As the wild deer population continue to make their way into our towns and cities in search of food, human interaction is becoming more and more common and this is resulting in people reaching out to ask for advice on what they can and can’t feed deer.
We have already seen a number of questions from the community about feeding deer various foods but more and more people have been specifically asking if deer eat peanuts or not.
The number of people that we see reaching out and asking about feeding deer peanuts is increasing at such a rapid pace that we wanted to publish our own article to try and help as many of our readers as possible too.
We know that there is a large amount of discussion on social media about what you can and can’t feed a deer but most of the information you see on social media is incorrect.
We hope that our article will be able to help our readers feed their local deer population and answer any questions that you may have about feeding deer peanuts.
Our table of contents below should be able to help quickly and easily navigate our article and get to specific sections of the article to let you find the information that you need as quickly as possible.
Do Deer Eat Peanuts?
Deer will often eat peanuts that you offer them even if there are other food sources available suggesting that deer actually like eating peanuts.
Due to their high calorie content, feeding deer peanuts in the winter month when there is minimal food available can be a quick and easy way to give them some cheap calories too.
Due to their small size it is easy to individually feed deer peanuts one at a time if you are trying to gain its trust but most people will just feed the peanuts in bulk.
Different types of deer do seem to have their own preferences to foods but most all enjoy the taste of peanuts with some really enjoying them to go out of their way to eat peanuts that you put out for them.
Please note that you should only feed deer plain peanuts as the various flavourings and spices on peanuts can cause digestive upset in deer.
You can usually purchase plain peanuts online or in your local wholesalers for cheap too making peanuts a quick, easy, and cheap food that deer will eat.
Nutritional Values Of Peanuts For Deer!
The main advantage of peanuts for deer is their small size relative to the large number of calories that they offer.
On top of this, peanuts are also an excellent source of Biotin, Copper, Niacin, Folate, Manganese, Vitamin E, Thiamine, Phosphorus, Magnesium too with some of these vitamins and minerals often being efficient in the diet of a wild deer.
The majority of people who we see reaching out and asking if deer eat peanuts are looking to just casually feed their local deer rather than offer them a nutritionally complete food though.
Even though peanuts are surprisingly nutritionally dense, a specialist, cheap deer food is usually a better option for the deer if you do plan on feeding your local deer for a long period of time rather than as just a one-off event.
There are usually conservation efforts in many areas in North America and Europe to try and preserve the local deer populations too with may of them having groups on social media.
If you do want to become more involved in feeding your local deer then joining one of those groups can be an excellent idea as it can make it easy to plan a more balanced diet amounts the group member to offer a more nutritionally complete meal.
Can I Feed Deer Peanuts?
Many people do feed deer peanuts with most deer enjoying the taste of peanuts as well as it being a cheap and convenient food option if you are looking to feed your local deer.
Depending on the deer species in your local area and if it is mating season, it may not be a good idea to feed the deer though as males can end up having heightened levels of aggression.
Some areas have local laws or advisory notices to prohibit the feeding of wild deer too so always check the rules and regulations for your local area before you go out and feed your local deer peanuts too.
Many people think that these rules and notices are pointless but the majority of the time, they have been put into effect for good reason and that is usually to prevent the local deer population from becoming too friendly with humans and making their way further into towns and cities where there is a traffic risk.
As we touched on earlier in the article, many areas do have local deer conservation groups that are generally very easy to find on social media so you are able to go out and feed deer with other like-minded people too.
Some of these groups also have dedicated feeding areas where you are able to go to feed the deer in your area you peanuts too so this can help increase the chances of seeing deer when you go to feed them.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over if deer eat peanuts or not to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you understand why many people choose to feed deer peanuts all over the world. Not only are they a cheap and readily available food source but they are also good for deer and full of calories making them an excellent food source with most deer seeming to really enjoy the peanuts that people feed them too.
