Bushra Griffith
Deer are beautiful creatures that have been routinely fed by humans for thousands of years. While some people feed deer with good intentions, it is important to note that feeding them can be dangerous to their health. Deer are wild animals and have specific dietary requirements. Their diet varies depending on the season, and they are unable to digest certain foods like corn and meat. So, do deer like cheese? Let's find out.
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What You'll Learn
Deer should not be fed corn, meat, or kitchen scraps
Deer are known to eat cheese, meat, and kitchen scraps, but these foods can be harmful to their health. While it may seem harmless to feed deer, especially in winter when their food sources are scarce, it is best to avoid doing so.
Deer have a finely tuned digestive system, and their ability to digest food depends on a combination of microorganisms, enzymes, and pH levels. When deer are offered a sudden supply of corn, their digestive system doesn't have time to adjust to the high carbohydrate content. This can lead to acute acidosis, which can be fatal within 72 hours. Corn can turn the rumen acidic and destroy the microbes necessary for normal digestion. As a result, deer may become slow, clumsy, and vulnerable to predators or vehicle collisions.
Supplemental feeding of deer can also have other negative consequences. It can cause unnaturally high concentrations of deer, increasing the odds of disease transmission through nose-to-nose contact or contaminated food. Feeding deer can also make them less fearful of humans, delay their winter migration, and even result in starvation if they become dependent on an unreliable food source.
In addition, feeding deer kitchen scraps can be detrimental to their health. Kitchen scraps often contain food items that are not suitable for deer, such as meat or other animal proteins. While deer are primarily herbivores, they have been known to scavenge on small animals or meat if it is convenient. However, their digestive systems are not built to process meat efficiently, and it can lead to health issues.
Therefore, it is recommended to avoid feeding deer corn, meat, or kitchen scraps. Instead, natural browse items such as dogwood, birch, or witch hobble are more suitable for their diet. By refraining from feeding deer, we can help maintain their health, behaviour, and natural migration patterns.
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Deer like to eat fruits, nuts, legumes, and vegetables
Deer have been known to eat table scraps and kitchen scraps, which may include cheese, although it is not recommended as it can be dangerous to their health. In fact, supplemental feeding of wild deer can increase the population, but it can also kill deer, transmit disease, or create management problems.
Chestnut trees are popular among landowners and deer hunters as chestnuts offer twice the protein and up to four times the carbohydrates available in an acorn, making them an excellent source of nutrition for deer in the winter. Other nut-bearing trees that deer like to eat include oaks, which produce acorns that are more palatable to deer than those of the red oak family.
Deer also eat legumes such as beans and soybeans. They will also eat vegetables like carrots, peas, leafy greens, and sweet potatoes. However, deer typically avoid root vegetables that require digging, as well as prickly vegetables like cucumbers and squashes with hairy leaves. Strong-odored vegetables like onions, garlic, and fennel are also not palatable to deer.
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Deer are 'concentrate selectors' and 'ruminators'
Deer are known as 'concentrate selectors' because they are a type of herbivore that extends their necks and muzzles high up into trees to find certain parts of foliage and plants that they like the most. They are often selective about their food, choosing the most succulent leaves and stems. Deer are also ruminators, which means they eat very fast when food is available but ruminate later. This is why deer are often seen eating rapidly and then moving on without lingering in the same spot.
As ruminators, deer rely on a variety of bacteria and microorganisms in their rumen (stomach) to break down food. A change in diet requires a shift in the population of these microorganisms to properly process the new food. For example, deer do not have the proper bacteria in their gut to digest corn during the winter, which can lead to bloating and death. Therefore, it is important to understand the dietary needs of deer and provide them with the right type of food, especially during the winter months when their natural food sources are scarce.
Feeding deer can be a complex issue, and it is generally recommended to avoid feeding them human food or table scraps. Instead, it is best to provide them with natural browse items such as dogwood, birch, or witch hobble. Oats or acorns can also be given as diet supplements. In the winter, deer can ingest a diet of woody browse and turn the high-fiber diet into protein. Legumes, such as black-eyed peas, soybeans, and purple hulled peas, are also easy for deer to digest and can be a good option.
While it may be tempting to feed deer in your backyard, it is important to understand that they are wild animals that should be handled with care. Supplemental feeding does not always reduce deer losses during winter and can sometimes increase them. It can also lead to overpopulation and increase the risk of disease transmission. Therefore, if you choose to feed deer, it is crucial to follow the proper procedures and guidelines provided by wildlife experts.
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Deer can be fed oats, acorns, and formulated deer food
While some people feed deer cheese and other human foods, experts advise against feeding deer at all. Human food can be dangerous to deer health, and feeding deer can increase their losses during winter.
Oats can be given as a diet supplement. In winter, microorganisms within the deer stomach change, allowing deer to ingest a high-fibre diet of woody browse and turn it into protein. Formulated deer food mixes are designed to meet the nutritional needs of deer. They are made with a blend of high-quality corn and sunflower seeds, roasted soybeans, soybean meal, alfalfa meal, and corn gluten meal. These ingredients are easily digestible and provide the necessary energy for deer to grow and maintain strong, healthy antlers.
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Deer feeding can be dangerous to their health and cause overpopulation
Deer typically eat what is easily accessible. In winter, food is harder to find, so deer eat buds, bark, and shoots. In warmer months, they eat nuts, corn, and acorns, as well as fruits like apples, blueberries, and blackberries.
While feeding deer might seem harmless, it can actually be dangerous to their health and cause overpopulation. Supplemental feeding can increase deer mortality and lure deer away from their natural wintering areas, trapping them in inferior habitats and increasing the risk of malnutrition and predation. Feeding deer can also make them more vulnerable to starvation, disease, and vehicle collisions.
The best option for deer health and population management is to let them depend on their natural food sources and habitats. In winter, cover is more important than forage, and deer seek softwood cover to escape harsh weather conditions. Landowners can help by maintaining mature softwood wintering areas, nut-producing trees, and forest openings.
Deer overpopulation is a growing problem, and humans are inadvertently contributing to it by creating ideal deer habitats in yards, parks, and along highways. Clear-cutting forests, a common logging practice, also results in vast amounts of perfect deer habitat. These factors, combined with the decline of natural predators like wolves and mountain lions, have led to high deer densities in some areas, causing various problems, especially in urban and suburban settings.
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Frequently asked questions
While it may seem harmless, feeding deer can be dangerous to their health. Supplemental feeding does not always reduce deer losses during winter and can even increase losses. If you are going to feed deer, it is important to do so properly and with the right foods.
Corn is dangerous for deer in the winter because they do not have the proper bacteria in their gut to digest it, which can be deadly. Other foods to avoid include hay, potatoes, kitchen scraps, lettuce trimmings, and any animal proteins.
Deer are herbivores and like to eat from high up in trees. They tend to prefer leaves and stems, but also enjoy legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and freshly grown plants.
If you are going to feed deer, it is important to distribute food in multiple locations to reduce competition and the risk of disease spread. Food should be left in large, unattended spaces so as not to alarm the deer.
Cheese is not mentioned in any of the sources as a food that deer like or dislike. However, given that deer are herbivores, it is unlikely that they would eat cheese.
