Deers have a vegetarian diet that is plant-rich. According to many researchers, most deer species love a wide range of fruits, grass, twigs, nuts, savor acorns, etc.
Today we are focusing on “Do deer eat pumpkins?” and the answer to this question is “Yes”. Although pumpkin is not commonly found in the wild, deers like pumpkins. They love to eat pumpkin guts and pumpkin seeds.
As their diet consists of fruits and vegetables, pumpkin is an ideal food for them. It provides the required nutrients and energy to encourage growth.
You may be thinking what deers love pumpkins so much. This article will give you the answer.
Are pumpkins good food for deer?
Deers can eat pumpkins without much effort. When the pumpkins are fully grown, it is harder for the deers to eat them. Every part of a pumpkin has a different nutritional value. The highlighted nutrient here is fiber. Fiber is responsible for good digestion and great bone health. The seeds provide good fats that help to survive in harsh winters. Although a rotten pumpkin is unsafe for deer to eat. If you are planning to feed a deer pumpkin, just make sure it is not rotten.
As we have mentioned above, pumpkins have great nutritional value. A 100 grams of pumpkin can provide 26 calories to the animal. It is also rich in Vitamin A which helps in bone development.
Let us see detailed nutrients, vitamins, and mineral percentages in 100 grams of pumpkin.
| Nutrients | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Saturated Fat | 0.1g/0% |
| Calories | 26/100 grams |
| Cholesterol | 0% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0% |
| Protein | 1g/2% |
| Sugar/Fiber | 2% |
| Carbohydrate | 7g/2% |
| Vitamin A | 170% |
| Vitamin B-6 | 5% |
| Vitamin C | 15% |
| Vitamin D | 0% |
| Minerals | Percentage |
| Iron | 4% |
| Magnesium | 3% |
| Sodium | 1mg/0% |
| Cobalamin | 0% |
| Calcium | 2% |
| Potassium | 340mg/9% |
Is it ok to feed wild deer pumpkins?
Generally, it is safe to feed wild deer pumpkins. In fact, many shelters and zoos ask for pumpkins as donations for the animals. Pumpkins contain nutrients like vitamins A, B, C, fiber, protein, etc. All these components are not harmful to wild deers.
According to David Mizejewski(a Naturalist in National Wildlife Federation), it is not a great idea to feed wild deers because it makes them dependent on humans for food. This can create a nutritional deficiency in them. But you can leave the pumpkins outside for them will not cause a problem.
The Georgia Department for Natural Resources advises placing small pumpkins around the home for wild deers and other animals. You can cut a larger pumpkin into pieces and place them distantly.
How do you prepare a deer for pumpkins?
Deers love pumpkins. But if a pumpkin is something new for a deer, then you will have to encourage the deer to eat it. Encouraging by means of adding food that deers love.
Pumpkins are safe for deers until they are rotten. You can also feed the Halloween pumpkins to the deer. Just makes sure that it does not have a candle or wax stuck to it. Cut the pumpkins into small pieces and place them in the yard.
The signs of rotten pumpkins are:
- Discolored spots on the surface of pumpkin
- White and black mold can be seen
- It starts melting
It can take some weeks for a pumpkin to start rotting. Once it does, you could compost the pumpkin or bury it below the dirt.
By slicing the pumpkin into small chunks and burying them, you could feed creepy crawlies and be freed from the stench! All varieties of bugs and worms can enjoy the vitamins of pumpkins, and this will make the soil greater fertile.
Just ensure you don’t bury any seeds by accident, or you may develop your very own pumpkins.
If deer eat pumpkins, will it kill them?
As I have already said there are no present facts that suggest ingesting pumpkins is dangerous or risky for deers. However, I would say that it is a good source of essential nutrients for the deers.
It is like eating a cake for deers. A little bit is OK, however, you wouldn’t need to consume cake all of the time as it might have long-term bad facet effects.
Deers consume pumpkins in diverse levels of being over-ripe and they pass on ingesting pumpkins that had been showing clean symptoms of deterioration and rot.
Deers have a point in which pumpkin will become too ripe or decaying for them to consume, and they’ll deliberately pass on ingesting it.
How do you keep deers away from your pumpkins?
People with a pumpkin garden or a patch that grows the fruit are concerned about deer consuming pumpkins. There are only a few approaches you could forestall those animals from eating your pumpkins.
The first and simplest manner is to get a canine to guard your garden or patch. Deer typically do now no longer cross into places in which they experience threatened. During the hunting season, they disguise themselves at the sight of an oncoming vehicle or human. A canine will hold deer far away from your pumpkin patch or garden.
The second choice is to construct a fence around your pumpkin garden or patch. It will prevent deer from breaking into your lawn and could therefore guard pumpkins and different vegetation. Make sure to construct the fence excessively and strongly due to the fact deer are known to be superb jumpers. A net around a garden with pumpkin vegetation is likewise an excellent idea.
Along with deer, it’s going to additionally keep mice, birds, moles, and squirrels out, who additionally like to consume pumpkin seeds.
The third choice is to apply deer repellent. There are many powders and sprays designed to preserve deer from pumpkins. Deer do not love the heady fragrance and may not consume pumpkins with that odor around them.
Final words
Deer enjoy consuming pumpkins and they may be a completely healthful part of their diet. You’ll find that the deer select gentle pumpkin parts like seeds, guts, flowers, and leaves.
You can provide up old jack-o-lanterns for deer to devour after Halloween. But make certain you ease them up and make it secure for deer to devour.
Try not to draw deer into your backyard to consume. Instead, take the pumpkin to them as opposed to attracting them to consume in city areas. If you’ve got a pumpkin patch, then attempt to use techniques to discourage deer so they’ll depart your plants alone.