The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a highly adaptable herbivore distributed across diverse North American environments. Its success is largely attributed to an opportunistic and flexible diet, allowing it to thrive in habitats ranging from dense forests to suburban landscapes. Understanding the specific plants this species consumes is important for ecological management, agricultural protection, and mitigating human-deer conflicts. Deer are classified as concentrate selectors, meaning they choose foods that are highly digestible and rich in nutrients, rather than grazing on large volumes of low-quality forage. This selective browsing habit reflects local plant availability and their current physiological needs.
Defining the Major Food Categories
A white-tailed deer’s diet can be categorized into three primary structural types of plant matter: browse, forbs, and mast. Browse refers to the tender, woody parts of shrubs, trees, and vines, including the leaves, twigs, and buds. This category is a reliable, year-round component of the diet, acting as a nutritional anchor, especially when other food sources are scarce.
Forbs are non-woody, broad-leaved herbaceous plants, often described as wildflowers or weeds. These plants are highly sought after because they offer the best balance of protein and water content, making them extremely digestible and nutritionally dense. While preferred by deer, their availability is seasonal and dependent on growing conditions, meaning they are not a consistent food source throughout the year.
The third category, mast, includes the fruits, nuts, and seeds produced by woody plants. Mast is separated into hard mast (acorns and hickory nuts), which is packed with carbohydrates and fats for dense energy, and soft mast (fruits and berries like apples or blackberries), which is high in sugars and starches. Mast is seasonally limited but highly prized, used primarily for building up energy reserves.
How Diet Shifts Throughout the Year
The feeding habits of white-tailed deer are synchronized with seasonal plant growth cycles and changing metabolic demands. In the spring and early summer, the diet shifts to maximize protein intake to support rapid growth and recovery. Bucks require high protein levels for the rapid development of new antlers.
Does need high-protein forage to recover from winter stress, support late-stage gestation, and produce milk for nursing fawns. This demand leads them to consume large quantities of new growth and forbs, which are at their peak nutritional value. A lactating doe’s protein requirement can increase significantly, often requiring a diet of 16 to 18% protein.
As summer moves into late fall, the dietary focus changes from protein to carbohydrates and fats. Deer seek high-energy mast to accumulate fat reserves necessary for surviving the breeding season (rut) and the ensuing winter. Acorns from white oaks are particularly favored due to their high carbohydrate content and lower tannin levels compared to red oak varieties. This shift helps bucks recover body mass lost during the rut and provides the necessary fuel for does to sustain pregnancy through the cold months.
During the winter, when plant life is dormant, the deer’s diet is a survival strategy focused on minimizing energy expenditure. They rely heavily on woody browse, consuming the terminal twigs and buds of trees and shrubs. Any residual hard mast, such as leftover acorns, becomes an important energy supplement. While winter browse is lower in nutritional quality, it provides a consistent source of fiber until spring growth returns.
Highly Preferred and Naturally Avoided Plants
Deer exhibit distinct preferences for certain plants, often referred to as “deer candy,” which they seek out and consume first. These preferred plants are typically tender, succulent, and high in readily digestible nutrients. Common garden favorites like hostas, daylilies, and tulips are frequently browsed, as are specific agricultural crops such as soybeans and corn.
In natural settings, the tender new growth of certain shrubs and trees is selectively targeted, including species like arborvitae, yew, and some varieties of honeysuckle. The consumption of these favorites can significantly alter the composition of a forest understory or destroy a garden bed. This preference is driven by palatability and the ease of digestion.
Conversely, white-tailed deer generally ignore plants that possess natural defense mechanisms, such as strong odors, tough textures, or toxic compounds. Plants with aromatic foliage, like lavender, sage, and ornamental onions, are often avoided because their strong scent is unappealing. Highly fibrous or tough plants, such as ferns and many ornamental grasses, are not preferred because they are difficult to digest and provide fewer available nutrients.
Deer also possess an innate ability to avoid many toxic plants, though this is not absolute. Common garden plants containing irritating or poisonous compounds, including daffodils, foxglove, and certain rhododendrons, are usually left untouched. If food scarcity becomes severe, driven by high deer density or harsh weather, deer will consume nearly any available vegetation, including species they normally avoid.