Deer Minerals & Food

Balance

• Hunters, or wildlife enthusiasts who simply want to observe a herd, can't just put out a deer's one favorite food and hope to attract the animal to their food plots. Deer have different nutritional needs at different times of the year, and a food plot must reflect that. In the spring, they favor grains and rye grass or winter wheat that has greened early. In the summer, they eat bean plants like alfalfa and soybean, and in the fall, they switch to grains like sorghum seed heads. Winter means grazing on corn to stock up on carbohydrates. Deer also find clover tasty.

Foraging

• Some deer lovers don't want to plant foods to draw in the deer; they want to feed the ones that come through their yards each winter. People often feel sorry for deer in the winter, believing that they aren't getting adequate food, but that isn't always the case. Deer feed on acorns and beechnuts in the fall, and in the winter, they survive by eating evergreens, such as pine, spruce or hemlock trees, according to John Buck, a wildlife biologist with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Buck discourages deer lovers from feeding the animals.

Mineral Licks

• It's well known that deer love salt licks, but those tried and true deer attractions have gotten a bit more scientific over the years. Supporters of mineral licks are most often hunters who hope to feed the deer a combination of minerals that will increase the size of the bucks' antlers. These mineral licks are generally provided over the summer months and usually include sodium because the deer love the taste and will flock to it. Vitamins and supplements such as calcium and phosphate are often added.

Commercial Products

• If you opt to feed a deer through the winter, and you haven't planted a food plot, there are commercial blends available. Deer cannot safely consume foods meant for humans. According to Buck, the average cost of commercial deer food works out to about $55 per deer. And once you begin to feed them, you need to be committed to it for the entire winter because a sudden dietary change can greatly upset a deer's digestive system. Deer feeding can end up costing hundreds of dollars per month.

Effects

• Whether you use food plots, mineral licks or commercial deer food, there are potential consequences to feeding deer herds. Diseases like brucellosis, tuberculosis and salmonella are easily passed from one feeding deer to another through nose-to-nose contact, so a high number of deer at an artificial feeding site increases the likelihood of the deer contracting those or other illnesses. In addition, the deer are easy prey for large dogs or wild predators. And then there's the nuisance factor. Once a deer is fed in a certain spot all winter, he will keep coming back. If you plant a garden near the feeding site, that beautiful winter visitor may become a summer nuisance.