H.L.H

I know a lot of people use corn to feed deer[i don't because crows eat it before the deer do]but i've seen a lot of stuff on the internet that says if deer eat to much it will kill them because they can't digest a stomach full of corn. I can't always believe what i see on the internet so what do you guys think about it?

psandhu

Ever change the diet on an infant or an elderly person, or even a dog? They can get sick because their bodies can't handle the change in diet. Also, for the deer to properly digest the corn, they need a certain kind of bacteria in their gut. The bacteria is different than what they need to digest grass, clover, brassica, etc. Ever hear about people getting deathly sick when they go to Mexico, but yet the locals are doing fine? The locals are used to the bacteria in their locale. Give them a diet from the states and they'll probably get sick.

syrupman

thats bs they wont eat that much to get them sick

M.Magis

I've never read or heard that. What you will hear is that they can die with a stomach full of corn. They need more than just corn to survive. But, this usually only comes into play during extremely rough winter conditions where the deer can't get around to get natural browse, and people feed them loads of corn. As long as the deer have their free choice of food, they know how to survive. They've been making it in farm country for years.

timbercruiser

I've watched a lot of deer come to corn. They will usually eat about a hand full and then go find something else to eat. Deer eat a variety of foods to balance their diet.

H.L.H

Yeah most of them are talking about winter time when they don't have much to eat. One reason i didn't believe them because during the winter deer live mostly off fat so i doubt they would even eat much corn then. Thanks i was just seeing if any of you guys have heard of that happening.

Soilman

This does happen up here in the northland. It is a condition called acidosis. If deer are fed corn after the bacteria in their rumen have switched over to browse, they are subject to this condition. It happens up here in winter if people feed corn to deer (eapecially during a harsh winter). If deer have access to corn all winter, this is not a problem.

NEBRbruiser

No need to worry about this. Acidosis is possible but pretty rare. If corn is already in the area for deer to eat your not going to hurt them by feeding them more.

farm hunter

here's a link to acidosis

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7...6508--,00.html

Its not rare at all - if corn is fed to hungry deer that have not had corn in their diet it will happen if they digest ample amounts.

Its never a good idea to switch foods quickly on ruminants. Its the bacteria in their stomachs that make digestion possible - and the bacteria is usually food specific. A deer feeding on Woody Browse can literally starve eating a bale of alfafa - because it cannot digest it. You must have heard of this before, google it and you'll get toms of studies/examples. The classic example is well minded people bringing in bales of hay to an obviously starving, winter deer yard - By the time enough of the right bacteria are present - it could be too late and death can occur - and the deer will have died with a full stomach of a food it could not digest - acidosis aside!

They would be much better off to fell some trees so the deer can eat the tops.

that said -

deer do just fine with a stomach full of corn if corn is a regular part of their diet.

H.L.H

So if my the deer around here haven't ate corn before and i wanted to feed them it would be best to put out small amounts at a time?