Is corn healthy for deer?
I have heard it is bad on their digestive system.
I know they love it, and I was just wondering.

It actually has no nutrional value. It consists mostly of carbohydrates, very very low protein source. Legumes or beans would be a better food source.<img src=icon_smile_blackeye.gif border=0 align=middle>

How does corn have no nutritional value? If it has carbos, it has nutritional value. What you don't want to do is feed them straight corn. You should mix it with a protien source. We as humans are told to get 60% carbs, 30% protein, and 10% fat. I mix for deer 66% corn and 34% protien.

Corn has little/no nutritional value... Little is that the carbs will give some energy for heat. The biggest problem is that in the harsh weather, like we are experiencing in the north, the starch in the corn kinda converts into an acid and that will kill off the rumin that is used in the digestive tract. This in turn will empty the deer of the ability to digest and the deer eats more corn and the visious cycle begins and may end with death. If you are intent then Brian has the right idea. If you can get a product that offers a buffering agent to mix, and you can afford it, then get something and mix with the corn/protein. Deer will eat corn when there is nothing else to eat or they are pushed into it. You will see lots of deer in the young corn/shoot or forage fields.

The deer need to breed a population of bacteria in their digestive system that will break down the corn. There's many cases of starving deer being fed corn and then starving to death with a full stomach.

Dan O.