Last Updated on May 13, 2023 by Dwayne Easton
Hickory nuts are definitely not the first thing deer want to eat. It takes a great amount of effort to get through the shells of most hickory nuts. So for a deer acorns are a much better option for them. But because the deer prefer other food sources as their first pickings. It does not mean they won’t eat hickory nuts. Remember that during years with bad acorn crops and little natural browse in the woods. The deer will still need to fatten up and with their willingness to survive. They will pretty much eat anything edible. So yes deer eat Hickory Nuts.
Hickory trees cover half of the United States. There are over a dozen species of the hickory tree, which include walnuts and pecans. Yet the only species of hickory nuts deer have been known to eat are the pignut and bitternut. The husks of Bitternut Hickory have 4 narrow ridges that extend inward. To about one half to two thirds the length of its fruits. other hickory trees have husks that either lack ridges or their ridges extend the complete length of their fruits. Bitternut Hickory can be distinguished from other hickory trees by its bright sulfur-yellow buds, which are covered with a powdery coating. It also has smaller fruits than most hickory trees. Its nuts are more rounded rather than angular, and they have large terminal beaks. Pignut Hickory has fruits that are similar in size to those of Bitternut Hickory, but they lack conspicuous ridges. This tree also has fewer leaflets and its buds aren’t yellow.
What Nuts Do Deer Eat?
Deer is fond of eating the nuts from the white oak trees as it tastes sweeter than the than the ones from the red oak trees. They also eat nuts like acorns, beechnuts, hickory nuts, and pecans. The oak trees produce acorns. Deer loves to eat grass, plants, flowering weeds, fallen leaves, twigs, buds, and perennials.
The nutrition of deer varies from deer to deer and season to season. During the summer the food they consume is completely different from those consumed at the time of winter. At the time of fall, it consumes the fallen leaves and during autumn they eat the grasses and plants. The deer can get fruits during the summer and the autumn season. The deer get energy from the sugars of the fruits like apples, persimmons, and sumac heads. As it is a seasonal nutrition and won’t be available all the time. deer are ruminants. A ruminant is an animal with a four chambered stomach. The forging whitetail deer can eat food and store it in one stomach to be chewed and digested later. It does this by chewing the food enough so it can pass down the esophagus into the first stomach. Later on the deer will lie down and regurgitate the food as cud. Where it is chewed enough to be completely digested by the second, third and fourth stomachs.
What is Whitetail Deer Favorite Food?
Whitetail foods can be categorized. Browse leaves and twigs of woody plants, weeds, grasses, nuts and fruits and mushrooms. Each of these food items vary in availability. Depending on the time of year and weather conditions.
Although every study proves that whitetails prefer forbs over all food types. They are generally more digestible and nutrient rich for deer. they cannot always depend on them to be around. Freezing temperatures and extended dry periods prevent the growth of weeds. So they are an short-term food supply at best.
To attract whitetail deer, people use different types of food. You can also use Vanilla Extract, corns, apples and vegetables to attract a deer on your hunting. This will make rifle or crossbow hunting easy and effortless.
Knowing the right times to hunt can optimize your chances of bagging that trophy buck. For whitetail deer the most active times occur around dawn and dusk. With periodic increases in activity overnight. So make sure your have your hunting flashlight and spare batteries. Whitetail deer generally like colder temperatures. And studies show that warmer temperatures seem to hinder deer movement. activity changes according to the time of year too. The earlier it is in the season, the less likely you are to see much movement. But, as you get closer to “the rut” or the peak-week for hunters, activity increases.
Does Peanut Butter Attract Deer
when hunting deer you can attract them is using peanut butter. Deer love peanut butter. This makes it one of the best baits to lure them and its cheaper than other deer attractants on the market today. You need one large jar of peanut butter, crunchy. Find a place that you know there is plenty of deer and then screw the lid to a tree about 4-5 feet off the ground. Once you screw the peanut butter jar to the lid, use your hunting knife and cut the bottom of the jar. Make sure understand the laws in your state about the use of deer baits so that you avoid breaking the law.
