The Ruminant Stomach, Part 3

Putting Your Knowledge to Practice

By WHITETAIL INSTITUTE STAFF

         It was about 2:30 p.m. on a cool, calm late-October day. The oaks and the hickories were at peak color, and the leaf drop was at the perfect stage when just enough leaves were on the ground while enough clung to the branches, producing wonderful dimension and brilliance.

         The pre-rut was underway, and bucks that had gone unseen for a year were starting to emerge. It was a glorious time. You might think I was perched in my favorite treestand, but I was sitting through an agonizing lecture in a statistics class, listening to the professor drone on about the x- and y-axis and some other nonsense. Honestly, I only caught every third or so sentence from the squat, balding, bespectacled man.

My attention was focused outside on the college commons, where there were some gorgeous old oaks along with not-so-old animal life.

         “Mr. Harper, would you care to explain to me the basis of the statistical theory we have been discussing,” the professor said.

         Busted.

         After the humiliation began to fade, I started to wonder why I needed to know that junk. I was sure I'd never use it. Like most things I was sure about then, I learned later I was wrong. Statistics came in pretty handy later in life. Since college, I've learned knowledge is almost never wasted and can often be applied — if you know how to apply it.

         In Part 1 of this series, we learned how a deer’s digestive system works by examining the integral parts of a ruminant system. From the mouth, through the four-chambered stomach to the small intestine, we discovered the specificity and efficiency of a ruminant animal. In Part 2, we zeroed in on the particulars of a deer’s ruminant system compared to more commonly known ruminants, such as cattle. We examined the differences between small ruminants (deer) and large ruminants (cattle), and how even though both are ruminants, they have distinct differences in nutrient and forage-quality needs.

         In Part 3, we'll put our knowledge into practice. We will evaluate how understanding a deer digestive system can help in the layout and design of a food plot and how those plots can be more effective. Also, from understanding the difference between a small ruminant and large ruminant, we will determine what types of forages are best in food plots.

Using Your Knowledge: Food-Plot Design

         You might have heard that the best food-plot designs for hunting are typically small and irregularly shaped. The size is dictated by the area between cover (that is, timber, brush or any habitat that provides protection and seclusion). Likewise, the shape of the plot is dictated by cover, as the field-edge line follows the cover-edge line. Of course, that can be manipulated if the land manager clears cover with a saw or dozer. The general philosophy is that small, irregularly shaped plots will encourage more daylight feeding. Because this food plot design allows for maximum edge production (edge equals the area between two habitat types; in this case, cover and feeding), deer are more likely to frequent these areas because deer are predominantly edge dwellers. But why do deer prefer edges?

         In Part 1, we discussed how deer ruminate. Rumination is the process of bolus regurgitation and remastication of food in a pseudo digesta recycling system. A deer bites off food and masticates the food by grinding it with its molars. The food particles then move down the esophagus, through the reticulum into the rumen. Inside the rumen, microbial colonies begin to break down these food particles into compounds that can be digested. Other digesta move through the rumen and omasum into the abomasum, where gastric digestion occurs.

         Those nutrients are considered bypass nutrients because they bypass rumen fermentation. Aside from foods that are quickly digested through rumen fermentation and those that bypass fermentation and move into the abomasum, there is another portion of food that is not completely digested. These form a bolus that's regurgitated, chewed and swallowed. This is a cyclic process that lets the deer get as much as possible out the food it consumes. Digestion efficiency is not the only attribute of the rumination process. Another is that it gives deer a valuable protection mechanism. Deer can fill their rumen quickly and then return to protective cover to complete the digestion process through rumination. If you watch deer feed, they will usually feed for a relatively brief period and then go to cover to ruminate.

         One reason deer prefer edges is it lets them use rumination as a protective function. Planting small, irregular-shaped food plots maximizes edge habitat and thus maximizes deer movement into the feeding area as they go through the feeding and rumination cycle.

         Once, a guy asked me how to make deer use a plot less in daylight because he did not want to create a virtual killing field. Instead, he was looking for more of a feeding-type food plot. I told him to plant a large field in the middle of a clearing, leaving at least 40 to 50 yards of bare ground between cover and the food plot. He asked why. I told him deer would feel vulnerable in the bare area and were less likely to feed in daylight and return to cover to ruminate. Rather, they would wait for darkness, move to the food plot to feed and then probably bed down on the spot and ruminate.

Using Your Knowledge: Forage Selection

            A couple of years ago, I purchased a new all-terrain vehicle. It was the first time I had bought a new motorized vehicle, and I was determined to take care of it. After breaking in the motor, I went to an auto/cycle shop to get oil and a filter for a do-it-yourself oil change. I stared blankly at the myriad choices for oil and finally grabbed one because I had used the same basic type in my truck. (OK, I know that sounds stupid, but I was a novice.)

         A knowledgeable and slightly bemused sales guy asked what I was planning to do with the oil. I told him, and he promptly began to spew out reasons why that was a bad decision, and then directed me to a product that would work better. That's an example of how often people choose products based on little more than familiarity. Working with people planting food plots, I see that often. They go to the local feed-and-seed store, look around and eventually buy a bag of hay alfalfa, red hay clover or some type of pasture mix. They think if works well for cows, why wouldn’t it work well for deer?

         In Part 2, we examined the distinct differences between large ruminants (cattle) and small ruminants (deer). Large ruminants have a larger rumen than small ruminants. That supports exponentially larger populations of microorganisms and has more surface area for digestion. Those factors let large ruminants efficiently use a wide variety of vegetation, in terms of forage species variety and variety of quality.

         Deer, however, must be much more specific in the type and quality of forages they consume. In general, cattle can use almost all types of grasses, legumes and forbs, no matter the maturity or characteristics of stems and leaves. Cattle can contently graze on foot-high grass and receive excellent nutrition. Further, cattle can efficiently digest alfalfa hay that was mowed and baled when the alfalfa was mature and had predominately stems. Further, cattle can survive on stemmy, poor-quality hay and even corn-stover bales.

         In contrast, deer require and prefer forages that are vegetative, heavily leaved and with soft, low-lignin content stems. That's because they lack the ability to digest low-quality forages, mature forages or plant types high in neutral detergent fiber, like most grasses.

         Another distinction is the difference in nutrient needs. Deer generally have higher nutrient needs than cattle. That's especially true for protein and minerals. When choosing a food-plot forage for deer, you must consider the previously mentioned important forage characteristics. First, you want to choose a forage that will stay vegetative for as long as possible and produce little seed. That helps maintain a high level of attractiveness and digestibility. Second, you want to use a food-plot product that's high in nutrients such as protein (protein levels are especially important in spring and summer).

         Most “food-plot” blends consist of forage types designed for cattle. Those forage types are designed to grow quickly and mature quickly for optimal cattle grazing or hay production. Those attributes work well for cattle because cattle can digest that type of forage. Further, cattle forages have adequate nutrients for cattle but are normally far below the nutrient needs of deer. So just because the forage is good for cattle doesn't mean it will be good for deer.

         If you want to have optimal attraction coupled with optimal nutrition, you must select food-plot products designed for deer. That philosophy is the main reason for the success of the Whitetail Institute’s product line and their leadership position for 20 years. Here are a couple of examples:

         Imperial Whitetail Clover was the result of a clover genetics program to develop a clover variety with the characteristics needed by deer. Imperial Clover was designed to stay vegetative for a long period and produce little seed. Because Imperial Clover stays in a vegetative state indefinitely, it remains highly attractive and digestible. It was also designed to have a very high level of protein. The result was a clover that produces up to 35 percent protein every month. Compare that to other clovers. Many top out at around 20 percent protein and only for a brief period.

         Imperial Alfa-Rack Plus is based on a specific blend of alfalfa varieties known as grazing alfalfas, which are bred to stay vegetative longer, have thinner stems and be heavier leafed. Compared to traditional alfalfa, which is bred to mature quickly and have a heavy stem, grazing alfalfas remain more attractive and higher in nutrients long after hay-variety alfalfas are of little use to deer.

Conclusion

         Acquiring knowledge about a subject can help you make better decisions and choices. It also helps you understand why things work the way they do. As I said earlier, knowledge is never wasted — well, at least not most of the time. I'm not sure when I'll need my knowledge of early American folk writers, which I picked up in an English literature class. Maybe on Jeopardy?