Deer and other wildlife are tested in late winter because few natural foods are readily available. Wild animals become less wild, slipping into neighborhood flowerbeds and making daily appearances along road shoulders covered in tender green grasses.
Generally, deer are not grass grazers, but the scarce food resources forces them to find nourishment anywhere they can. Land managers and hunters can provide supplemental food this month to sustain populations until the spring green-up.
Even though the deer season is many months away, animals have several important stages to endure over the next six months. Most pregnant females are in the middle of their gestation period, when nutritious foods are critical to the development of the fetus. Bucks are still recovering from the rut, trying to regain their body mass. Not only will bucks benefit from high-protein foods during the summer when developing antlers, a healthy diet for the entire year will help build body mass and promote antler growth.
Foods high in protein, carbohydrates and fats are recommended to provide energy for outlasting the winter. Even though rich food plots are the best choice, many cool-season plots have played out by this time of year. Sweet potatoes, soybeans and deer chow are the preferred options for their superior nutritional value, but field corn can be used if no other supplemental feeds are available.
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