Hotburn76

I have heard this many times before that deer do not fully digest corn, and it has little value for them. But here is my question about it. I live in an area that has corn fields on every corner. And I know that in the fall after the corn is off they eat the fields for loose corn all the time. But I have never found deer dropings with corn in it, all nice little brown pellets. Every deer I have ever shot has had alot of corn in it. I also see my fair share of poo to! But I have never seen any corn in any of it. Is this just a myth since we humans do not digest it or is there fact in this? Or do they digest it, not just as much value in it as say nice grasses and acorns?

timbercruiser

I'm not exactly sure of your question, but when you find deer droppings (pellets) everything a deer eats is included there. Deer are ruminants meaning they swallow into the rumen and literally throw upand rechew their food before it is ingested into the stomach. Corn or any other food will be ground fine before digestion so you won't have whole kernal corn in the pellets.

Hotburn76

Sorry that it is worded weird, after reading it again, my question is kinda vague. But I have heard many people on this site, and other places and even hunting shows say deer do not get a whole lot out of corn, and have heard some people say they do not fully digest it just like us. I guess I just made two statements there so I will get the second one out first. People say they do not fully digest it. Is this true or a myth? Like not to sound disgusting, but when I eat corn, like many other people, 20 hours later, I am reminded of it. Do people say that they do not fully digest it because we do not? And I made the comments about deer poo, cause I have never seen whole corn or pieces of it in deer poo. I know its in there, but by the looks of it they did digest it, right?

Now for the first one. They say deer do not get much out of corn? Is this true? I get the impression that corn is a bad food for deer and that it takes alot of work for them to eat and in the long run they do not gain much from it is the opinion I get. I would think that deer would have to benefit from it when they are running out of food and it is available for them. I just here alot of people say they use corn, and then I here people say it does little for the deer.

TEXOMAWILD

I have been wondering about that too. about corn and it passing through deer or not. for a fact corn is not nutritous. its a grain not a veggie . its not mineral pact .you say for a fact deer digest corn...so digesting corn isnt the question nutrients are . people use corn to bringdeer in, not to grow them .deer do seem to be atracted to corn gravel . i think thats all it is ,corn gravel, im going to plant some for kicks this year if i can handle the chore of watering it .not to provide nutrients but to bring them in to an area of wheat farms where their arent any deer... so true deer do digest corn and true its not worth much to over all deer nutrition. and true people mostly can not digest the plastic like hull of corn . later

Wingbone

You are asking two differant questions. Can they digest corn? Yes... and no. Since they are ruminants, they require bacteria in their rumen to aid in digestion. In an area where they have access to corn year 'round, their rumens are acclamated to corn and they can digest it. In an area where they mostly feed on native vegetation, their rumens are acclamated to leafy vegetation in the summer, slowlyshifting toward woody feed in the winter. It is these deer that, fed corn or hay, can't digest it. The bacteria aren't set up to do it.
The second question: Is an all, or mostly corn diet good for them?
No. Corn contains lots of energy they need, but few of the neccessary nutrients they need to be healthy.

mlo3135127

Good answer Wingbone. I would like to add,even deer that have access to alot of corn they will still browse.

Dan O.

Wingbone hit the nail on the head. They don't use corn as emergency feed near my hunting property as the deer would starve on it. In many cases they'll just drop a hemlock tree for the deer to browse on.

Dan O.

farm hunter

The only thing that I'll add - is that in "farmland" areas - where corn is grown and deer are used to it in their diet - it can provide alot of Carbs for deer in winter. I think that the tougher the winters - the more useful corn (we leave some standing) can be to a wintering herd.

Let me just say that our standing corn - has hardly been touched by the deer this year because its been so mild. The deer seem to know to "save it" until the snows come.

I think that sometimes you'll hear that corn is bad for deer - and sometimes its true. For instance - I would never feed Corn to a deer when Clover was available like in the summer months. Corn is low in protein and takes up WAY too much space in a deer's stomach (rumen) - so much so that the deer may not feed on higher protein foods - if corn is available. They digest corn fine - but the overall protien intake is closer to 10% then 30% like clover or even select native browse can offer.

FH

mlo3135127

Farm Hunter, Same here, there is very little deer activity in my corn due to the warm weather. When the temp goes down into the twentys there is lots of action. When it gets cold they love and need the energy that corn has. In the past, deer feeding in my corn field have been fat,healthy and beautiful. That's what is good about planting it VS feeding it, you dont suddenly change their diet.

answerguy

Anyway, like I was sayin',corn is the fruit of the farmlands. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it. Dey's uh, corn-kabobs,corn creole,corn gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple corn, lemon corn, coconut corn, pepper corn,corn soup,corn stew,corn salad,corn and potatoes,corn burger,corn sandwich. That- that's about it. (that was my homage to the movie Forest Gump)

But corn is pretty neat, you can make it in to syrup, oil and alcohol.