HK wrote:
Wayne.B wrote:
On Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:51:56 -0500, HK wrote:

The deer go for "deer corn" and "deer apples," both of which are sold
around here for next to nothing.

Why anyone would want to attract deer is beyond me. Just plant some
expensive landscaping and you'll have more than enough. They consider
it gourmet food and will invite all of their cousins over for dinner.



Perhaps you could back that Floating RV up to the shoreline, mount some
hi-end loudspeakers, and tell the farmers and their customers around
here why they should stop growing and selling deer corn and deer apples.

I'm sure they'd all listen carefully to you, before bursting out into
uncontrollable laughter.

Yes, deer eat landscaping. They prefer corn and apples.



Actually they prefer what nature intended them to eat, what is available
naturally. They need a varied diet, they don't need an redneck feeding
them. It is actually the worst thing anyone can do.

CORVALLIS - Many people feed deer, raccoons and other suburban wildlife,
thinking they are helping these animals out by providing food.
Don't feed the wildlife in your yard, say wildlife biologists,
including Oregon State University professor Dan Edge, and Jeff Picton,
director of the Chintimini Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Corvallis.
Providing food for wild animals is not a good idea because:
Supplemental feeding encourages wildlife to become dependent on handouts
that are not a part of their natural diets.
Juvenile animals become used to depending on humans and may never
develop normal foraging behavior.
They could starve if the artificial food sources are removed. Human
foods are usually nutritionally
inadequate for wildlife and may lead to health problems.
Wildlife may lose their fear of humans and pets, leading to
unfortunate encounters with aggressive pets and humans.
Wild animals being fed supplementally may congregate in unnaturally
high numbers, increasing the chances of
disease transmission.
To discourage wild animals from foraging near your house, Edge and
Picton recommend that
homeowners keep garbage cans tightly shut. Rinse cans and bottles for
recycling thoroughly before
putting them out for curbside pick up.
Keep your compost pile fenced from animals. This may not keep all
animals (such as rodents) out,
but it will help. Or used a closed compost container.
Feed your pets indoors, or take outdoor food bowls in at night.

Put livestock and poultry in pens at night.