Do Deer eat Potatoes
11-16-2007, 05:57 PM
#12
Typical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location:
Posts: 819
RE: Do Deer eat Potatoes
Deer like food in order of nutritional value. We had apples out and they didn't touch them for 2 weeks. We have a good white oak and red oak acorn crop this year, and we have 2 acres of green field for them also.
They just started hitting the apples and they were gone in a day and a half.
Then they were back at the acorns. They seem to be eating every white oak acorn first, but they are still very interested in the greenfields still. We planted brassica and they are tearing it up.
I have pictures of 11 different bucks this year on one small 43 acre property I manage.
Last night I watched a single doe in the greenfield for an hour.
This guy was in a field and he was just staring at this doe foran eternity. At the other end of the field was a little fork horn and he was corraling a doe also. The 8 pointer couldn't care less what the little forkhorn was doing, only 50 yards away. I was amazed that he wasn't running the forkhorn off, but he was preoccupied with his date.
They just started hitting the apples and they were gone in a day and a half.
Then they were back at the acorns. They seem to be eating every white oak acorn first, but they are still very interested in the greenfields still. We planted brassica and they are tearing it up.
I have pictures of 11 different bucks this year on one small 43 acre property I manage.
Last night I watched a single doe in the greenfield for an hour.
This guy was in a field and he was just staring at this doe foran eternity. At the other end of the field was a little fork horn and he was corraling a doe also. The 8 pointer couldn't care less what the little forkhorn was doing, only 50 yards away. I was amazed that he wasn't running the forkhorn off, but he was preoccupied with his date.
11-16-2007, 09:22 PM
#16
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Grand Forks BC Canada
Posts: 760
RE: Do Deer eat Potatoes
The valley I live in is great potato farming country, in addition to having lots of alfalfa fields and other goodies deer are partial to. Once the potatoes are half grown, many deer will be in the spuds regularly, in addition to but in spite of other crops being available.
After the potatoes are harvested, deer flock even more to the fields to take advantage of any spillage. In fact, they are quite good at pawing up any leftovers as well. They will be in these fields all the time well into winter and many people around town get bags of culls to feed the deer over winter.
So yes, they do like potatoes.
After the potatoes are harvested, deer flock even more to the fields to take advantage of any spillage. In fact, they are quite good at pawing up any leftovers as well. They will be in these fields all the time well into winter and many people around town get bags of culls to feed the deer over winter.
So yes, they do like potatoes.
11-18-2007, 05:09 PM
#17
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 1
RE: Do Deer eat Potatoes
Havent found them digging them up here but rather in the early bow season the continuously come into my garden to forage on my sweet potato leaves. I leave them in longer and literally can shoot them from mydeck ( have 100 acres in the country). They leave the turnips and beans alone to decimate the potatoes. After gun season I have not found them to dig them up here.
Dave in Columbia Mo
Dave in Columbia Mo
