters.
The best option is to give them more of the winter foods they are already adapted to eating: winter browse. This includes buds and twigs of woody plants. Introducing new foods in the middle of winter, especially in high quantities all of a sudden, can actually be more harmful to deer than not feeding them at all.
Other good choices for winter forage are brassicas (greens and root bulbs) and sugar beets (greens and root bulbs). Both of these food types are favorites of deer because they are palatable and provide the nutrients necessary to help deer thrive during the winter and are particularly high in protein content.
From larger plots of forage soybeans covering 10 or more acres, to small parcels of broken tree canopy planted to brassica; various crops including corn, milo, turnips, peas, clover, and alfalfa will attract and keep deer. One of the surest ways to attract deer is through their stomach.
Peanut butter has physical properties that will help deer hang around in front of your trail cameras better than corn. It tends to leave a longer-lasting residue than corn, so whitetails stick around wherever you smear it.
Deer will primarily eat browse (woody portion of leaves and stems), forbs (broad-leaved plants), mast (acorns, apples, etc), and grass. Although these are the main foods deer like to eat, the quantity of these different foods differ throughout the year and the region you are hunting.
Oats, dried fruits, nuts, and especially walnuts are great choices for making your own deer feed. You can buy these items in bulk and mix them with your corn to improve the protein intake of your deer. Another great source of protein is beans – beans are a great way to help deer recover from the rut and winter months.
As ruminants, deer have a specific blend of microbes in their stomach that break down their naturally high-fiber diet. Large amounts of carbohydrate-rich, low fiber foods like deer corn can disrupt this microbiome — leading to bouts of severe diarrhea and dehydration that could be deadly.
Corn and grains are full of carbohydrates, while soybeans provide a lot of carbohydrates and fat. These are both great for the unique nutritional needs for deer in the winter.
Why do deer like salt, especially in winter? To make it clear, they don't just “like” salt, they need it. Usually, when the weather is harsh, salty mineral licks are exposed, which draw animals to these locations.
Salt blocks may not attract much action during colder months. The best time to use them is during the spring and summer. This is the time of year deer need minerals from salt the most, and you'll likely attract entire herds. Whitetail deer specifically can benefit from sodium in the springtime and summer months.
Changes in diet caused by the introduction of rich, unnatural foods during this season can cause disruption in the microorganisms of the digestive system. Even hay can cause problems in a digestive tract that has geared down for the winter. Supplemental feeding of deer may actually decrease its chance of survival.
In addition to being low in protein and minerals, corn is very high in starch, and the rapid consumption of two to three pounds by a deer not used to it is enough to cause serious problems.
Autumn Quick Plot Seed is a fast growing blend of annuals and biennials formulated to be planted from late Summer to early Fall. It is one of our best food plot seed for deer in the Fall.
Remember that deer are designed for times of accumulating fat and lean times for living off of it. They can lose 20 to 30 percent of their body weight over the winter, and can actually go up to a month without eating.
With that said, some folks will still feel the need to help out "the poor wildlife." If you decide that you simply have to feed the deer, at least feed them the right foodstuffs. Whole kernel corn and course cracked corn are good.
According to Dr. Sheppard: “On cold days, deer need more food than on days that aren't so cold, and possibly they may stay warmer by walking around than lying in their beds.
Try using some doe estrous scent to entice a buck to come within shooting distance. If you have some dominant bucks in your area, you might also apply some buck urine scent to trigger his competitive side.
Deer are attracted to the smell of soil as is, but if you want to up the attraction factor, pour some buck or doe urine, or scrape starter into it. This will create an exceptional trail camera site, as bucks will continue to check the scrape every time they pass by or are in the area.
A great deal of discussion has been devoted to the location of salt licks, but the bottom line is that deer usually find salt licks regardless of their location. A favorite location for many deer managers is to put a lick in the corner of each food plot. Research has shown that clay soil works best for the base.
Scent compounds also come from the human body itself when it breaks down molecules to make energy. The odors are emitted through the skin and breath. These substances — the VOCs — evaporate into the air and can spook deer when you're hunting.
Deer love soybeans, but no single crop can meet all of a deer's year-round needs. Diversity is best, both in your food-plot options and in natural forages that occur outside food plots. Overall, this means that there is no magic crop that will always best meet your deer's needs throughout the year.
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.
Oak leaves. No tree is more revered in the whitetail world than oaks, of which there are a multitude of types. Oak trees provide an array of food to local whitetails depending on their age and variety, Duren noted. “Red oak seedlings are a favorite browse for deer, while white oak acorns provide a favored mast crop.”
Corn is a cheap source of food for deer. Many hunters rely on corn for supplemental feeding because deer love corn. Corn does not contain enough protein, which is crucial for nursing fawns and growing healthy antlers, so many people add deer mineral attractants to corn in order to increase the nutritional value.
In these areas, corn, soybeans, grains, and brassicas can all be highly sought after and extremely nutritious. Corn and grains are full of carbohydrates, while soybeans provide a lot of carbohydrates and fat. These are both great for the unique nutritional needs for deer in the winter.
Examples: acorns, nuts, berries, apples, etc. Mast can be a seasonally important energy source for deer that provides pulses of nutrient-rich forage, with soft mast supplementing their diet in summer and hard mast playing a major role from fall well into winter.
Yes, deer can eat apples whole. Of course, that makes it a bit of a mission so if you have a chance cut them at least in half, they'll appreciate that.
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.
Nuts are the most preferred foods for deer. They eat acorns, beechnuts, hickory nuts and pecans. Acorns are the fruit that falls from oak trees. The deer prefer acorns that come from white oak trees to those that fall from red oaks.
I agree with your observations that deer readily use corn. They do tend to prefer it shelled or at least mowed versus standing. However, so do turkeys, crows, mice, squirrels, etc.
“Are You Feeding Your Deer To Death?” is one example. This is because deer stop eating grains in the fall when corn, wheat and others are harvested. Incorporating grains at the wrong time can lead to potentially fatal digestion issues.
While many hunters value agricultural fields as reliable food sources for deer, one negative aspect of standing cornfields is that mature bucks rarely leave them. Standing corn makes for secure bedding, feeding, and breeding. These reasons give bucks little reason to stray very far.
Whitetail deer need a mineral supplement in winter to thrive. Learn why and which minerals deer should be supplemented with. Hunting season has wound down and winter is howling at the door. It's time to put your gear away… then get back in the woods and start stocking your mineral sites.
Salt (both rock salt and table salt) definitely at- tract deer and deer need both Sodium and Calcium for optimum growth and maintenance where these are lacking in the native soils as they are in most of the U.S. Phosphorus is also a very important ele- ment lacking in the soil and provided by some salt formulations in ...
Our Himalayan Pink Salt Contain 84 Minerals that is essential to maintain healthy lives. HIGHLY BENEFICIAL FOR ALL FARM ANIMALS. THE PREFERRED CHOICE for dairy farms, stable horses, cattle and sheep farms. Deer Love to Lick!!
Salt Or Supplement? All hooved mammals love salt, so licks made only of salt do a fine job of attracting deer. Licks with added flavors, minerals, and nutrients can be even better, especially if you find one the deer in your area really love. Try different kinds until you find what works for you.
Again, it is illegal to use salt/mineral blocks to attract deer for the purpose of hunting. Even after this product has dissolved into the soil, that location is still considered “baited,” as deer will still be attracted to that area to consume the product that has leeched into the soil.
The ideal meat hanging temperature range that should be maintained should fall somewhere between 33 and 40 degrees. Food safety experts advise against storing meat above 40 degrees, at which point bacterial growth can become a problem.
In addition, they grow an extremely dense undercoat with hollow “guard hairs” that provide exceptional insultation. Thanks to these adaptions, deer can survive in temperatures up to 30 degrees below zero.
Deer that die with full stomachs are regularly hauled away from neighborhoods throughout Bend, killed by well-intentioned people who think they are helping by putting out food, including bird seed. “It's not a well-known thing that birdseed can kill the deer and that we shouldn't feed these animals,” Chase said.
Avoid feeding hay to whitetails during winter. It may be lethal to them. During winter, deer need a lot of calories to keep warm and also need protein to keep their bodies functioning. Winter diets also need a certain amount of indigestible fiber to aid digestion.
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.
Oats, dried fruits, nuts, and especially walnuts are great choices for making your own deer feed. You can buy these items in bulk and mix them with your corn to improve the protein intake of your deer. Another great source of protein is beans – beans are a great way to help deer recover from the rut and winter months.
Salt Lick For Deer: Why Do Deer Like Salt? Salt licks, also known as mineral licks, are necessary components in animals' diets. They contain essential mineral nutrients of salt deposits and trace minerals such as phosphorus, iron, zinc, and calcium. Mineral licks can be commonly found in nature.
Corn doesn't have as much fiber in it and has more carbohydrates. In the winter, the deer's digestive system is slow and will absorb more necessary nutrients. Eating corn can mess with their digestive system and make it hard to absorb other foods.This will then dehydrate the deer and kill it.
As ruminants, deer have a specific blend of microbes in their stomach that break down their naturally high-fiber diet. Large amounts of carbohydrate-rich, low fiber foods like deer corn can disrupt this microbiome — leading to bouts of severe diarrhea and dehydration that could be deadly.
So as far as what to feed deer in winter or what to feed deer instead of corn, stick to more natural sources like cutting a small patch of forest down to bring browse to deer level. This is a very inexpensive way to feed deer – all you need is a chainsaw and a couple hours of your time.
Not only have deer been documented becoming more nocturnal after exposure to supplemental feed, they also become less dependent on daytime foraging and tend to decrease daytime activity overall as the hunting season progresses (Ozega and Verme, 1982).
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