Deer Nutrition & Food Habits | Deer Hunting & Management

Foundering: Long Hooves On White-Tailed Deer

Deer can sometimes grow hooves that are much longer than normal. Long hooves in deer is not common because I’ve seen reports from many different places over the years, but it’s not something that hunters will commonly see in the field. Just this week, I received an email that contained photos of a white-tailed doe than had long hooves (it was actually just her front left hoof and back right hoof).

This condition is referred to as foundering and I believe the term comes from the word “floundering” because under extreme conditions the animal appears to be floundering around as it walks. From reviewing the literature, there appears to be three main reasons for long hoof growth in deer, but all are related to diet.

Why do Deer Founder?

A deer that exhibits foundering is taking in way too many carbohydrates. Either this is a problem directly related to the forage that the animal is eating or it has to do with the way the deer is processing its food. More often than not, it has to do with what the deer is eating. A diet high in corn or protein pellets contributes to foundering. Corn, of course, is primarily carbohydrates.

Hoof tissue is very similar to antler tissue. If you are feeding protein to grow larger bodied deer and larger antlers then you are also feeding to grow deer with longer hooves. Foundering is almost always the result of a deer consuming too many carbohydrates in the diet too fast.

The result is a buildup of acid in the rumen, which kills the bacteria that digest carbohydrates. This process then results in an increasing pH in the blood that can hurt or possibly even kill the deer from acidosis.

Foundering is a result of these physiological changes within hooved animals. The technical term for problem is laminitis, and refers to the physical separation of the hoof wall and rotation of the coffin bone. So rather than a deer walking on the ends of its hooves, it walks on the sides of its hooves. This causes improper wear and hooves lengthen.

Photos: Deer with Foundered Hooves

Foundering and Deer Mobility

White-tailed deer than have foundered, long hooves will often walk on the backs of their hooves because the acid buildup agitates the growth plate in their hooves. As a result of the deer attempting to ease the pain, the hooves grow longer than normal because the hooves do not have proper contact with the ground.

Without proper contact hoof-ground contact, the hooves do not wear down as they normally would. This problem can be exacerbated on “soft” soils such as clay and sand because hoof wear in deer is already decreased in these areas.

Acorns As White-tailed Deer Food

Acorns. We know white-tailed deer like to eat them and that they serve as an important fall and winter food item for deer, but how good are they really? This question crossed my mind as I sat in my bow stand intently listening for deer walking quietly through the leaves, but all I heard over and over again was snap, thud, snap, thud, snap… acorns! Live oak acorns, the dominant oak in my neck of the woods, have been falling for a couple of weeks and they are still going strong.

Acorns are rich in nutrients although quality varies between oak species. One thing I do know is that all acorns contain high amounts of fats, carbohydrates, and good amounts of protein, too. From what I have researched, one ounce of dried acorn has on average 140 calories, of which 9 grams is fat, 15 grams is carbohydrate, and 2 grams is protein. Using some simple math, that means a whopping 50% (72 calories) of the caloric intake is from fat! Now you now why deer pig out on them prior to the onset of winter. But the buck doesn’t stop there. Continue reading “Acorns As White-tailed Deer Food”

Deer Habitat Should Provide Deer Foods

Each landowner or property manager must recognize the habitat needs of white-tailed deer on a continual basis and direct management towards meeting those needs. Since white-tailed deer have a relatively small home range of about ½ to 1 mile in radius over an annual basis, all of their needs for growth, reproduction, and cover must be met within this unit. Deer management is about food management–as in habitat.

Whitetail will seldom move from within their home range to meet their needs, even though better conditions may exists in the surrounding area! Deer are very versatile in their feeding habits and will eat a wide variety of items, including fruits, browse, forbs, agricultural crops, and even small amounts of grass. Deer “perform” best in habitat where a great variety of preferred food items are present. Continue reading “Deer Habitat Should Provide Deer Foods”

Competition Between Whitetail and Exotic Deer

Exotic deer were first imported into North America during the 1900’s and are now found throughout most of the white-tailed deer’s range in the United States. The number of exotics increased rapidly in the 1950’s. In Texas alone, the last exotic survey was performed in 1996 — and at that time there were an estimated 190,000 animals and 76 different species. Current estimates put the statewide number of exotic ungulates at 250,000!

Research has examined food habits of axis, sika, fallow, blackbuck antelope, and aoudad sheep — and data conclusively found that most exotics directly compete with white-tailed deer. Exotic deer, like whitetail, either preferred forbs or preferred browse, but could perform well on grass, as well. Regular readers of Buck Manager know that white-tailed deer prefer forbs when they are available, but as forbs become unavailable, they shift their diet to browse. Continue reading “Competition Between Whitetail and Exotic Deer”

Habitat Management and Supplemental Feeding Work Together

Managing for proper nutrition in white-tailed deer is important for good body condition, good fawn production and recruitment, and maximum antler growth. Good nutrition can be accomplished by doing three things that involve proper habitat management, supplemental feeding, and the planting of food plots. If you want to kick your deer management program in to high gear, I recommend sound habitat management practices in addition to supplemental feeding through either protein pellets or food plots.

Most everyone is familiar with the benefits of supplemental feeding (high-protein food, often pellets), but it can be expensive and it promotes the urge to artificially maintain excessive numbers of deer. With that said, supplemental feeding is not a bad thing, but it must be combined with other sound deer population management practices. Continue reading “Habitat Management and Supplemental Feeding Work Together”