I have been doing some homework on the whitetail diet during various times of year, and have yet to determine their consumption rate of Osage Fruit. I have heard they wait until after the first freeze and thaw of the fruit to eat it because it loses much of its bitter aroma (and taste I assume). I have seen the fruit in different locations where I hunt in KY split open and chewed on. Im not quite sure if Whitetail are the culprit, or if its tree-rats. If anyone has some evidence or personal experience in the matter I would like you input.
There are a lot of Osage Orange trees (Hedge as we call them in Illinois) where I hunt . I have never seen a deer even sniff a hedge apple. Squirrels will peel of all of the outer layer and eat the little ping pong ball sized "seed" in the middle.
Hedge apples are the lowest of the low in whitetail diet. Late winter food source that they will avoid until nothing else is available.
They stomp and bite open the ball and eat the seeds inside. When you see a hedge apple that looks like it was run over by a lawn mower, most likely a deer did it, and he's in hard times.
Aint gotem down here in NC, I hunt in ohio so when I seen them I didnt know what they were. Then I seen them on a hunting showing, they called them horse apples. So I googles the name, kinda cool looking fruit.
Go check a hedge row. You will find that deer love hedge leaves and will create a browseline. Deer will eat the hedgeballs in late season, but squirrels hammer them all year long.
ckc
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