In a recent conversation, the talk of what to feed deer when they take refuge on your property came up. Many people in this conversation stated they lived on acreages or farms when they noticed that deer where coming closer to their homes to find something to eat.
One person even mentioned her husband and she had a small deer that was orphaned when its mom died. She didn’t mention how the doe’s mom had passed. She said they were taking care of it so that it wouldn’t starve or be left behind by the other deer in her area.
This brought up the conversation part of what to feed the deer that come onto your property looking for food. They mentioned the following tips for feeding the deer.
Tips for Food to Feed Deer
Deer Corn – Deer corn can be found at any feed store or farm store. Sometimes, you can also find apple treats made similar to dog biscuits. Also, there are apple blocks available similar to salt blocks available at farm stores such as Atwoods and Orschelins.
Apples and Oranges – Fruit, such as apples and oranges, that are slightly bruised have been used to feed deer when they have come on these individuals property.
Oats – Deer will also eat oats as part of their diets when put out for them. Oats can also be found at the stores mentioned for deer corn.
Salt Blocks – Salt blocks, just like the ones that are used for cows and horses, can be used for deer. They can also be found at feed and farm stores.
Acorns – Deer also eat acorns as part of their natural diet.
Clover – Deer also will eat clover.
Carrots – Deer will eat carrots, but they prefer them shredded over whole or cut.
One lady mentioned her grandson would make piles of food in a sequence. As they would watch the deer eat, they would make their way up the house. Once close enough to the house, they would occasionally wonder upon to her deck and look in the windows.
One also noticed that there were deer in her neighbor’s yard. She later noticed the deer wondered over to their acreage and was drinking from their pond.
Another lady mentioned that one evening, they had a deer come running through their farm close to their house being chased by wolves. She mentioned her husband went out with his gun to fire a shot off just to scare the wolves off. The deer collapsed by their deck.
They took some water and apples out to the collapsed deer. It drank the water and ate the apples. After about an hour, the deer got up and took off.
While it is possible to feed deer that are accustomed to people being around, it isn’t advisable to go out into an unknown area to try and feed them. As there are seasons when deer are in rut (their mating season) and this could make for a dangerous situation. There are also other wildlife that could make an intended happy outing into a bad situation.
