With all the rage, I have yet to find really good evidence that deer actually like chestnuts. Feeding Horse Chestnut - Conkers. Once I finally got a camera in 2014, I immediately set it up in the back yard to see when I could capture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_glabra, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_hippocastanum, http://tree-species.blogspot.com/2009/03/edible-chestnuts-vs-horse-chestnuts.html. Horse Chestnuts. What the hell is a horse chestnut...they most likely are Chinese chestnut or possibly......rarely american chestnut. Hope this will help ya, I've seen deer eating chestnuts, and plan on getting some and planting them myself this spring. What is good for one species, is not necessarily true for another. It's possible that you've found a stand of blight-resistant American chestnuts which are VERY VERY RARE. Horsechestnut have … I absolutely plan to do some more of my own experimenting with it, but so far I have just not seen the results that Dr. Kroll talks about below. Along with some other fruit bearing trees Horsechestnut trees have a pin-wheel shaped leaf. Waterwise, spring flowers, fiery fall foliage, and leaves that resist summer scorch. Nutritional: Although horses shouldn't eat horse chestnuts, the nuts do provide nourishment to public enemies number 1 and number 2: deer and squirrels. Also on the lot are 4 chestnut trees that are very well established and drop a huge crop of chestnuts every year. Despite all the fun to be had with the seeds of a horse chestnut tree, they do have a more serious side. maxcam, Sep 12, 2011. (Hence the name: "buckeye" because of the resemblance to a buck deer's eye.") It's said deer will walk past acorns and etc to get to chestnuts. Up to 25 ft. fall and wide. Overview Information Horse chestnut is a tree. BUT. The following Aesculus species are reportedly toxic to animals; A. glabra ( Ohio buckeye), A. californica ( California buckeye), A. pavia (Red buckeye), A. octandra (Yellow buckeye), and the introduced species A. hippocastanum (Horse Chestnut). These nuts are slightly poisonous. if you've got a spot that has ACTUAL AMERICAN CHESTNUTS in it you'd better contact your local forest service. The buckeyes and horse chestnut are not related to the edible chestnut (Castanea spp. There are some animals that can safely eat conkers. Extract from the poisonous conkers contains aescin. Don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely no doubt that deer will eat chestnuts because I have picture proof as you can see above. . From the time I put it up to the time that I moved it to one of my hunting properties, I only got the one encounter with deer. So, during the summer I took a bunch of chestnuts that I had saved over the winter and put them out in our clover field in a pile to see what who would eat them. I was mostly competing with the squirrels and chipmunks. Despite its name, the horse chestnut is only distantly related to the common chestnut. They are poisonous to most animals too, including dogs, but some species such as deer and wild boar can eat them. The only thing that continued to give me hope was that I only had the camera up for about a month before I moved it so it is possible that I just missed the peak time. We have a tree that produces about 5 gallons of these beautiful dark shiny nuts each year - as far as I can tell they are ”horse chestnuts” which you can’t eat - but have no idea how to use them other than in glass tube with a candle. Chestnuts are supposedly the best nut bearing tree for deer. Conkers contain a poisonous chemical called aesculin. As for whether deer eat them, of course they do. Too say whether they are going to flock to your trees once they are producing is kinda up in the air. The leaves are easy to identify, they are canoe-shaped with deep teeth. Prior to me setting those chestnuts out, I had deer on camera and eating clover religiously. Medicinal: Horse chestnut extracts are used as herbal medicines. The only wildlife that can truly tolerate ingesting the buckeye nut is the squirrel. 2019/20 Deer Hunting Season: 1st Half – 1 Doe Down. I have been having a hard time finding the deer this year and while scouting this past sunday I came across a tree that has been dropping what believe are horse chestnuts, could someone tell me what one (horse chestnut) would look like and if deer eat them. I want to point out that because the chestnuts were set out during August rather than during October when they would naturally be falling could very well have played a role in my observations. Once first hearing about how deer love chestnuts, I got extremely excited and couldn’t wait to put up a camera to see for myself. Conkers can be mildly poisonous to many animals, causing sickness if eaten, … ... squirrels can and do eat them and don't seem to exhibit any effects from poisoning. As of right now, I’d say the jury is still out so I wouldn’t be so quick to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on chestnut trees for deer. We Can't thank you enough! However, they are too toxic for humans to eat and will make people unwell. As I said at the beginning, I know without a doubt that deer do eat chestnuts. Acorns, walnuts, beech nuts, chestnuts, hickory nuts, they will eat them all! For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You must log in or register to reply here. Page 1 ... Back up in Indiana I had several Horse Chestnut trees planted. Edible chestnuts belong to the genus Castanea and are enclosed in sharp, spine-covered burs. Horse chestnut contains significant amounts of a poison called esculin and can cause death if eaten raw. Man . ... it’s not true for all animals with deer and wild boar being a … However, deer have the capability of breaking down the toxins and are able to eat … At the time, I didn’t have a camera though, so I was only able to try and confirm it with tracks when there was snow on the ground. Edible Chestnuts come from Chestnut trees. Conkers are more commonly known as horse chestnuts. A beautiful specimen tree. Chestnuts can be a bit expensive, but they last for a long time and if you use them with a feeder you may only need to refill it once or twice through the whole season. Happy Hunting! Required fields are marked *. Horse chestnuts are pretty bitter not sure squirrels eat them or at least stash them away maybe you get a tree out of it Just noticed the beechnuts are starting to fall Large crop of acorns Both horse chestnut and edible chestnuts produce a brown nut, but edible chestnuts always have a … Chestnut Hill Outdoors sells Dunstan Chestnut seedlings, packaged for … Your email address will not be published. So the theory that deer will walk through white oaks to eat chestnuts is a futile discussion. • Most, if not all chestnuts drop in September. These two deer walked around for almost an hour eating chestnuts off the ground. Its seed, bark, flower, and leaves are used to make medicine. However, deer seem to be able to eat poisonous conkers without ill effect. Conkers are more commonly known as horse chestnuts. Sweet chestnut are segmented once you open the shell, about 4-6 in each shell, conkers are one round nut. How poisonous are horse chestnuts? Chestnuts tend to ripen very early for a nut crop. I plan on planting a few on our property down south solely because I have access to free trees, I just germinate them myself. They're not called horse chestnuts because horses eat them. The horse chestnut is an ornamental tree with white flowers that bloom in the spring. I just have been unable to determine whether or not it’s because there isn’t anything better available or if they actually do prefer chestnuts. Sit Drag Review – Can You Saddle Hunt With it? Some people call any of these plants horse chestnut. Leave a comment. . a commercial attractant based on chestnuts. It didn’t prove anything though because we never got snow until the majority of the chestnuts were gone anyway.
Depending on the temperature of the embers, this process can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes.Cooked nuts should be tender, sweet and peel easily. JavaScript is disabled. I did get deer tracks through the yard passing the trees, but there really wasn’t anything that would tell me if they were eating the chestnuts or not. Deer eat conkers. These two deer walked around for almost an hour eating chestnuts off the ground. 3 Simple Ways to Improve Fruit, Nut Trees for Deer Hunting | Steve Bartylla @deerhuntingmag - Duration: 5:49. Once I put the chestnuts out, I did not get a single picture on the camera for an entire week. • Nearly all wildlife, as well as humans, love chestnuts. Help! Deer eat conkers. Conkers can be mildly poisonous to many animals, causing sickness if eaten, although some animals can safely consume them, most notably deer and wild boar. The deer ate the chestnuts 100:1 over the acorns! | Zone: 4 – 8 Click here to support Deerhuntertips.com by purchasing your hunting equipment (or anything actually) through Amazon. In fact, there is even a commercial attractant based on chestnuts. Uses for Horse Chestnuts While you cannot safely eat horse chestnuts or feed them to livestock, they have medicinal uses. Deer and Deer Hunting 7,048 views
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