I went to Cal poly to study animal science; and large part of my curriculum and interest was in animal nutrition and diet formulation. I am also currently a 2nd year veterinary student, which means i don't know a whole lot, but I will write some gibberish for you guys to justify my vet school tuition. It makes me sleep better at night.
I'll give you the short story on feeding concentrates to ruminants (deer, goats, and cows are pretty damn similar concerning their digestive tracts and how they react to feeds)...
The problem with feeding a diet consisting largely in part of concentrates (Corn in this case) is that it can and will cause a dramatic shift in the bacterial population in the ruminant's stomach. The stomach will over a relatively short duration of time become much much more acidic.
As humans, we think of acidic stomachs as being normal, but deer and cows (ruminants) have special parts of their stomach that are supposed to be free of acid.
So in the case of feeding primarily concentrates, the bacteria and protozoans that thrive on eating concentrates (corn) rise in numbers, and their biproducts are acid.
This acid will kill / displace the other types of bacteria and protozoa that would normally break down grass (cellulose).
The problem here is that the bacteria and protozoa that break down grass (cellulose) are the ones that contribute the most to the energy supply of ruminants. Grass is broken down into Volatile Fatty Acids known as VFA's.
These VFA's (volatile fatty acids) are then converted in the liver into glucose, which is the energy source that animals use to fuel their bodies.
So now lets talk about the bad stuff that happens as a result of the "grass bacteria" dying, and the "corn bacteria" proliferating.
The acidic environment makes the deer produce a lot more buffer (bicarbonate) than it normally would, and eventually it runs out of buffer. The animal's blood then becomes too acidic --> Bad stuff (death).
At the same time, the deer isn't getting the VFA's (volatile fatty acids that "grass bacteria" produce) that are turned into glucose (the bodies main energy source).
As a result, the body panics and goes into an emergency survival mode and begins producing ketone bodies (a really shitty, alternate energy source for emergencies only that increases blood acid concentration... It isn't mean to operate for a long time).
Too many ketone bodies build up, and the deer's enzymes that make life possible stop working. The acidity of the deer's blood increases at the same time (and we talked earlier about how there isn't any buffer left to keep this from happening).
So again... Ketoacidosis happens... Acidity of blood increases --> Death (if this happens for a short, but somewhat extended period of time).
So feeding too much concentrate = Bad
It would be better, but also more of a pain in the ass, to feed a mix that didn't consist of just concentrates.
But if the deer seem to be living long enough to harvested, then why mess with it? If you start finding dead deer in and around your property that don't have bullet holes in them, then maybe i would think about changing things up a bit.
As a quick side note; try not to waste money buying high protein feed (soybean meal); It sounds like a great idea, but the deer won't use the protein.
They get their protein source by eating the dead bacteria and protozoans that wash out of the top compartments of their stomach into the rest of their digestive tract.
The microbes (bacteria and protozoans) get the first shot at everything you feed; so the protein would essentially be wasted (never get to the deer's main absorption mechanism).
Last edited by Gflo; 06/03/12 02:08 PM.
