Do deer eat hickory nuts
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lexington NC USA
Posts: 459
Do deer eat hickory nuts
Has anyone ever seen deer eating hickory nuts? This year where I hunt we have no acorns at all but the hickory trees are loaded. I know that squirrels will eat them but I' ve never seen deer eating them. Any ideas?
#4
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lexington NC USA
Posts: 459
RE: Do deer eat hickory nuts
Thanks guys, that' s pretty much what I thought. Growing up we had a hickory tree in our back yard. I used to sit out there and crack them between two rocks and eat them. As hard as they were to crack open I didn' t see any way a deer could eat them. Thanks again.
Shane
Shane
#5
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Bonnots Mill Missouri USA
Posts: 237
RE: Do deer eat hickory nuts
I did pretty much agree with you guys, however a similar thread was on a different site. Quite a few people responded saying that deer will eat hickory nuts. Pignut hickory or bitter hickory was sited as the most common one that they seen being ate. That particularly variety as you guys probably know is very thin shelled. A few people even said that they would eat regular hickory nuts in years where the mast crop was limited. So it seems that deer may eat whatever they have to in certain years
#6
RE: Do deer eat hickory nuts
Greg, I think that both sides are right here.
I think that hickory nuts would be very far down on the list of deers favorite foods!
I am sure that they would eat them if they were hungry enough though!
I once saw a list of East Texas deer foods, pine and yo-pon where on the list of deer foods. I think that the deer would be VERY hungry before they decided to eat either one of those foods!
So, while the deer may eat foods like hickory nuts, you would be wasting your time trying to hunt hickory areas, if there are better food groups available!
I think that hickory nuts would be very far down on the list of deers favorite foods!
I am sure that they would eat them if they were hungry enough though!
I once saw a list of East Texas deer foods, pine and yo-pon where on the list of deer foods. I think that the deer would be VERY hungry before they decided to eat either one of those foods!
So, while the deer may eat foods like hickory nuts, you would be wasting your time trying to hunt hickory areas, if there are better food groups available!
#10
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Warren PA USA
Posts: 1,512
RE: Do deer eat hickory nuts
I' ve seen plenty of deer eat plenty of hickory nuts. I don' t know what variety they were....one of my best stands a few years ago was in a grove of hickory trees...the deer do eat them and regularly in my area. This year is bad around here for acorns and beechnuts, there is no mast food in this area. From what I' ve seen the deer are eating a lot of beech buds/leaves, wild blueberrys/bushes, and wild cherry' s.....basically surviving off of browse. I sure hope we don' t get another hard winter, there will likely be a winter kill if we do.