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	*Whitetail Feeding Habits All Year Long* Springtime in Missouri is full of outdoor things to do, and my family and I are usually trying to take full advantage of every opportunity. Between the fishing, turkey hunting, and visits to State Parks and Conservation areas, we are busy. Throw in Little League baseball, the taxidermy shop, and keeping the farm up, I think I can say without a bit of hesitation that we are busy. Lately I have been fishing quite a bit, mostly on Big River near our home, chasing those smallmouth bass around. The bite is starting to pick up, as it is late April and the bluegill, largemouth bass, kentucky bass, and smallmouth are starting to hit fairly well. My kids and I have went a couple times already, and they both have caught several nice bass. I scored on an unsuspecting jake opening day of turkey season, and after checking the turkey in online, I have to admit I felt a little awkward. I think I miss the check station, with all the excitement of bragging and looking at other hunters harvests. The mushrooms are somewhere out there, but with the exception of a couple morels, I haven't found a lot of them yet. To be honest, all this is exciting, fun, and enjoyable, but my whitetail deer clock is still ticking throughout the year. My "cabin fever" for deerhunting is prevalent all year long. I have been steadily moving treestands, fixing old treestands, replenishing all of our deer mineral licks, scouting for spring and early summer deer trails and browsing lanes, and last but not least, looking for shed antlers. I have several farms in Jefferson County that I hunt, as well as two in Northern Missouri. It could easily be a full time job if I could just figure out how to quit my 9 to 5 job and still pay ALL the bills! I want to talk about whitetail deer feeding habits and their diets during the spring, summer, and fall seasons. I will especially key in on the growing season, which is right now, namely April through late May. The information I'm about to pass on I have gathered from personal observations, as well as various articles, videos, and books throughout the past several years. I hope it will help, if not at the very least be some good information you can store upstairs in your " whitetails" library inside your head. While the different varieties of food that whitetails consume in the Midwest (including Missouri) is large, there are several favorites they prefer to eat. Whitetail researchers have found that deer eat over 500 different types of plants in North America. To keep their bodies healthy and in balance, deer eat a balanced diet of plants in their home range. Whitetail deer eat six to eight pounds of food per day for every 100 pounds of body weight. When Spring takes over and the woods come to life with growing plants, deer have a variety of choices from which to choose from. The list of plants that they will eat include: ferns, grasses, greenbriars, honeysuckle, dogwood leaves and berries, poison ivy (that's right!), sumac, and many other types of woody, herbaceous plants. Look on ridges, edges of old trails or clearcuts for obvious signs of deer browsing. Mushrooms are another type of food that deer add to their diet. Mushrooms are very nutritious, and as far as we know, several species of mushrooms that are deadly for man to eat are harmless to deer. Now lets talk about my favorite whitetail deer chow, agricultural crops. These are available to deer throughout the year, and include these listed and many more: clover, alfalfa, corn, winter wheat, apples, persimmons, oats, soybeans, milo, various hay fields and gardens alike! As we near the fall of the year, crops such as clover, alfalfa and winter wheat are major deer attractors as they stay green most of the winter. How could we leave out the mighty Acorn! By late summer you'll be able to see which trees are producing acorns by looking up and seeing the green colored acorns starting to mature. There have probably been more articles written about whitetail deer and acorns than any other subject, and there's probably a good reason for that! Acorns are high in carbohydrates, which provide deer with massive amounts of energy, as well as putting on extra body fat Acorns generally drop in October, but may fall as late as November. The general consensus is that whitetail deer prefer white oak acorns over red oak acorns. I have seen them feed heavily on both, so I will leave that subject open for discussion. White oaks include post oak, bur oak, swamp oak, and white oak. Their leaves are rounded and smooth. Most times, the bark is gray and scaly. Red oaks include black oak, pin oak, scrub oak, and red oak. The leaves have jagged, pointed edges tipped with bristles on the ends. The bark is dark and tunneled. They also eat other mast such as beechnuts and some types of hickory nuts. Whitetail deer also require different amounts of water depending on the season. In the Summer, whitetails are burning more calories and need 2 to 3 quarts per 100 pounds every day. In the Winter, they need about 1 1/2 quarts per 100 pounds per day. Salt also plays an important role. Deer need salt for vitamins and minerals, and should always be readily available for them. Most of this information is basic knowledge that most hunters already know. I just wanted to get your mind on deer, and maybe you learned a couple things you didn't know. I bet you had pictures of those bucks and does from last season pop up in your head, and your heart may start beating faster just thinking about those whitetails. See ya in the woods, written by Matt McAnally hunter profile-Keith Pinson \| Whitetail Feeding Habits All Year Long \| The Ridge Stand by Matt McAnally \| Off & Running--J.P. 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