It didn’t prove anything though because we never got snow until the majority of the chestnuts were gone anyway. However, deer seem to be able to eat poisonous conkers without ill effect. Help! 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. It's said deer will walk past acorns and etc to get to chestnuts. 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. 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. Horsechestnut trees have a pin-wheel shaped leaf. 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. Some hunters claim that deer in these regions are still genetically programmed to eat chestnuts over everything else, and a lot of hunters have reported a great amount of success with using them. 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 Click to see full answer. • Nearly all wildlife, as well as humans, love chestnuts. 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. All the assets of a horse chestnut with the unusual trait of bright-red autumn color. The only wildlife that can truly tolerate ingesting the buckeye nut is the squirrel. The buckeyes and horse chestnut are not related to the edible chestnut (Castanea spp. Required fields are marked *. Once the deer did start coming back, they did not seem to pay any attention to the chestnuts unless they happened to walk close enough to see them. Strangely, despite the … But once the deer find them, good luck trying to harvest your fair share! 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. Up to 25 ft. fall and wide. I’m sure that as with everything else, it’s going to come down to a time of year that the chestnuts probably could be preferred over other available food sources while during the rest of the year chestnuts fall low on the totem pole. 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. They will be very excited to know about it if they don't already. Despite its name, the horse chestnut is only distantly related to the common chestnut.   However, deer have the capability of breaking down the toxins and are able to eat … They begin as early as late August in the Deep South and even in the North they are usually all finished up by … Sweet chestnut are segmented once you open the shell, about 4-6 in each shell, conkers are one round nut. 3 Simple Ways to Improve Fruit, Nut Trees for Deer Hunting | Steve Bartylla @deerhuntingmag - Duration: 5:49. The nut of the poisonous horse-chestnut or buckeye is smooth brown with a circular, light-colored "eye" on one end. 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. Medicinal: Horse chestnut extracts are used as herbal medicines. These nuts are slightly poisonous. Chestnuts are supposedly the best nut bearing tree for deer. Acorns, walnuts, beech nuts, chestnuts, hickory nuts, they will eat them all! Some people call any of these plants horse chestnut. Also on the lot are 4 chestnut trees that are very well established and drop a huge crop of chestnuts every year. “People think it's called the horse chestnut because people think horses like to eat the chestnuts, but it's not, because they can be poisonous. A beautiful specimen tree. 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. Later, the tree produces green capsules that hold the horse chestnuts, or conkers. 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. Leave a comment. Hope this will help ya, In fact, there is even a commercial attractant based on chestnuts. ... squirrels can and do eat them and don't seem to exhibit any effects from poisoning. I unfortunately have come to an inconclusive decision so far. Larger animals including horses, cows and deer can become sick or die after eating buckeye nuts. However, they are too toxic for humans to eat and will make people unwell. They are poisonous to most animals too, including dogs, but some species such as deer and wild boar can eat them. Located on the inside of each leg of a horse is another chestnut. Click here to support Deerhuntertips.com by purchasing your hunting equipment (or anything actually) through Amazon. Hi. Edible Chestnuts come from Chestnut trees. Prior to me setting those chestnuts out, I had deer on camera and eating clover religiously. 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.  |  For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Chestnuts tend to ripen very early for a nut crop. As for whether deer eat them, of course they do. 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). If they did see them, they would check them out, but I could not tell if they actually ate them or not because the pile itself did not show up on the camera. Extract from the poisonous conkers contains aescin. The horse chestnut is an ornamental tree with white flowers that bloom in the spring. 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. So the theory that deer will walk through white oaks to eat chestnuts is a futile discussion. I know mammals readily eat Horse Chestnuts, deer, squirrels and small rodents, etc.. Horsechestnut trees have a pin-wheel shaped leaf. These include wild boars and deer. After my relatively failed attempt at seeing deer eat a bunch of chestnuts, I decided to try setting some out on the property down south. I was definitely disappointed. Zone: 4 – 8 The leaves are easy to identify, they are canoe-shaped with deep teeth. As I said at the beginning, I know without a doubt that deer do eat chestnuts. There are some animals that can safely eat conkers. Horse Chestnuts (Conkers) are semi-poisonous to humans, but can be eaten by deer and horses. Deer eat conkers. Along with some other fruit bearing trees American Chestnut trees will grow big enough to yield nuts, but then they will die from blight. Curiously, conkers are also poisonous to horses despite the tree being named after them. . Conkers contain a poisonous chemical called aesculin. We Can't thank you enough! February 9, 2016 The sweet taste of chestnuts even sweetens the meat of the animals that eat it. With all the rage, I have yet to find really good evidence that deer actually like chestnuts. Sit Drag Review – Can You Saddle Hunt With it? Are they safe for birds, if so, what species, and what is the best way of presenting them. Overview Information Horse chestnut is a tree. Nutritional: Although horses shouldn't eat horse chestnuts, the nuts do provide nourishment to public enemies number 1 and number 2: deer and squirrels. How poisonous are horse chestnuts? What is good for one species, is not necessarily true for another. Every single morning and afternoon. . Your email address will not be published. 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. I have seen a few get as big as 5-6" in diameter before dying. the only thing on the web that i found that looks like it is a sweet chestnut. Conkers are more commonly known as horse chestnuts. What the hell is a horse chestnut...they most likely are Chinese chestnut or possibly......rarely american chestnut. Horsechestnut have … Horse Chestnuts are considered in-edible. Waterwise, spring flowers, fiery fall foliage, and leaves that resist summer scorch. Chestnut Hill Outdoors sells Dunstan Chestnut seedlings, packaged for … These two deer walked around for almost an hour eating chestnuts off the ground. ... it’s not true for all animals with deer and wild boar being a … maxcam, Sep 12, 2011. Does deer eat buckeyes Discussion in 'Deer Hunting' started by bowhunter12, Sep 8, 2011. Over the last 3-5 years I’ve been hearing a lot about chestnut trees for deer and how good of an attractant they are for deer. You must log in or register to reply here. (Hence the name: "buckeye" because of the resemblance to a buck deer's eye.") I did some research for ya and have found multiple sites where people have observed deer and squirrels eating Horse Chestnuts that have fallen from there trees. Once I put the chestnuts out, I did not get a single picture on the camera for an entire week. With all the rage, I have yet to find really good evidence that deer actually like chestnuts. BUT. Be careful not to confuse Aesculus hippocastanum (Horse chestnut) with Aesculus californica (California buckeye) or Aesculus glabra (Ohio buckeye). The leaves are easy to identify, they are canoe-shaped with deep teeth. Conkers can be mildly poisonous to many animals, causing sickness if eaten, … Too say whether they are going to flock to your trees once they are producing is kinda up in the air. Happy Hunting! Eating a conker is unlikely to be fatal, but it may make you ill. Page 1 ... Back up in Indiana I had several Horse Chestnut trees planted. 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. Man . Despite all the fun to be had with the seeds of a horse chestnut tree, they do have a more serious side. Horse chestnut contains significant amounts of a poison called esculin and can cause death if eaten raw. Autumn Splendor Horse Chestnut. The toxic, inedible horse chestnuts have a fleshy, bumpy husk with a wart-covered appearance. Meanwhile, the Virginia Department of Forestry has been working with both groups, back-crossing pure American chestnuts to hybrid American chestnut trees. Horse chestnuts look similar to vestigial scent glands found in the deer and some other animals Chestnuts, when scratched with your fingernail, will release an excellent peppery like musky smell. a commercial attractant based on chestnuts. • Most, if not all chestnuts drop in September. Once I finally got a camera in 2014, I immediately set it up in the back yard to see when I could capture. For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/ax21f. Horse Chestnuts. Its seed, bark, flower, and leaves are used to make medicine. 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. The deer ate the chestnuts 100:1 over the acorns! These two deer walked around for almost an hour eating chestnuts off the ground. Will deer eat Horse Chestnuts. Deer seek chestnuts out, and does will train their fawns to eat them. No. Deer and Deer Hunting 7,048 views 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. Feeding Horse Chestnut - Conkers. I plan on planting a few on our property down south solely because I have access to free trees, I just germinate them myself. I was mostly competing with the squirrels and chipmunks. 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. Conkers are more commonly known as horse chestnuts. Both horse chestnut and edible chestnuts produce a brown nut, but edible chestnuts always have a … Edible chestnuts belong to the genus Castanea and are enclosed in sharp, spine-covered burs. Uses for Horse Chestnuts While you cannot safely eat horse chestnuts or feed them to livestock, they have medicinal uses. JavaScript is disabled. Your email address will not be published. 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. They're not called horse chestnuts because horses eat them. Acorns, walnuts, beech nuts, chestnuts, hickory nuts, they will eat them all! It's possible that you've found a stand of blight-resistant American chestnuts which are VERY VERY RARE. if you've got a spot that has ACTUAL AMERICAN CHESTNUTS in it you'd better contact your local forest service. As for whether deer eat them, of course they do. Horse chestnuts feature large, palmate leaves, grouped in arrangements of 5 to 7 leaflets. When I first moved in to the house, the previous owner informed us of all the deer that he saw in the yard and how he used to grow extra veggies in the garden to make up for how much the deer ate. According to researcher Wayne Bowman, they now have 15/16th American chestnut seedlings, but may not know for a decade how blight-resistant they are. Deer eat conkers. Horse-chestnuts (aesculus hippocastanum) (not the “chestnuts on the horse’s leg) are poisonous. 2019/20 Deer Hunting Season: 1st Half – 1 Doe Down. These nuts are slightly poisonous. Chestnuts do not make good trees for attracting deer during most deer hunting seasons.

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. I've seen deer eating chestnuts, and plan on getting some and planting them myself this spring. What happens if you eat horse chestnut? They're not called horse chestnuts because horses eat them.

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