A Deer is an herbivorous animal that implies that they feed on fruits, plants, nuts, and acorns per time. However, when it is fall season when such items are not available, they turn to grass for food. During the winter season, they resort to any food item that is available like twigs, fallen leaves, and some other woody plants. The bad thing about the winter diet is that it is not always nutritionally balanced which could lead to the deer starving. This brings us to the question: can Deer eat chocolate?
Can deer eat chocolate?
They probably could. The list of things that a dear can eat is certainly more than what it cannot eat. I for one have never tried feeding deer with chocolate, but I would bet that they could eat it. There are however two issues of concern in this regard, the first being theobromine poisoning. Animals such as cats and dogs can be killed by consuming little quantity of chocolate. Though there are currently no studies for deer, chances are that it may.
The second issue in this regard is that it could alter the carb levels in the deer’s diet. When they get to a certain stage of the yearly feeding cycle when they feed on woody browse, feeding them with a high carb diet can mess things up internally for them. Some of the time, this may lead to acidosis which then leads to death. Chocolate fits into a high carb diet, which implies that it could be harmful indeed.
How Can I Feed A Deer?
Regardless of your reason for wanting to feed a deer, there are certain procedures that you must follow in this regard.
1. Slowly introduce the diet
It usually takes a deer about 44 weeks for it to adjust to a new diet. Hence need to gradually feed them. By slowly introducing new food to them, you will be helping their digestive system to learn the process. Deer are used to eating woody vegetation which is found in forests, hence, by feeding them with food that is rich in carbohydrates and fat can be quite dangerous
2. Buy formulated mixes
Such mixes can be gotten at pet supply stores or feed mills. Such feed mixes are a combination of oats, alfalfa, molasses, soybeans, and other minerals and vitamins. It is usually easier for a deer to digest this type of food thus making it ideal for supplementary feeding.
3. No to corn diet!
The digestive system of a deer is quite complex and corn is not the ideal food for them. Several deer have ended up sick or even dead because certain individuals thought it wise to feed them with corn. The reason why corn isn’t ideal for deer is that when they consume it, they find it difficult to adjust to the carb diet which ends up killing them.
4. It mustn’t be formulated
You have to exercise great caution when feeding a deer with supplementary food items because of their sensitive digestive systems. If you do not have supplements nearby, you could opt for oats for feeding them. Oats give the deer a combination of carbohydrates and fiber without causing damage to their digestive systems.
You may also feed them with vegetables and fruits such as grapes, apples, carrots, peas and snap peas. You could also feed them with acorns.
5. Tree branches are good
Deer eats twigs and other stuff in nature. Therefore, if you want them to have a continued supply of what nature offers, you could cut branches that are out of their reach for them. This is certainly one of the cheapest and safest ways to feed a deer all through the year.
When Do I Feed A Deer During The Year?
1. Give them supplementary food all through the year
Several people prefer to give deer food only during the winter season because this is the time when natural food supply is lowest. According to Feed That Game, you may, however, consider supplementing the food supply of your deer all year round if you have the means. This should help the deer’s system adapt to the food in time thus avoiding a systemic shock. It should also help the deer learn to combine both natural and supplemental foods.
2. During the winter
Because a deer’s natural food is composed mainly of woody vegetation, it is usually tougher for them to find food during winter. This is perhaps why many people opt to feed deer in winter. If you, however, choose to feed deer during the winter season, be careful to feed them the right food types.
3. Don’t suddenly stop feeding them
When a deer is being fed by human beings, they usually become quite dependent and stop looking for food themselves. If you have been feeding a deer and then suddenly stop, the deer may become starved. If you want to stop feeding them, you should instead gradually wean them off the feeding system.
How Can I Attract A Deer?
Deer are a wonderful and unique creature. They are quite loved and popular in the Northern American continent. They are keenly observed for several reasons ranging from their beauty to their grace and peaceful nature. It is, therefore, no surprise to find a Deer or two wander into people’s homes or land. If you have a thing for Deer and would love to see them more often in your vicinity, there are things you must do to experience this.
The most important key to attracting a deer would be to find out what they love to eat. Also, you would need to have a safe and open environment that is far from cannibals and hunters. Once a Deer senses security and sees available food with a water source, you should receive them regularly. This should be more frequent during winter when such things would be scarce.
What Does A Deer Like To Eat?
One of the most preferred food items for Deer is fruits which have fallen from a tree. This is however not a major component of the diet of a deer because of the limitation in the supply of the same. In addition to fruits, deer love to consume grass, flowering weeds, and plants. If you own a field that has a large collection of flowers, you will find deer coming around to feed often. Deer also love vegetables such as soybeans, potatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, and rye.
What Is The Diet Of A Fawn?
The number one diet of fawns is the milk of their mother when they are born. As they grow, they begin to add food items such as leaves, grass, and fruits to their feeding. In a case where the mother of a fawn is not around and you have to bottle feed it, you may use cow or goat milk. As the fawn gets older, you may include some solid food into its diet such as a banana. It is however important that you remember heating the bottle before you feed the deer while also keeping the bottle up high so as if they were feeding on their mother’s breasts.
What Are The Strengths Of A Deer?
If you have ever gone into the woods to hunt for deer, you would know how slippery they can be. There are not many wild animals that possess the superior sense and agility which a deer possesses. Understanding the strengths of a deer can put you in a better position especially when hunting them in the wild. Here are a few unique features of the deer and how you can leverage on same while hunting them:
1. Hiding
Do deer disappear? Certainly not! But they do have a unique ability to go nocturnal when they are under extreme hunting pressure. During the hunting seasons, they usually reduce their movements, especially during the day. This usually gives people the belief that they vanish and this is not true.
Several hunting experts will agree with the position that some deer are nocturnal by nature and are hardly seen during the day time. Such deer live in environments where there is adequate forage where there would be no need to compete for forage during the day.
Some experts even believe that these deer as so smart that they do not allow their sexual urges to push them to their death during their mating season. For instance, if a male is following a doe and the doe leaves the forest protection, it won’t follow.
2. Sneaking
If you look closely enough, you should be able to observe an obscure maze of deer almost anywhere within the whitetail country. However, against popular belief, it is not all deer that would use every runway. Older bucks prefer to thread along paths which hide the animals. Older and more experience bucks that have grown in size will always go for trails that are close to the edge of the bush. They usually will only come out when it is time to feed.
When the deer do reveal themselves, they usually do so in the most isolated corner of the field which has enough vegetative cover to conceal their presence. The only factors that would draw them out are darkness and heat season.
Also, if Bucks do go for clearings, they will always go for the shortest possible routes. In a scenario where there is a large enough clearing, they will always go for a patch of area jutting path across the open area.
3. Smelling
This is perhaps the strongest asset of a Deer. It is a scientifically proven fact that a deer possesses a smell sense that is 25 times stronger than that of humans. Older Bucks are known to move with the wind direction in mind and usually detect the faintest smell. The moment they detect something that is out of the ordinary, they will move towards the downwind side of whatever must have triggered the suspicion in the first place.
4. Resting
The best-kept secret of a Buck has to be the Hidden bedding areas. Aside from mating season, Deer would normally spend several hours daily bedded in specific locations. Although deer do not sleep for extended periods, studies have however shown that they can stay in a place for up to three hours just resting and chewing the cud.
Even when it seems like they are resting with their eyes closed or even sleeping, they are usually able to pick up the faintest sound which is different.
You should also know that the larger bucks do not get to that size by grazing in the wide-open spaces. In the case of bedding spots, the older bucks usually go for a location that is hidden and gives them better positioning. Usually, the older bucks would choose a higher site on the forest ridges so they can see the woods around. Also, they may go for a dense cover such as low-lying thicket or a grove of cedars.
5. Sheltering
Except there is a snowstorm that builds up to at least three inches, bucks do not mind going through especially when they are ready to mate. However, when it is heavily snowing, a deer would go for a pint adjacent to evergreens. They are usually attracted to such sheltering, swampy vegetation for increased cover from different threats.
6. Following
Older Bucks usually possess a reputation of being a catch for the ladies. This means that they do have to go down the trails and enter the fields first. It should, however, be noted that they do not do this as an act of chivalry. Instead, bucks usually hold back for about two minutes to ascertain if the area is properly secured by testing the waters with the does.
Conclusion
Now you know that even though a deer can eat chocolate, it is not ideal for it. However, beyond all that, you must understand that the wellbeing of a deer is largely dependent on what it eats and how it eats it. Supplements are good, but natural food supplies are better, hence the need to promote their natural habitat in every little way.
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