Emergency Feeding of White-Tailed Deer: Test of Three Feeds

Winter severity generates marked fluctuations in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations in northeastern North America, Emergency feeding alleviates effects of the most severe winters in many areas of North America, but efficacy of the food provided to reduce deer mortality remains largely unknown. We assessed 3 feeds for their efficacy in inducing body mass recovery of white-tailed deer after a period of food deprivation. Feeds differed with respect to their composition and nutritional content: WOOD (pelleted grain mixed with wood sawdust), HUSK (pelleted grain mixed with agricultural fibers), and HAY (second-cut hay dominated by grasses). Over a 9-week period in winter, we reduced the amount of food given to 12 captive deer to induce a mean body mass reduction of 18%; 4 control deer were fed ad libitum throughout the study, During the following 5 weeks, we fed groups of 4 deer with 1 of the 3 experimental feeds. The 2 groups feeding on pelleted feeds recovered rapidly regaining most of he lost mass. However, deer feeding on HAY regained only 4% of their 17% mass loss. Our results suggest that fiber characteristics of grasses that dominated the HAY ration cannot improve body reserves. Therefore, we suggest the use of pelleted feeds to achieve rapid recovery of body mass as part of an emergency feeding program.