It is of course common knowledge that deer are browse animals and feed on practically anything that grows, but many people wonder what they actually do consume on a daily basis.
Deer love nuts and it goes without saying, but what about specifically hickory nuts?
Occasionally, deer eat hickory nuts, but they have a number of other kinds of nuts they prefer, including chestnuts, walnuts, butternuts, hazelnuts, acorns, and beechnuts because the hickory nuts are so hard to open. Nevertheless, buds, twigs, and leaves of the hickory tree are eaten by the deer. Apart from taking in all parts of a diversified list of plants, they can eat as much as 8 percent of their body weight daily.
This article also explains why hickory nuts didn’t become part of a regular menu of a typical deer.
As for the tuberous roots, different species of plants involve; The hickory nuts and few other nuts that the deer take, in addition to the other part of the diets of a deer.
Some Quick Facts About Hickory Nuts and Deer Diet
In fact a deer’s food is mainly composed of nuts and while deer eat hickory nuts are preferred, they are not a staple. Deer has a very slim chance of consuming hickory nuts because these have really very hard shells.
They mainly eat acorns, chestnut and walnut, but if they cannot get the above also deer eat hickory nuts.
Surprisingly, deer despite having lower incisor teeth, they lacked upper incisor teeth in their oral cavity. However, a hard palate resides just above the mouth of the deer. The molars most suited for grinding are at the rear part of the mouth of this deer.
The hickory nut is extremely hard and is almost impossible for the deer to shell, and even if the front part of the mouth is used for gripping and breaking foods.
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Components of a Deer’s Diet
Despite exceptions, consumed plants are quite diverse; more than 400 plant species are listed as deer favorites in the SE region.
Deer are specific with their diet that is why they prefer eater acorns, nuts, grasses, crops, and other plants. Deer are known to need up to mug of water and 8% of their own body weight in food per day to remain healthy.
For instance, a deer is approximately 110 pounds will eat almost nine pounds of food in a single day!
Browse
Actually deer prefer the tender twigs, leaves or the twigs and leaves of the shrubs and herbs, that grows on the tree than the nuts of the hickory tree.
Food items which are a primary necessity for the deer include what is known as browse. Not only does browsing mean a certain behavior by which deer perform, but it also refers to the food they eat in the process.
Woody plant twigs, leaves, and buds are all considered browse. When it’s harder to find other kinds of food in the chilly winter months, it’s an especially important component of a deer’s diet.
Deer have narrow snouts and long tongues, and their salivary glands are very active. Because of these traits, they are able to consume parts of plants like browse.
It’s interesting to note that deer generate certain enzymes that allow them to ingest enormous quantities of plant substances, like tannins, that would be fatal to other animals.
Mast
The term “mast” describes either soft or rigid fruiting bodies. This group includes acorns, as well as other nuts and berries.
In general, acorns and nuts with softer shells are far more appealing to deer than hickory nuts. There are sufficient of lipids and carbohydrates in these hard-fruiting bodies for deer.
Berries and soft fruiting bodies, on the other hand, are high in sugar and vitamins.
Forbs, Grass, Lichen, and Fungus
The normal deer also eats forbs, which are the stems and leaves of non-woody plants. They contain a lot of nutrients and digest swiftly.
Because it is more difficult to digest and has less nutritional value than browse and mast, grass is not consumed as frequently.
Although they don’t make up a significant amount of a deer’s diet, lichen and fungus, such as moss and mushrooms, are a regular component.
What Specific Nutrients Can Hickory Nuts Offer to Deer?
Still hardly deer eat hickory nuts because of the tough shells which are very hard to crack, are nutritious.
A 100-gram serving of hickory nuts contains about 64.5 g fats, 436 mg potassium, and over 18 g of carbohydrates. Nearly a third of daily number of calories comes from carbohydrates and about the same percentage comes from dietary fiber.
What nut does a deer prefer to eat most?
Here are several nuts that deer enjoy:
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- American chestnut
- Black walnut
- Butternut (also called white walnut)
- Hazelnut
- Oaknut/acorn
- Beechnut
Conclusion
Nevertheless, hickory nuts contain so many nutrients that, for one way or another, a deer seldom eats them because these nuts are almost indigestible. Some of the many preferred nuts by the deer are the butternuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, beechnuts and acorns.
While the hickory nuts they do not consume frequently, deer use the hickory-tree for eating the leaves, buds and twigs. Deer eat hickory nuts as much as 8% of what the animal weighs in plants in a single day, and deer are not selective about which plant or plants they’re going to eat.