Deer and deer habitat varies considerably between the northern and southern parts of the white-tailed deer’s range. In the southern U.S., starvation of deer is generally not a problem because of the mild winters that occur throughout the region. With that said, winter–especially late winter–can be a stressful time for whitetail in terms of food quantity and quality, particularly when the deer density is above the carrying capacity of the area. When it comes to winter and native deer foods, browse is the most important class of plants. Because browse plants are of utmost importance during stress periods, such as summer and winter, this article discusses habitat management activities that can increase browse production and take your native forage production and deer management program to the next level. 

As discussed here previously regarding what deer eat and their need for proper nutrition, whitetail consume a plethora of woody and herbaceous plant species. However, natural winter forage is often limited to browse, available cool season forbs, and hard mast such as acorns. During years with good mast production, deer can use this forage well into the winter. However, mast quantity can be quite variable from year to year, forcing deer to rely on alternative food sources. Cool season forb availability can also vary by latitude and can be almost non-existent in freeze-prone areas. Locations at the northern part of the whitetail’s range are typically short on cool season forbs, but so are southern areas during winters receiving low amounts of precipitation. So how can deer managers increase browse production?  

Browse plants are the most stable component of a white-tailed deer’s diet. Year-in and year-out, browse can be relied upon by deer as a staple in their diet. Why? Well, browse consists of the stems, twigs, and leaves of woody plants (and vines) and these species tend to be long-lived perennials. Many perennial plants lose their leaves each winter, but immediately grow new leaves and stems each spring and throughout the summer. This makes plants such as elm, poison ivy, and greenbriar great emergency summer time grub should a lack of rainfall fail to produce any succulent forbs. Perennials with established root systems have an advantage over short-lived forbs when it comes to their need for water/rain. In addition, some browse species–such as important juniper species in the north and live oak in the south–are evergreen. These browse species are available for deer during the winter, as well as the summer.     

Habitat management that increases summer and winter browse availability is not very expensive or time consuming and should be a component of every white-tailed deer management plan. In just about every case, increasing available deer browse is a simple, straight-forward task. Thinning small blocks (3-5 acres) in forested areas is one way to increase browse availability and plant production. Removing some older trees allows sunlight to reach the ground. And I said “blocks” because square-ish is the way to go here. Narrow strip thinning will not permit enough sunlight for optimal browse growth. Sunlight is needed to allow browse seeds and seedlings to take off, creating more forage for local whitetail. Wooded areas with totally enclosed canopies offer little for deer in terms of browse, except along the edges. Opening up the canopy and allowing increased sunlight will spur browse plant growth, increase food, and up the number of deer using the area.

Another way to increase browse production for deer is through the use of fertilizer. Adding fertilizer to recently thinned patches substantially increases the productivity of browse plants. Imagine a garden with fertilizer; it does much, much better! In addition, fertilizer can be used around the edges of established browse plants, too. Fertilize the edges of woodlines, along roadways, and even along utility easements. Not only will the plants be much more healthy and produce bigger, darker leaves, but deer will find fertilized leaves much more palatable. It’s kind of like an unfertilized food plot versus a fertilized one. Deer prefer fertilized areas because they can literally taste the increased nutrition.

Browse is an important food source for whitetail, especially during stress periods. These habitat management tips are just some of the techniques that you can use to increase native forage and browse production on your property. Browse management should be considered an important part of your deer management program because browse plants produce year after year, and especially when you need them most!

White-tailed deer are primarily browsers. They typically eat very little grass, with most studies estimating grass comprising no more than 7 to 9% of a deer’s diet in any season. Browse consumption is important to deer, but learning to read browse utilization can be important to your overall deer management program. Browse is defined as the leaves, twigs, and buds of woody plants. Browse is the bread and butter of a white-tailed deer’s diet on almost every landscape, but the importance of browse becomes particularly important during the winter months.

Why? Well, winter is the most nutritionally stressful time of the year for deer. Not only does a deer require massive amounts of energy to regulate its body temperature during the coldest part of the year, but food in many cases is not readily available. This is especially true at northern latitudes where extreme winter conditions prevail. In the southern part of the white-tailed deer’s range, winter temperatures are simply mild inconveniences. However, prolonged periods of cold weather at southern latitudes can take its toll on deer populations in this area simply because deer densities are higher. There may be more browse in southern forests, but there are also more deer!

Browse is of the highest importance during the winter simply because during this time of year no other foods exists in great supply. Sure, acorns fall and cool season forbs germinate and grow, but in northern areas even the availability of these foods is short-lived. All browse plants have an order order of preference by deer in each region. Some browse plants will be highly preferred meaning deer relish them, while other plants will be species that deer would prefer to avoid. The later would be browse plants that deer would only consume under looming starvation circumstances.

The importance of browse species important to deer varies by location, but you can tell a lot about a deer population simply by walking through their habitat and examining what they have been eating. For starters, I suggests contacting a wildlife biologist in your area to obtain a list of deer foods by preference and then learning those plants. Not only will this help you identify the important deer food plants on your property, but it will give you a better understanding of the importance of each of those plant species in a deer’s diet.  

A quick note: Plants that are highly preferred by deer will always show signs of browsing. Plants that deer really do not like will almost always show signs of no browsing. The key here is to pay attention to those plants in the middle. If those plants show more use than normal, something is going on. Either the deer population in the area is too high or habitat conditions are poor relative to the number of deer. Also, if deer are consuming plants that they would rather not, then deer foods are in very short supply.  This can happen during periods of drought or during the winter. This is why deer hunting seasons always takes place just prior to the to most nutritionally stressful time of the year for a white-tailed deer, winter.

So learn the browse plants in your area and pay attention to them. Supplemental feeding can help reduce browsing pressure on your property as a whole, but it should never be considered a total replacement of high-quality native forage. In addition, knowing what white-tailed deer need and eat can help you identify problems before they happen and help can fine tune your deer management program. 

Deer Plant: Hackberry / Sugarberry (Celtis spp.)

Class: browse; preferred

Description: A small to medium-sized tree with a spreading irregular crown found on moist soil in stream and river drainages, and a common invader along fence lines. Hackberry leaves are dark green above, pale with prominent raised veins below and are rather thick and stiff. The common name and variety name refer to the dense network of veins in the leaf.

Fruit is eaten by many species of birds and some mammals, including white-tailed deer. The leaves and twigs are browsed by both deer and livestock, so have a good handle of livestock stocking rates in areas where deer management is important.

Hackberry / Sugarberry Photos:

Deer Food: Grape (Vitus spp.)

Class: browse; preferred by deer

Description: There are many species of grape throughout the white-tailed deer’s range, but all species seem to serve as good sources of deer forage. In areas with high deer populations, grape leaves will not be found within the reach of a deer, but foliage can be found higher in brush and tree canopies. Common grape species include mustang, post oak, and muscadine.

Grape plants are vigorous and clump forming or high-climbing woody vines occurring on moist sandy soil and loose clay soil in both bottomlands and uplands. Most grape species are very aggressive, often outcompeting other vegetation in an area.

Grape plants are usually found along fence rows, adjacent creeks, and within forested areas. The fruits are also eaten by many birds and mammals, including deer and wild hogs.

Grape Photos:

Mustang

Post oak

Muscadine

Deer Food: Cedar Elm (Ulmus crassifolia)

Class: browse; moderately preferred by deer

Description: Cedar elm is a medium to large-sized tree with drooping branches that form a narrow to rounded crown. The plant occurs on moist soils in bottomland, upland, and even limestone sites where found. The stems may have corky wings, but do not confuse cedar elm with winged elm.

Unlike winged elm, cedar elm leaves are thicker, has the smallest leaves of the elms and is one of the few with fruit, called samaras, maturing in the fall. In addition, the top part of cedar elm leaves have a sand paper-type roughness. In the fall, leaves will turn yellow-gold in color.

White-tailed deer are fond of all elms, especially cedar elm. Where moderate to high deer populations exists, this browse plant will typically show heavy use.

Cedar Elm Photos: