What Do Deer Eat
Just what do deer eat anyway? If you're a hunter or a gardener you may or may not already know some answers to this question. Knowing what a deer eats assists the hunter in spotting locations where deer may be most apt to be found feeding. The gardener, on the other hand, may learn what not to plant. For example, deer seem to take a particular liking to tulips, though not daffodils. If you ask "what do deer eat" to a gardener, some will swear that deer seem to home in on those plants which have been advertised as being deer repellent. In reality, while deer do have their preferences, and will stick to those preferences if available, they can and will eat a wide variety of food. The farmer, knowing the nutritional needs as well of the preferences of deer, may set aside small plots of alfalfa, clover, or other crops. This is sometimes done with hunting season in mind of course, but also may be done for a more altruistic reason, helping deer get prepared for, and through, the winter months.
For the most part deer eat forbs, consisting of leafy plants, herbs other than grasses, flowering plants, and weeds. A favorite is clover, and it has been claimed that Imperial Whitetail clover is the best of all. They also eat mast, collections of nuts which have fallen to the ground. Mast will be more likely be found in the hardwood forests of the east and south, rather than in the evergreen forests of the west. Mast by the way, is quite protein rich, and a good food source for deer as they begin to fatten up for the winter months.
Deer eat grass but do not digest cellulose efficiently. Still, deer can be found eating immature grasses in the early spring, especially if other types of foods are not yet available. Farmland is tailor-made for deer. They love alfalfa and corn, and protein rich peas are one of the best food types a deer can enjoy. Deer also can often be observed hanging out in fruit orchards, a luxury many deer probably do not have the opportunity to enjoy.
There are times in a deer's life, in fact times during a typical year, when the most favored foods may not be available, and the deer is forced to do with whatever is available. In the winter it is not at all unusual to see deer consuming twigs and browsing in brush. Deer also will eat the needles of evergreens. Twigs and needles don't make up a particularly nutritious meal, but in these instances we are not talking about fattening up, but rather survival.
To the question, "what do deer eat", a pat answer might be “just about anything”, and that isn't too far from the truth. Deer actually can become quite adaptable in their eating habits when necessary, and seem to make the best of whatever is available to them.