What do deer eat?

I keep reading posts talking about deer eating grass. IDK about y'all but I have always been led to believe that deer are not grazers, they are browsers. They don't eat grass, but prefer woody browse, forbs and grain type plants like wheat, rye and oats. Vote, then hit me with your best shot. Let's git it on.

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Re: What do deer eat? [Re: poisonivie] #1209966 01/31/10 12:58 PM
Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 44,461 Kingwood R rifleman Sparkly Pants
rifleman Sparkly Pants R Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 44,461 Kingwood	fill in the blank..... rye ________

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: rifleman] #1209970 01/31/10 01:03 PM
Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 7,825 Bridgeport, Tx P poisonivie OP THF Trophy Hunter
OP poisonivie THF Trophy Hunter P Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 7,825 Bridgeport, Tx	whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry. Pee on Photobucket

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: poisonivie] #1210011 01/31/10 02:14 PM
Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 44,461 Kingwood R rifleman Sparkly Pants
rifleman Sparkly Pants R Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 44,461 Kingwood	lol, those would be the deer that run out in front of vehicles.

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: rifleman] #1210050 01/31/10 02:49 PM
Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 12,261 Southwest, Tx D deerfeeder THF Celebrity
deerfeeder THF Celebrity D Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 12,261 Southwest, Tx	http://www.deer-library.com/artman/publish/article_117.shtml

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: deerfeeder] #1210067 01/31/10 02:59 PM
Joined: Dec 2008 Posts: 215 Brock, Parker County, Texas D DeeCee Woodsman
DeeCee Woodsman D Joined: Dec 2008 Posts: 215 Brock, Parker County, Texas	Deer do eat "some" grasses. It's more about what they "prefer" to eat. Like you and I, sometimes they have to eat whats available. http://www.buckmanager.com/2007/02/20/food-habits-what-they-eat/

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: DeeCee] #1210076 01/31/10 03:06 PM
Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 12,261 Southwest, Tx D deerfeeder THF Celebrity
deerfeeder THF Celebrity D Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 12,261 Southwest, Tx	Something that might be useful. http://www.noble.org/WebApps/PlantImageGallery/Index.aspx

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: deerfeeder] #1210241 01/31/10 05:11 PM
Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 6,074 Austin J Justin T THF Trophy Hunter
Justin T THF Trophy Hunter J Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 6,074 Austin	Dogs "eat" grass too, but I wouldn't say they eat it for food. Deer don't eat grass, they eat forbes and the like, oats, wheat etc. A deer will eat grass if they have to, but that's only when nothing else is around. edit: I guess oats and wheat are technically grasses, so the answer is yes? Last edited by Justin T; 01/31/10 05:14 PM.

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: Justin T] #1210363 01/31/10 06:02 PM
Joined: Mar 2007 Posts: 793 central texas T tx270 Tracker
tx270 Tracker T Joined: Mar 2007 Posts: 793 central texas	What people seem to forget is that "rye", oats and wheat are completely and totally different from you standard grass like bermuda, st augestine, bluestem, etc. If you see deer eating bermuda on a regular basis then its because they are starving to death. And just because you see them grazing in a bermuda field does not mean they are eating the bermuda despite popular and inncorrect belief. Sure deer will on occasion eat bermuda or other grasses when it is tiny and just sprouting but thats about it. Usually they are eating the forbs and such that grow close to the ground beneath the bermuda. Bill Last edited by tx270; 01/31/10 06:07 PM.

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: tx270] #1210368 01/31/10 06:04 PM
Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 7,839 In the yak K kdub THF Trophy Hunter
kdub THF Trophy Hunter K Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 7,839 In the yak	corn

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: kdub] #1210397 01/31/10 06:21 PM
Joined: Sep 2008 Posts: 4,750 Henderson County T texfork Extreme Tracker
texfork Extreme Tracker T Joined: Sep 2008 Posts: 4,750 Henderson County	Indian grass Prayer is the "ultimate" wireless connection .

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: texfork] #1210453 01/31/10 06:47 PM
Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 32,601 Hickory Creek, Fannin Co. Texa... sig226fan (Rguns.com) duck & cover
sig226fan (Rguns.com) duck & cover Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 32,601 Hickory Creek, Fannin Co. Texa...	Originally Posted By: texfork Indian grass Man I quit using that phrase, kept having to explain it... If you count wheat/rye as grass, then yes... at one place I've seen them come after St Augustine.... if you are only counting turf grasses, not so much...

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: sig226fan (Rguns.com)] #1210483 01/31/10 06:58 PM
Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 1,533 Canyon Lake,Texas D deerslayer78 Pro Tracker
deerslayer78 Pro Tracker D Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 1,533 Canyon Lake,Texas	Yes deer will eat grass, just not as a main source of food, but yes they will browse and eat grass. What do you think they eat out of your lush green yard while invading your property? Grass.... You Only Fail If You Never Try!!!

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: tx270] #1210502 01/31/10 07:03 PM
Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 7,825 Bridgeport, Tx P poisonivie OP THF Trophy Hunter
OP poisonivie THF Trophy Hunter P Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 7,825 Bridgeport, Tx	Originally Posted By: tx270 What people seem to forget is that "rye", oats and wheat are completely and totally different from you standard grass like bermuda, st augestine, bluestem, etc. If you see deer eating bermuda on a regular basis then its because they are starving to death. And just because you see them grazing in a bermuda field does not mean they are eating the bermuda despite popular and inncorrect belief. Sure deer will on occasion eat bermuda or other grasses when it is tiny and just sprouting but thats about it. Usually they are eating the forbs and such that grow close to the ground beneath the bermuda. Bill Ding,ding,ding. We have a winner. I got called out awhile back because I said deer don't eat bermuda grass. The poster said I must not know squat about deer if I thought that. That's been going thru my mind since. I know deer will occasionaly eat grass but like goats, they won't eat it given any other choices. I'm not referring to grains as grasses. I'm talking turf or prairie type,grama, tobosa, buffalo and the like. If you google,"what do deer eat", thousands of hits come up and they don't give grass as an option, except in severe conditions. Pee on Photobucket

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: poisonivie] #1210520 01/31/10 07:10 PM
Joined: Jan 2009 Posts: 2,191 Sunset G gogburn Veteran Tracker
gogburn Veteran Tracker G Joined: Jan 2009 Posts: 2,191 Sunset	"Data collected during the study indicated the average annual diet of white-tailed deer in the Cross Timbers and Prairies Region of Texas consisted of 36% browse, 20% forbs, 20% mast, 12% grasses, 7% planted agricultural forage and grain crops and 5% commercial feed." http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_rp_w7000_1017.pdf Good Hunting, Gary

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: gogburn] #1211743 02/01/10 04:07 AM
Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 809 O okietex Tracker
okietex Tracker O Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 809	Sometimes there eating grass because of certian bacterias in it help digestion. spell check please

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: okietex] #1212140 02/01/10 02:56 PM
Joined: Jun 2009 Posts: 4,971 Huntsville, AL D Dry Fire Extreme Tracker
Dry Fire Extreme Tracker D Joined: Jun 2009 Posts: 4,971 Huntsville, AL	Oddly enough, one of their favorite foods is poison ivy. Read this is American Hunter a couple of years ago. coffee spelled backwards is eeffoc. I don't give eeffoc until I have my morning coffee.

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: deerslayer78] #1212188 02/01/10 03:18 PM
Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 6,074 Austin J Justin T THF Trophy Hunter
Justin T THF Trophy Hunter J Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 6,074 Austin	Originally Posted By: deerslayer78 Yes deer will eat grass, just not as a main source of food, but yes they will browse and eat grass. What do you think they eat out of your lush green yard while invading your property? Grass.... They definitely eat the most expensive flowers you have.

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: Justin T] #1212218 02/01/10 03:31 PM
Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 32,601 Hickory Creek, Fannin Co. Texa... sig226fan (Rguns.com) duck & cover
sig226fan (Rguns.com) duck & cover Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 32,601 Hickory Creek, Fannin Co. Texa...	There were very fond of my blackeyed peas....

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: sig226fan (Rguns.com)] #1212264 02/01/10 03:54 PM
Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 6,777 south texas,or know as texico T texasd THF Trophy Hunter
texasd THF Trophy Hunter T Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 6,777 south texas,or know as texico	they eat lead around my place

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: sig226fan (Rguns.com)] #1212335 02/01/10 04:28 PM
Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 6,074 Austin J Justin T THF Trophy Hunter
Justin T THF Trophy Hunter J Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 6,074 Austin	Originally Posted By: sig226fan (Rguns.com) There were very fond of my blackeyed peas.... Yeah, I've heard that they like them. We planted some peas (which had black eyed peas in them) and they tore them up. But they ate around the dried black eyed peas. Maybe they take a while to get used to them. Last edited by Justin T; 02/01/10 04:29 PM.

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: Justin T] #1212366 02/01/10 04:48 PM
Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 3,099 Brackettville TX T TX_Huntress Veteran Tracker
TX_Huntress Veteran Tracker T Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 3,099 Brackettville TX	Originally Posted By: Justin T Originally Posted By: deerslayer78 Yes deer will eat grass, just not as a main source of food, but yes they will browse and eat grass. What do you think they eat out of your lush green yard while invading your property? Grass.... They definitely eat the most expensive flowers you have. Yep, the deer around my house love my very hard to find solid yellow hybiscus plant. The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: Dry Fire] #1212392 02/01/10 05:00 PM
Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 7,825 Bridgeport, Tx P poisonivie OP THF Trophy Hunter
OP poisonivie THF Trophy Hunter P Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 7,825 Bridgeport, Tx	Originally Posted By: Dry Fire Oddly enough, one of their favorite foods is poison ivy. Read this is American Hunter a couple of years ago. You mean they're hunting me while I'm hunting them????? Pee on Photobucket

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: poisonivie] #1213216 02/01/10 11:11 PM
Joined: Dec 2009 Posts: 5,714 good ole texas T TAT THF Trophy Hunter
TAT THF Trophy Hunter T Joined: Dec 2009 Posts: 5,714 good ole texas	Ive heard they really like chicken. Just what i heard though!!LOL It's not how you fall, It's how you get up.

Re: What do deer eat? [Re: TAT] #1213233 02/01/10 11:20 PM
Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 558 south texas A age n score Tracker
age n score Tracker A Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 558 south texas	I feed Indian Corn, the deer really seem to like it and stay at the feeder longer......and longer....!

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