i have several crab apple trees on my property and a few deer i see tracks around the trees but they wont eat them can you tell me why.

Fordman30 Welcome to the board .. I have apples on the trees in the fall but none this time of year ,The deer and turkeys fight over them so I couldn't imagine why they aren't eating them .The deer will leave them lay until they ripen ,they seem to like them better is all .LOL

I know this will sound ridiculeous to some, but consult with a good nursury in your are as to what formulation, and how much fertalizer to use for your tree, and apply it late in the winter, or early in the spring.

The fertalizer will give better nutrition to the tree, and help sweeten the apples. We have a few crab apple trees scattered around the farms I hunt on, and usually early in the fall the trees are stripped up as high as the deer can reach from their hind legs!

Here, crab apples seem to work better than eating apples for drawing deer, as they ripen much later in the fall, and provide food after hunting season opens, when most eating apple trees have dropped ALL THEIR FRUIT!

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Deer always seem to eat crab apples here. They love them things. The ground below is always tore up, there are TONS of chewed up apples and they seem to love to make rubs and scrapes under them.

Good Luck This Season: Buck Magnet
P.S. Only Chuck Adams can sit at home and see deer so get into the woods. =;^)

On my gradpas property there is every kind of apple tree. The deer only eat from them when there is snow.

I had to put wire cages around my young apple/pear trees to keep the deer from eating them. I have an old, wild apple tree that is far too big for caging and they have eaten almost everything within reach. Maybe they're eating the apples after dark?

If the deer are going to the trees they probably are eating some. Crab apples are fairly small and go down in 1 piece compared to a Delicious where it may take a few bites. Are the apples still hanging on the tree? I find that that the deer usually eat the ones that have fallen first, then the low hanging apples. Is there shelter for the deer to get to the trees without being seen?

Try putting some other apples under the trees to see if the deer eat those. Don't handle the apples but squish a few by stepping on them to get the aroma in the air. You could also try putting some corn in the same spot. If the deer don't eat the corn and larger apples you've got something scaring them off or they have easier pickings elsewhere.

Dan O.

iv'e never herd of deer not eating applesi think they are just smarter than you ha ha just kidding fordman30 is a good friend of mine

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I've heard of deer preferring the small bitter green apples, it's supposed to be more like the tree. I know guys have apple trees but the deer don't go near them, they prefer the wheat, oats etc.