A wonderful sight

Kevin Stenberg

Well-Known Member
This year the acorn growth was the heaviest I have seen in a while. Which means I have been entertained by a constant parade of does and fawn browsing under my oaks. All within 10 to 20 yards of the house. I know it is only about 5 family groups, but it still fun watching them.
Yesterday I even saw 1 of the does showing signs of being in estras.
The mature does are already in the there darker gray/brown colors. And the fawns are still very light buckskin color.
An the spike showed up again this morning. Its only the 3rd time I have seen him.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
A bit early here to know how well the acorns will do this year but your just a tad further north. Last year was least I've seen in acorns, just starting this year though. There has been more deer on my property this year than I have seen collectively in the nearly 6 years I've been here, not a single one in the last two weeks though. Bow season opens here tomorrow, I wonder if they know what's coming. Two does and two fawns and a rare buck have been dining out back for the last couple of months, interesting to watch the fawn's spots get lighter and lighter as they get bigger.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
you guy's had me thinking for a second there.
deer don't eat acorns......
around here they are too small and bitter and only come off the scrub oak.
the scrub oak is a skinny brush like thing that only gets about 5" around and rarely grows to 15' tall.
it's mostly 1-3" around, 5-6' tall and they grow about 1' apart.
sometimes the chipmunks eat them, but they'll also eat juniper berries.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
deer don't eat acorns...... .

Seems that's an incomplete sentence and perhaps should read . . .

Deer don't eat acorns . . . In IdeeHo. :D

Newly dropped acorns retain their freshness for about a week, and are highly preferred by whitetail deer.

Oaks around here run probably 50 foot or more. I don't know the difference in the oaks but most drop normal sized acorns and a few drop quite large acorns. I've got one of the oaks on my property that drops the big ones that Bambi seems to prefer but they do eat all of them. Fattens them right up.

SoCal is also full of scrub oak.
.
 

Chris

Well-Known Member
Acorns contain tannins, but the acorns of the white oak group contain much less and are preferred by deer. The red oak group has the sharp pointy leaves (white oak are lobed) and is more bitter and astringent. Deer and squirrels will eat of either group but by far prefer the white oaks if given the opportunity.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
it just ain't in Idaho they don't eat them.
I tried them once when I was younger and could see why.
chestnuts are also not edible out here, roasted on an open fire or not.
 

Ian

Notorious member
We have red oak (called Spanish oak or Texas red oak here), live oak, post oak, blackjack oak, shin oak (scrubby stuff) and chinquapin oak (rare, grows only near springs and creek bottoms). The deer eat all the varieties of acorns but only out of desperation since the grass is all fried by August. I noticed a few spanish oak acorns on the ground last weekend.
 
F

freebullet

Guest
Acorn fed deer taste better than corn fed. I dunno why, but they seem to be more tender & have a mellow flavor.

I'm convinced deer will eat just about anything to live. Found crab apples, a dead bird, & poison ivy in the stomach of deer here.
 

Kevin Stenberg

Well-Known Member
Chris beat me to it. White oak are the most preferred over the reds. Which neither is local to me. All I have is Burr (Swamp) oaks.
 

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
Quite a bit of Red Oak out here and occasional White. I know because I buy mostly red for the smoker and get it from a place in Chatsworth (West San Fernando Valley).
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
We have lots of oaks and lots of deer. Never see deer eating acorns but can't say I really pay attention. We probably have less than 50 days a year where we don't see any deer. Yawn
 

Ian

Notorious member
Yeah Brad, but can you shoot them? I know lots of people who have trophy neighborhood pets...:D
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Yeah Brad, but can you shoot them? I know lots of people who have trophy neighborhood pets...:D
Can I? Yes. Would I? Nope. Not worth the legal penalties. Besides, it wouldn't be sporting.

I could hunt them with a baseball bat. We have had a couple die on the driveway after a fall off the retaining wall.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I think it would be legal to hunt deer here with a Bat.

more-N-likely.
you'd have to wait until after dark then sneak up on one in a hay field right behind the no hunting sign,,,, and you'd have to whack it between the antlers pretty hard.
 

Chris

Well-Known Member
I'd like to see a buck struck out with a bat. They are pretty tough, you would have to hit him hard and square with a white ash bat. My son killed a crippled coyote with a round point shovel, it left a terrible impression on his mind.
 

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
white acorns here are big walnut size. have one in the front yard. When they get this big they will leave golf ball hail divots in the hood of the truck! Happens about every 4-5 yrs. contrary to the whites, the reds are small this year. we live on the edge of a small mtn (N AL) near the end of a street. Deer come in/down all the time. Few nights ago, doe and 2 yrlings were in neighbor's front yard. Other night I went out to the truck and stared down a young doe across the street. I love seeing them in the neighborhood.
 

Intheshop

Banned
Normal acorn crop here.Same thing appears to be with herd numbers.....which is,lots of both.

The one thing I saw for the first time this year;Young doe running her twins off way earlier than usual.....month/s earlier than we usually see.I felt bad for them,Joan Crawford for a mom?One of them was pitifully holed up in the ivy on Fr of house.The other was living under the back porch for awhile.Joan must've had a nursing issue?They're all getting along now though.

Got another dang Hoyt recurve in for surgery.Zero parts support from the factory.Same old run around.
 

Intheshop

Banned
Fiver,I know yotes can carry shovels,weedwackers and other lawn care tools cause.....when two of them tore a Deer carcus off a welded rebar gambrel,they were very careful moving above equipment.I'd brought in some sand leftover from a brick job and for whatever reason,sorta dumped it in a pile....say 5-6' in diameter.Tracks don't lie....there were two of them,bent the 1/2" rebar gambrel "ears" straight down.

So a shovel?Shoot,I think they could put a heavy tamping bar to work.