What kind of food do whitetail deer eat besides acorns? Will they eat wild fruit?

[MNwhitetailHunter]

What kind of food do whitetail deer eat besides acorns? Will they eat wild fruit?

[pineywoods]

Deer are browsers and will eat a wide variety of vegetation, nuts and fruits. A lot of what they eat depends on where you are. They will eat acorns and pecans, they love crops like soybeans and corn, they will browse on whatever is in season like honeysuckle and ragweed---they meander along taking a nip here and there of this and that. They will graze greens like wheat, oats and clover and enjoy the brassicas that have gotten popular in seed mixes. The list is a lot longer, but that's sort of the basics. Oh, I left out windfall apples, persimmons, and pears.

[MNwhitetailHunter]

i hunt in the woods in northern MN

[www.dropjhook.com]

Well this might not be the answer your looking for but it will expand your mind a little. charlie elk posted a video of a deer eating a bird-Watch it here=---> http://www.outdoorlife.com/forums/hunting/whitetail-deer/deer-eats-bird-buck-ate-bird

[santa]

Pineywoods, You left out blue berries. I planted twelve blueberry bushes and the deer not only get EVERY LAST BERRY before me, they also keep the tops of the boshes pruned to their eating height.

[6phunter]

WHITE TAILS ARE known to consume over 400 different types of food,in hard times this includes dry leaves and cedar trees,obviously some are more preferred overothers

[sangcoacc]

I saw one try to eat a '79 Chevy half ton once. It wasn't pretty.

[pineywoods]

santa---I wasn't familiar with their liking for blueberries, but as much as I like them myself, I'm sure they're popular with Bucky and the girls. They've eaten pretty much anything I've ever tried to raise in the garden. ---except zuchinni and cucumbers and I guess they weren't hungry enough.

[www.dropjhook.com]

A good idea of what deer eat & what to look for =---> http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12148-61306--,00.html

[charlie elk]

The deer eating bird video is here on Big Buck Zone,OL
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/big-buck-zone/2010/07/whitetail-eats-live-bird
Travis Faulkner thought it interesting enough to embed it.
later,
charlie

[countitandone]

I've seen Whites sprint across roads, hwys, and jump fence lines just to get to the fruit of the wild apple and persimmon on my property. I'm in my 12th year of successful food plots and my clover mixes, most of the brassica family and yes corn appeals to them and will hold over the doe population.

Do that and the bucks will bed down, hold and as long as you've got a stream and cover, they stay, for the most part.

If you are planning a plot, start next April, at the latest, May. The net will get you on the right track.