Red oaks?

[grouper sandwich]

I know about deer and their affection for white oak acorns.  But what about red oaks?  We have a couple of red oaks on the property that are producing very heavily this year.  I'm going to buy a dozen white oaks and plant them, but are the red oak acorns also attractive to deer?

[Daveinthebush]

As one food source is depleted they will move down the line from favorites to less deseriable foods.  Just like we do! :grin:

[bobg]

I have both red and white oaks on my property. Acorns by the bushel full this year. The funny part is the deer aren't eating them and either are the squirrels. I was told the deer won't get to the acorns till all the corn is gone. They are finishing up the corn today so now we will see if the deer move to the acorns.
 
             bobg

[huntsman]

In general, red oaks produce an acorn with more tannic acid than do white oaks, which makes them more bitter-tasting (taste them yourself and see). For this reason, deer generally prefer white oak acorns over the red oak variety. However, these are general statements, and a whole pocket-full of factors goes into why deer choose certain foods at certain times over others. My advice is to watch the deer and observe their sign to determine if the deer in your area are coming to the red oak acorns, how often, and at what times of the day.

Best of luck with your hunting.

[pa ridge-runner]

Here in the big woods of Pa we have lots of oaks,White,Red and others.
Huntsman is right in saying the red acorns are more bitter than white acorns.Deer definately like the white acorns better and will feed exclusivly on them when the time is right.That time is usually when the snows fall and most of the green grasses are gone.
Deer will feed on grasses,and clover for as long as they can.When that is not available they will head for alternative foods.A favorite here in the nor-east is beech nuts.If there is a good beach nut crop the deer will work on that for as long as possible.The problem we have is alot of times if we get a late frost in spring ,that kills the acorn or beechnuts.We cant even tell until fall if there is any mast crop for the  season.We havent had any white oak now for 3 years,this year included.Red oaks seem to be more tolerable to these cold spring frosts.Last year we had loads of red oak,but no white oak.We had no beechnuts last year and a sparse crop this year.I have seen some years that there were so many white oak acorns the ground was covered.
These ups and downs are normal and mast crops are on up or down year cycles.Some areas Do have acorns,but most times it is more in the southern warmer part of the state that has warmer springs.
Luckily deer have a wide selection of food that they can turn to in down years although a good mast crop certainly helps.

[BH]

I have Red, White, and Black oaks in the yard and until very recently standing corn fields close by in two  directions.  For the last month since the oaks have started dropping acorns (huge mast crop this year) I've had deer in the yard every morning and evening.  Left undisurbed (we don't let the dog out to do his thing) the deer will work from one end of the yard to the other with little apparent preferance between the oaks.  I've always heard they like the whites better but you couldn't prove it  by the experiences I've had in the back yard over the years.

Bob