RE: Feeding deer over the winter
First of all, the conservation officers will say, “Don’t feed them.” However, many local residents do feed the deer over the winter and sometimes the kindness will kill them.
A deer’s digestive system cannot handle a sudden change in diet and if you were to give them a large amount of corn or other feed in winter they can have a very painful death.
If you want to feed the deer you must start out in early December with small amounts of feed (preferably oats, not c.o.b. or so-called deer corn) and continue to feed until greening starts.
Remeber, if you start feeding them and then stop for a few days, they probably will go hungry. If you really love the animals, you can cut fresh branches off of an old apple tree, etc. for them. Their digestive system is designed to eat twigs, bark and brown leaves over the winter. For a treat, you can give them carrots and remember they need to have water on a daily basis.
Pat Rodrick
Robson