<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn addition to questions about the definition of deer apples, people also ask if Whitetail deer can eat apples?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This line of questioning usually comes from people interested in feeding deer in their backyard or those looking to help deer in the winter by offering alternative food sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/figure>\n\n\n\nTo answer the question, deer will eat apples if they are available. While apples are not directly bad for deer, they can pose digestion issues if consumed in large quantities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve spoken to a few different wildlife biologists from different states, and the general consensus seems to be that, from a nutritional standpoint, apples offer limited nutritional value and are not a food source that can support a deer individually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While apples are a source of complex carbohydrates and natural sugars, they don\u2019t offer much nutritional value beyond those compounds. In addition, apple seeds contain a tiny amount of a cyanide-based compound called cyanogenic Glycoside. Small doses of this chemical compound don\u2019t seem to cause any issues, but large quantities may cause deer problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apples are more like a sweet treat (even the sour ones) and are best consumed in small quantities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since apples are only available for a short period of time during the year, deer will feast on them when they can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>FAQS<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nHere are some commonly asked questions that I see and read relating to deer apples and the consumption of apples by whitetail deer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Are apples good for deer?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIn small doses, apples are fine as an occasional treat for deer. However, large doses are a different story as apples can cause some digestive stress for deer and are high in natural sugars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, feeding deer a steady diet of apples may cause them to deviate from their regular diet to the point where potential diet deficiencies come into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I always compare feeding deer apples to feeding kids\u2019 candy. A little bit is OK, but too much may cause issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Can I feed deer store bought apples?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAs long as you thoroughly wash the store-bought or commercial apples thoroughly to remove any potential chemicals used in the growing process and offer them in small amounts, most deer biologists state that store-bought apples are acceptable as a treat for deer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Do deer like apples?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhitetail deer apples quite a bit and will consume them in bulk when apples are available. I have seen a few situations where deer seem to ignore apples, but those incidents are rare, and there\u2019s usually some other issue that\u2019s making them ignore the apples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/figure>\n\n\n\nAs a matter of fact, if you\u2019ve ever visited an apple farm, you may notice that the tree limbs have been removed from the bottom portion of the tree trunk, and the tree limbs closest to the ground are located 10-12 feet off the ground. This pruning process is done by design and is an attempt to keep deer and other wildlife (like bears) from reaching the apples when they ripen. Apple farmers usually trim the lower branches to the point where a deer or bear standing on its hind legs cannot reach the lowest limb of apples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Can deer digest an apple?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhile deer have a diverse diet and a somewhat robust digestion system, it does have their limits. Apples (both wild ones and store-bought ones) are acceptable in small amounts. However, large amounts of consumed apples can cause some digestive stress in deer as they may struggle to process the high sugar content of the apples. In addition, as previously mentioned, apples feature very little actual nutritional value for deer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you\u2019ve spent any time out in the country, you may have heard of or seen a type of apple called a deer apple. However, while many have heard the deer apple term used, they may not know exactly what a deer apple is or what they are predominantly used for. At my day job,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-nofeaturedimage.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"table_tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deer-feeder.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deer-feeder.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deer-feeder.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deer-feeder.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deer-feeder.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deer-feeder.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deer-feeder.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deer-feeder.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deer-feeder.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deer-feeder.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371"},{"taxonomy":"table_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deer-feeder.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/table_tags?post=371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}