Acorn question

[OBXarcher]

We where doing a little pig hunting on the beach the other day. We have the scrub oak, (water oaks trees) on the outer banks. They are pretty different than any I have seen elsewhere. they only get about 15-20 ft tall, looks more like a huge bush.
Question is the acorns under them now have been on the ground for a good while. Will the pigs and deer still feed on them or are they spoiled.

Yes, there where tracks ever where in the sand but it is very hard to tell if they are feeding on them

Thanks

[lpcjon2]

Deer and other animals feed on acorns as they become palatable for them. Some oaks(red,white,ect) drop acorns first and they like them better and others last which can be more bitter and less tasteful.If food supply is in short they will eat them for sure.Set a trail cam out and see.

[killinstuff]

Did you open any and look to see if the meat is any good? They won't eat rotten nuts.

[Birdbow]

Some Native American tribes that utilized acorns would sometimes submerge them in water and mud in order to leach out some of the tannins which make them bitter. Nuts on the ground over a season, say winter, may become more palatable. Good hunting!

[flinthead]

Are there wild pigs on the NC outer banks? First I heard of that-would make our annual beach trip  a lot more interesting. Roy

[BOHO]

pigs will eat most anything. once the acorns are bad, deer wont eat em. least thats the case where I hunt.

[RC]

My guess is they are duds.The drought we had this year caused the acorns to fall with no meat inside. Critters figure it out .RC

[Jake Diebolt]

I'll tell you something funny about acorns...you can grind them up into flour and make bread. My wife tried it once, soaked them in water for days and days - the water turned reddish-brown from tannins. When she made the bread it was still very strongly tasting of tannins - these were red oaks. White oaks have MUCH less tannin, which is why deer like them more (tannin doesn't taste good and is toxic in high doses, I think).

If those acorns are high in tannins deer might turn their noses up at them.