I do wish I had him on my property,
we would be best friends and I would give him the best best food ever...
even fruits & nuts from Whole Foods...
What do deer eat
Deer are herbivores which means they eat plants, fruits, acorns, and nuts when they are available. In the fall when these things are more scarce they will switch to eating grass and evergreen plants. In the winder they eat whatever food is available such as fallen leaves, twigs, bushes, and other woody plants. Unfortunately these foods are not as nutritionally dense and deer could starve if there is a very long winter in a colder climate.
How to attract deer
Deer are truly remarkable creatures. They are one of the most observed animals in North America. They are beautiful, graceful, and non-threatening. It is no surprise that people enjoy having the occasional deer wander into their land or nearby observable location. If you would like to see more deer find their way to you there are things you can do to attract deer. The most important amongst these is finding out what do deer eat. You will also need an open and safe area, away from human hunters and other meat eating animals. If you provide them with food they like, safety, and especially if there is a water source nearby you will find them wandering into your yard often. This is especially true when the weather gets cold.
What do deer like to eat
At or near the top of the list for any deer is fruit that has fallen to the ground. This is not a major part of the deer diet because supply is normally very limited. Deer also enjoy grasses, plants, flowering weeds, and other non-woody plants. If you have a field with a lot of wild flowers you will often see deer come around to feed. They also like cultivated vegetables like beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, soybeans, wheat, and rye. Grass grown for livestock will also attack deer.
No you don't want them anywhere near you. I live in Ct on 2 acres, the deer have destroyed everything they can reach, we have had to put an electric fence all around to keep them outing at least have rhododendrons etc.. But foremost they carry Lyme disease which my husband and I have had and believe me you don't want this debilitating disease (google it you will see what it does to you).
ReplyDeleteYes they are beautiful but would love to see the state cull the herds as they do in Europe.
Annie v.
They also have eaten all my beautiful Arborvitae trees. Not only mine, but everywhere. Now the tree's all have a waist line at the height of the Deer's head. Looks so weird. I have a Caribou mounted on the living room wall. Those
ReplyDeletelittle deer better stay away for Christmas. They are beautiful Animals.
Merry Christmas
Hi Marsha, This is Laura from La Dolce Vita. I live on a lot of acreage and beyond our year, operated by boxwood, which deer do not eat, so I have a lot of it, we feed the deer with from a deer feeder with corn. They love it. So they hang out there all winter and we can watch them. My big dogs won't go past the boxwood because of an invisible fence and the deer won't come in the year because of the dogs. So it works perfectly! We do have a lot of fruit trees in the yard, but the deer cannot eat it because of the dogs. I have put fruit out there, but it remains untouched. I guess my deer don't like fruit as much as Texan deer haha
ReplyDeleteHe's gorgeous! We used to struggle with them eating all our plants at our home on Vancouver Island. Not so much here in CA!
ReplyDeleteIsn't he magnificent!
ReplyDeleteHe is such a beautiful deer but don't think he'd be showing up in my yard here in Florida no matter what food I put out. Iguanas yes, deer no lol:)
ReplyDeleteHi Marsha~ I could not find a direct email addy for you so I am thanking you here for the wonderful comment you left on my blog. My husband and I appreciate your prayers and insights. He is a chaplain at the hospital so is blessed to have the "best of the best"...they do take care of their own. We are just praying he has the strength to get through what is going to be a very aggressive treatment.
ReplyDeleteThanks again and I hope you have a wonderful, Merry Christmas. xo Diana