![]() This group is often referred to as forbs, and the species deer eat varies from season to season. There are many species of native plants that deer will browse, and for the most part, they make up a large portion of a deer’s diet. This plant is a mainstay in a deer’s diet. Herbaceous plants Blackberry makes large, climbing vines that arch over, forming large briar patches. Deer will eat shade-tolerant vines such as poison ivy and Virginia creeper. Trumpet creeper is a quality browse that I find to be the No. If all you have are greenbriar stems with very few leaves, you may have too many deer for the habitat. Smilax, aka greenbriar, is a good species to use in evaluating your property. ![]() Top vine species for deer include trumpet creeper, muscadine (browse and fruit), smilax or greenbriar, blackberry and dewberry, yellow jessamine and honeysuckle. Vines are important from a browse standpoint. Dewberry is easily recognized by its spiny red stems deer browse leaves and stems and fruit. Privet is considered an invasive species, but the fact is, it is a mainstay in the year-round diet of deer in many areas of Louisiana. Elderberry is at the top of the list, and if elderberry is missing on your habitat, a red flag should go up it is time to determine why. Important shrubs for deer include elderberry, arrowwood, deciduous holly, dogwoods and privet. Managers can determine if their habitat provides the nutrition deer need and make plans to improve deficiencies.Įlderberry is a woody shrub with opposite compound leaves and can be used as an indicator species of habitat quality. If managers learn to recognize the important species in these plant groups, they will be ahead of the game. Intense pine management has eliminated the mast foods - acorns and pecans - from the landscape and that is why we see so much emphasis on feeding corn. The key is to maintain habitat that will provide the foods that deer need during the changing seasons. Red mulberry leaf and fruit this tree can be heavily browsed because the leaves have a high calcium content. During fall and winter, the nutritional needs of deer changes to forages that provide fat and carbohydrates - foods that will help maintain deer during the stressful winter. In spring and summer, the focus of nutrition should be on plants rich in protein. The plants deer eatĭeer forage can be listed by groups: trees, shrubs, vines, herbaceous plants and agriculture. ![]() Consequently, nutrition is the key for a successful program. If nutrition is lacking, body growth, antler growth and fawn production will be poor. If quality forage is available, the response of deer to good nutrition will be positive. Does are pregnant and will be dropping fawns as early as May. Bucks are increasing in body size and growing a new set of antlers. Spring and summer are the growing months for whitetails. On our habitat, I have seen the browsing pressure go from moderate in early March to heavy in late May. Verbena is a green, square-stem forb with opposite leaves that is readily eaten by deer. Now is the time to be looking at the habitat. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has biologists willing to assist clubs and landowners with survey work. A browse survey can also provide hunters with a good estimate of deer numbers. Deer browse surveyĪ deer browse survey will reveal to a landowner or club what plant species are on the landscape, the quality of the forage, how much quality forage is available and what forages deer are eating. The fertile crescent formed by the Red River and Mississippi River is the heart of big buck country. The most-productive deer habitat is bottomland hardwoods, located in agricultural areas. On our property in East Feliciana Parish, deer numbers have remained good, as they have in most of the parish. Not all of that area has seen this decline. In southeast Louisiana, state biologists reduced the deer limit to three in response to the idea of declining deer numbers. This clump of Asters has been heavily browsed. Urban sprawl is having an impact on much of the mixed pine/hardwood habitat, and that is having an affect on herds in many parishes. That’s a pretty tall order for much of Louisiana’s deer habitat it’s not going to happen in a dominant pine forest. Most hunters are looking for adult bucks with racks that score 130 Boone & Crockett points or better.
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