Vegetables or other foods NOT to be offered

I have heard that too many dry Oak leaves are not good for deer (same with Oak acorns) due to high tannins that change the Ph levels of the rumen substantially.



I also have heard that goats should not be given raw potatoes...



My question is two-fold:



1. Can (2 or 3 or 4) raw potatoes be given to yearling deer on a daily basis?

2. Are there any raw veggies or fruits that should NOT be given to deer, or that should be very limited in quantities?



Please, dear deer farmers, advise when you are able, no hurry.

Thank you.

deer are browsers . In a fence they can't browse like wild deer. wild deer continually move on.mother nature has taught them how to not overdo anything. I know they love acorns ,but wild deer know when they have had enough. just came from the UP and the guy there,had piles of potatoes for the wild deer and they would come in eat a little then take off for a while. where fenced in deer compete more and might over do it.

My 2 cents worth

Don't have anything ti back this up, only that potatoes are not a natural food of the deer, but i might be concerned over the feeding of potatoes, certainly with feeding them many. Like dearjohn said, in the wild and behind the fence create two different sets of standards for exposure of available foods.

We have fed sweet potatoes in the past. Never had any problems as they eat what they want . I was concerned with possible bloat, but again never a issue. I have never fed plain irish taters. The only horror stories to my knowledge is feeding green bananas or unripened fruit TOXIC!!! That would include watermelons. Thats the only one i know they will eat too much of. Be careful with that one. A whitetail is a hearty creature capable of ingesting a certain amount of toxins without incident but if feeding vegetation your unsure of its probably a good idea to google it!

Thank you for the info. I have "googled" re raising deer since Day 1, last year. She likes potatoes, here and there, from time to time mixed into her salads. I was just checking... all is good.

I feed mine a lot of treats daily and spoil them as much as possible. Some treats include Apples, Pumpkins, Whole Sunflowers, Peanuts, Apple Oat Horse treats, Golden Nuggets from Record Rack, Fresh Cut Branches, Carrots, ect. Almost at all times they will be getting 3 or more of these treats daily. It's not necessary to treat them at all but it does help to keep them tame and the stress levels low. I feel that nutritionally an expanded diet will help cover trace nutrients that the elevator may have missed and all the TLC does make a difference in your animals. I have never tried potatoes yet so have no clue there. I do use a commercial french fry cutter for my apples and mix them with my grain. It helps with any fines as the "apple fries" stick to everything. King Kong and Fear Factor are partial to the Apple Oat Horse treats. Rolls Royce loves everything but will go for the "apple fries" first. Maxbo Express must be limited on peanuts as he loves them. Rold Gold loves the fries. Gold Digger will take anything he gets. My yearling bucks vacuum everything in front of their nose. Every deer is different just as I and you may like certain food more or less. I bet a menu at the feeder would make em happy.

I feed to her every a.m. a big colorful, salad in a laaaarge bowl. Ever since she was a tiny little fawn, she would be offered something green and sweet after her morning bottles. I have watched her tastes expand since then to today where I see that she actually is bored with just apples, pears, bananas, watermelon (etc), romaine lettuce, and flips her bowl to go for the peas and fresh corn and cabbage (first), sweet potatoes and reg. potatoes (next). If I were to list all of the veggies/fruits she has eaten, it would be a very long list (I used to keep track). Lately she is eating up cabbage with gusto, and is not so interested in the romaine lettuce (iceberg is her least favorite). At midday, I give her a peanut butter/whole grain sandwich, and in the evening she gets her mixed grain bowl of Purina feeds. What I notice is that if I top dress her deer feed with a bit of Sweet feed she goes for it quickly. I also throw in some animal crackers (I must admit, otherwise no other junk). Otherwise, everything else is organic and/or home grown (if possible). She just loves toasted multigrain bread. I know this is not highly nutritious, but it is a good means by which to move her around when necessary. I love her dearly, she is my little deer baby that I raised, with no intent to do so initially, but life dealt us both a special hand. I have been very lucky with her- no parasites, no health issues, no worms, no depression, just a happy, well-spirited little creature to look after and pray for, and have found amazing people and DVMs to help me with her along the way. Have a great week to all my deer farmer pals, I hope your fawning season is successful, peaceful and otherwise miraculous!

Thanks so much FawnMommy, I really appreciate the advice- I will research it. You're right, she has become my pet. I will look into ways in which to add more calcium, other than through her formula which I admit I still give her.