Author Topic: Do deer eat hay? (Read 2716 times)

Charlie Tango · « **on:** December 14, 2007, 05:36:45 AM »

Do any of you hunters feed deer hay after the snow is on the ground, and if so do the deer eat it or do they prefer to browse?

DDelle338 · « **Reply #1 on:** December 14, 2007, 07:25:47 AM »

I tried feeding my local girls some hay last winter and the didn't eat it. Then I tried some alfalfa cubes, they didn't like them either. I have been feeding them a mix of shelled corn, rolled corn, and dry molassas. They love that. I may have them spoiled. As soon as they come out of hiding, I'm going to try some apple/oat cookies.That's if there are any deer left after the neighbor blasted away throughout the entire season. I haven't seen any in the last two weeks. Season ended last saturday, so I'll put some corn out tonight.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #2 on:** December 14, 2007, 07:44:20 AM »

I have seen a few round bales where they pulled some out but it was cold and never saw them come back .

Dan V. · « **Reply #3 on:** December 14, 2007, 08:11:20 AM »

Read somewhere long ago that deer fed on hay in the lean months will starve to death if that is all they have to eat . Alfalfa yes , hay no ! Anyone have more info on this ? Believe it had to do with their digestive system .

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #4 on:** December 14, 2007, 08:14:32 AM »

you may be correct but i have heard the goat is the closest domestic critter to the deer and they eat anything .

Graybeard · « **Reply #5 on:** December 14, 2007, 10:17:41 AM »

Deer do not graze they browse. That really means that grasses the primary component of hay is NOT a preferred food for deer. I'm sure if they were hungry enough and there was nothing else around to eat they would sample it but I don't think they could survive on it. Then again it kinda sorta depends on what's baled up and called hay.

They prefer forbs aka weeds and some hay fields no doubt have some of that in them and it would be mixed with the hay so they might pick at it and get the preferred forbs if any from it. They'll eat briars, limb tips, buds, leaves and darn near anything they can find before they will eat grass.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #6 on:** December 14, 2007, 10:34:31 AM »

they love the clover i plant !

Drilling Man · « **Reply #7 on:** December 14, 2007, 03:43:01 PM »

Neighbor a couple miles away raises deer... In the winter along with other things, he puts out big bales of hay and the deer eat it...

I've also read that they will die on a diet of hay alone...

DM

hillbill · « **Reply #8 on:** December 14, 2007, 03:47:14 PM »

they love my standing alfalfa and clover but they dont seem interested in baled hay. if they were they would be in my open barn all the time.

Drilling Man · « **Reply #9 on:** December 14, 2007, 04:16:19 PM »

James B from this forum was telling me just the other day, how the deer get into the farmers hay stacks where he lives, and eat huge amounts of there hay they have put up for their cattle...

DM

beemanbeme · « **Reply #10 on:** December 15, 2007, 06:05:55 AM »

And they'll paw and work thru twice as much as they eat. Around here most of the hay is really meadow cuttings which contain a very diverse collection of grasses and forbs so maybe they're pawing and nosing thru to get to the stuff they like. I've seen them with what I'd call hay hanging out of their mouths while they chewed.

30-30man · « **Reply #11 on:** December 15, 2007, 06:14:57 AM »

The weirdest thing I've experienced is watermelons. They will bust them and eat the ends off of them rind and all. I've seen a few eat off of hay bales but not often.

Siskiyou · « **Reply #12 on:** December 15, 2007, 07:55:10 AM »

I have seen large numbers of deer out in alfalfa fields day after day. I have no doubt they are eating green alfalfa. Those of us that have lived in ranch country have seen deer on a daily bases follow a pickup out in field that was feeding cows baled hay. Many ranch families prefer a young alfalfa buck for eating to the old guy living in the brush.

When a super big winter storm hits the western states and the deer are stranded everybody wants to rush out and feed them hay. Many times the effort fails. Fish and Game departments tell the public that these efforts are expensive and they do not work. In extreme cold when deer cannot get nutrients they can starve to death in a short time. The problem with feeding them hay or alfalfa is that it is foreign to their system. It takes time for their digestive tract to adjust so it can process the alfalfa/hay. A number of F&G departments have published studies on the issue.

A lot of does will drop their fawns in an alfalfa field. When the tractor with the mower cuts the hay the fawns freeze in the bed. The results are very traumatic as the mower over runs the hidden fawn. One year a brother killed a three-legged fork on a hill above an alfalfa field. A front leg was missing from about the knee joint. From the looks of the old injury we guessed it was the results of getting amputated by a mower.

Some F&G departments issue permits to ranchers to kill deer eating their hay.

ro · « **Reply #13 on:** December 17, 2007, 05:23:59 PM »

yes deer will eat hay, i have seen them come up and eat off round bales we have set out for the cattle in jan.-feb.,

ro · « **Reply #14 on:** December 17, 2007, 05:54:35 PM »

30-30man, you are right about deer and watermelons, each year i plant 350-400 hills of jubilee watermelons when they get to about 25-30 lb size the deer start busting them, they eat the end out and go bust another one, last year deer cost me about 100.00-150.00 night busting watermelons.

NONYA · « **Reply #15 on:** December 17, 2007, 06:13:45 PM »

They eat our hay.

jhm · « **Reply #16 on:** December 18, 2007, 05:16:11 AM »

As have been stated yes they will eat hay, however they prefere the brouse, and when seen eating on a bale of hay they are usually picking out the weed plants that are contained in the bale, I have several acres of bermuda hay and it is some of the best hay for cattle and horses, I have never seen a deer eating on that hay, but have some pastures that are just plain old grass pastures, thats where you will find the deer, a trick of some of the cattlemen here was to run a few goats with their cattle to improve their pastures, the cattle eat the grasses and the goats eat the WEED plants. JIM

NONYA · « **Reply #17 on:** December 18, 2007, 12:16:50 PM »

Our hay is certified weed free,as you can see they have acres and acres of browse outside the alfalfa fields to eat,they prefer the hay after the snow falls because they can bed in the stack and munch all night long,they also feed in it all summer while it is still green,deer eat hay.

Siskiyou · « **Reply #18 on:** December 18, 2007, 04:25:24 PM »

I am in total agreement with NONYA; deer eat both green and dry alfalfa hay. I also agree that an unadjusted deer can starve to death on it. Western wildlife departments have done a number of studies on the issue. In the past most Western deer herds were migratory. For some the migration was from high elevation to a lower elevation to escape heavy winter snows. This might mean a short migration of a few miles. Other herds would migrate many miles to the wintering grounds.

Many times we have stopped during the summer to glass the deer feeding out in an alfalfa feed. For a better name I will call them Alfalfa Deer. They may spend their lifetime in, or near an alfalfa field. Some will be seen feeding in the fields during the day, but there will be far more after dark. These deer microorganisms digest alfalfa.

During harsh winters Non-Alfalfa deer are trapped by storms, or pushed in to neighborhoods. These deer have a digestive system that has microorganisms suitable to digesting vegetation found in the wild. When fed non-native foods such as many types of hay including alfalfa they will starve to death on a full stomach. It will take seven days to two weeks for a deer’s system to adjust to alfalfa. They can starve to death in that short of time.

gdolby · « **Reply #19 on:** December 25, 2007, 12:11:07 PM »

Here in New Mexico the deer stop by the stack and eat the corners off of the bales so bad that the wires wont stay on . they also eat out of the round bales on the other side.This is while they are on their way to standing green hay . I don't know about having to adjust to it or not but they will eat baled alfalfa. every snowstorm 5 bale is put out in the mesquite for them takes about a week for the bales to be gone and nothing left.

The Gamemaster · « **Reply #20 on:** December 25, 2007, 03:48:35 PM »

Back in the 60's when I was a kid, the TV station in Pittsburgh ( KDKA) , sent out a plea for help for the wildlife in the Mountains of Pennsylvania.

They gathered up mountains of hay, corn, oats etc and tried to feed the deer in such places as Potter County and the Allegheny National Forest - where the snow got 4 - 6 feet deep that winter. They even dropped it in by helicopter.

It was found that the deer did not fare well, like others has said because of what their main diet consists of and because of the organisms in their stomach could digest. They actually froze to death with full bellies of hay.

After that, the PGC took down the corn crib they had at the end of the road near the SGL 31.

They ended their winter feeding program and we actually ended up with more deer than what they had when they did feed them.

It would be better to just plant a crop and then leave it in the field then to try to feed them something different in the middle of the winter - just because it is cold outside and they look hungry.

I have seen deer eat pine needles, mountain laurel leaves, shrubs in peoples front yards and all sorts of weird things like tomato's. A deer will only eat what is available to them at the time. Which means that if you didn't plant the watermelons - they would just move onto something else.

The other thing that I thought about is the fact that a deer has to go to water at least one time per a day. Even better is two times per a day. Running water is better than standing water - but then again they will drink what ever is available. If no water was available - I guess they would go after watermelons if they knew that there was water inside of them.

It's just all a matter of getting what they need to survive out of what the land has to offer.

Winter feeding is the worst thing that you could do. Even if you did manage to feed the deer, after a while they would get used to being fed and change their feeding pattern and pretty soon they would get hit by a car crossing the road to get to your place and in the end it would still be one less deer.

I know - I picked one up along the road the other night coming from my aunts house - while delivering her Christmas presents.
It was only 50 yards from the peoples swing set in the back yard and only 25 yards from their apple tree.

gdolby · « **Reply #21 on:** December 26, 2007, 04:37:34 AM »

there are some good points in the last post. but if the deer are used to feeding on what you supplement with, they don't have to adjust. in my situation the deer come to the alfalfa field every night. apparently it is no hardship on them to go from eating standing hay to when it is baled. after we leave their storm ration and go back and check, nothing is left but the wires. Also if you choose where you place the feed they will cross no more roads than they do on their normal routine. 1800 acres of native pasture and only 2 track roads. twin fawns are normal. in the spring the deer are in good shape, by no means fat but a long way from starving. with this in mind. I don't think anything is wrong with storm feeding. . have seen 2 road kills within 2 miles of the field all year. have counted as high as 48 deer in the field in the last month. last February there were 88. 14 bucks and the rest pairs. I am not sure what kind of country you are living in but it is agriculture here. so is not hard to be picky on where you do your supplement feeding

The Gamemaster · « **Reply #22 on:** December 26, 2007, 06:21:47 AM »

It sounds like you have too many deer there. 88 in one field is a lot.

Maybe you ought to invite me down and let me shoot a couple of them for you to maintain the population level of the herd.