The growing bone is covered with hairy skin called velvet which nourishes the antler. The bone hardens and the velvet is rubbed off in the fall. Bucks shed their antlers each winter. Deer consume a variety of vegetative foods and show considerable preferences for individual plants and plant parts. Commonly-eaten foods include grasses, fruits, nuts, herbs and mushrooms, as well as leaves and stems from trees and shrubs.
Deer concentrate their feeding on woody materials when herbaceous plants are unavailable.
Description of Damage Deer damage to agricultural crops and forest regeneration is a serious and widespread problem. Deer cause economic losses when males remove bark and branches from trees and shrubs during their fall and winter antler-rubbing activities. They may occasionally trample crops, but the primary form of damage consists of feeding on selected plant parts. Deer readily browse forage, grain and vegetable crops, fruit and nut trees, ornamental woody plants and flowers. Without control measures, damage levels may severely reduce crop yields on many sites.