Do deer eat their sheds?

[Muleys32]

This came up in a different thread so figured I would throw it out there. I don't want to pick a side as I want to know what other people think on this one. Do deer eat sheds?

 

[8andcounting]

Buzzh just posted some pics on the other thread of proof that in fact they will if hungry enough . It was a shocker to me by it is indeed true

 

[Big Fin]

I've seen it many times. I often wondered why, but it surely happens.

 

[SFC B]

I wonder if it is a case of having some mineral missing from the diet or just plain hunger?

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

You wouldn't believe what they'll try to eat during a killer winter. Hunting is the last thing on your mind after experiencing what they go through, at least for some. Antlerradar lives with those deer, his word is good enough for me.

 

[BuzzH]

Yes...and there is no doubt that deer did this. It was also during the severe winter of 96/97 and lots of deer died that year too.

 

[BuzzH]

You wouldn't believe what they'll try to eat during a killer winter. Hunting is the last thing on your mind after experiencing what they go through, at least for some. Antlerradar lives with those deer, his word is good enough for me.

Agreed, its not much fun to witness and I wish more people that hunt were forced to see what a bad winter does and what animals endure.

I think about that every time I kill a mature animal, or any animal for that matter.

For me, its pronghorn...I'll see them all balled up on the prairie in the middle of a blizzard, covered in snow in January, with 2 foot sage brush as "cover", in double digit below zero temps, and think, "Most people that hunt pronghorn have no idea the total shit these critters go through".

I think if hunters witnessed that, they may have a bit more respect for wildlife...I know I sure do.

 

[Doublecluck]

Only the ones interested in “enhancement”... if you want to be a buck of the ladies... eat your horns..

 

[Muleys32]

That's crazy! Thanks for sharing the pics Buzz. You learn new things everyday!

 

[Redman]

I watched a cow elk chew on a bone of either a bovine cow or a elk. All sorts of animals eat bones and sheds for the calcium.

 

[brownbear932008]

I have never thought about it before but it makes perfect sense though in a tough winter. I have seen several smaller critters chewing on them.

 

[dihardhunter]

Yep, nerding out a bit on some bio-ecological terminology for a second, but the proper term is osteophagia. Good recent peer-reviewed pub came out documenting osteophagia in red deer and linked the behavior to nutritionally-stressed seasons of the annual cycle.

Patterns of antler consumption reveal osteophagia as a natural mineral resource in key periods for red deer (Cervus elaphus) - Gambin et al. 2017

 

[Bambistew]

I've found deer, elk, moose and caribou horns chewed on by ungulates. I'm not sure its dependent upon being a bad winter or why, as I usually find 1-2 every year that are chewed. I am also convinced that coyotes, wolves, and fox also chew on antlers, and of course bears, after seeing a domestic dog eat an antler and how they splinter.

 

[Elkmagnet]

Why do you figure an ungulate chewed those antlers?
I'm sure it happens it's just how often and is there a reason. I've seen enough ungulates die from eating plastic bags, ribbons and twine to know it happens. Sometimes I think they just eat/chew stuff to try it. People say horses will chew a wood fence if they lack dietary salt but some just have a habit of chewing wood.
In my experience ungulates are both curious like a baby and habitual like a crotchety old man.
I have picked up a lot of chewed sheds I always assumed it was k9's and rodent's. I'll start looking a little closer maybe I can find evidence of the perp.

 

[p_ham]

I saw a video of a deer eating a bird.

 

[Muleys32]

I would be curious what the porcupine bites look like?

 

[huronmtns]

Possibly like this.

 

[huronmtns]

For some reference of scale to the above image.

 

[Hummer]

I have read journal articles that documented White-tailed Deer having eaten both dead and live birds from mist nets set for bird banding.

Chew marks on bones and antlers in the forest are pretty common. I expect it's for the minerals they offer.

 

[CampRipleyLF]

Chew yes, eat the actual shed is unlikely. But some times I wonder when the sign is there but there is not sheds......