Our White-Tailed Deer are doing some serious grazing now that the days are getting colder and the greens are getting scarcer; a few are already starting to eat woody fodder. Whitetails need to consume food almost constantly when roaming their home range. (Defensive instincts keep most deer moving, albeit slowly when they find good fodder and no potential predators are sensed.)
The National Deer Association reports that, on average, Whitetails need to eat 6 to 8 percent of their body weight daily. That’s about 9 to 12 pounds a day for a 150-pound doe or buck! Above, you see a well-groomed doe browsing in our South Field on Wednesday (November 25). Here she is when she first noticed us:
(Brooklin, Maine)