Preferred Foods Of The Whitetail

[joe ashton]

on my plate it would be backed potatoes and a fresh green salad.

[Ralph Renfro]

In my neck of the woods they like corn, maize or milo, alfalfa, wheat pasture, soy beans. I've seen em browsing on fresh fallen mulberry leaves, honey locust pods, and leaves of many different trees.  They love poison ivy berries, the nice little white pods that appear in late summer, early fall. They'll just flat pig out on em.

[Knawbone]

Please remember my fellow arrow slingers, THIS THREAD IS ABOUT WILD DEER FOODS, THAT MEANS ANYTHING WILD OR OVERGROWN FRUIT TREES,ECT- NOT CORN,NOT SOYBEANS..........

[Knawbone]

Please remember my fellow arrow slingers, THIS THREAD IS ABOUT WILD DEER FOODS, THAT MEANS ANYTHING WILD OR OVERGROWN FRUIT TREES,ECT- NOT CORN,NOT SOYBEANS..........

[Michigan Mark]

 TTT

[Burnsie]

sweet clover
A friend of mine has a couple hundred acres he uses exclusively for hunting.  He has different for plot mixes planted, along with corn, beans...etc.  He said every deer they have shot this year has had a belly full of clover.  They have a lot of goodies to choose from,  an are just hammering the clover.

[Liquid Amber]

"Preferred" is sorta like "deep," it all depends.  

When I think of preferred native/natural foods, I think of those that would excite me to bowhunt over, those that would cause a deer to pick over other available food sources.  These can and do vary from region and even change during the hunting season.  Having spent most of my deer hunting life in the Southeast, I'm partial to those foods found here that are available during the hunting season.

When I first step foot on a potential hunting property in the SE, the first food sources I look for are persimmon, honey locust, oak mast and southern crab apple.  "Generally", it is within this group of food sources one might locate what us Southern boys lovingly call a "kill tree."  

I don't remember seeing American beautyberry or French mulberry mentioned previously, but it never hurts to find it in your hunting area as deer browse it heavily.

[cahaba]

I don't know if these have been mentioned but deer here like privet hedge,mushroons and lichen just to name a few.

[Fastltz]

someone earlier said the big acorns are no good, but ive seen them pick up one and lay down and crunch on it. Seems like they only need a few though and they stay down for a nap. Also hedge apples seem very popular. Also pecan nuts.

[gnihsifnamk]

good thread resurrection

I don't think anyone has mentioned new growth blackberry shoots.