Chestnut Tree

[checkerfred]

I just read the white vs. red oak thread. I was scouting the other day and found what appeared to be a chestnut tree. We supposedly don't have hardly any at all now due to the disease that killed them off back around the great depression. I've read online deer love chestnuts and will walk thru white oaks to get them. I didn't see any activity around the tree though. My brother done a little research and found there is a tree called a buckeye (i think it was) that resembles the chestnut but is poisonous to humans and cattle and I would assume deer. Anyone ever see chestnuts or buckeyes? If chestnuts, do the deer prefer them over acorns?

[DEERSLAYER]

Deer will be all over American (very rare) and chinese chestnuts, but will ignore buckeyes. Deer will walk through white oaks to get to some good chestnuts. Not all chestnuts varieties are the same though so it could depend on if someone planted it and if so what variety they planted. Chestnut trees generally need another tree with in close proximity since they are wind pollinated.

I'm not sure how much deer would like other chestnuts like Japanese and Europeans, but I'm sure they would still like them.

[Mike]

I have no first hand experience with this but a customer of mine says deer and turkeys go after the Buckeyes hard.

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[checkerfred]

Deer will be all over American (very rare) and chinese chestnuts, but will ignore buckeyes. Deer will walk through white oaks to get to some good chestnuts. Not all chestnuts varieties are the same though so it could depend on if someone planted it and if so what variety they planted. Chestnut trees generally need another tree with in close proximity since they are wind pollinated.

I'm not sure how much deer would like other chestnuts like Japanese and Europeans, but I'm sure they would still like them.

My brother said the same thing about the trees needing another one in close proximity to pollinate. I'd never heard of that before then. We're gonna try to find the tree again. I had no way of marking the spot as I was just doing a quick scout, but I know the general area. It was on forest land so I don't know whether it would be wild or planted. I'd assume wild though.

[checkerfred]

I have no first hand experience with this but a customer of mine says deer and turkeys go after the Buckeyes hard.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_glabra

Says they are poisonous...seems like since deer and cattle are similar it would be poisonous to deer as well.

[Motivated]

Squirrels love the buckeyes. I've never heard of deer eating them, but I don't know everything either.

The Dunstan chestnut is blight resistant and are sold online. The marketing sounds great, but it always does if it's good marketing.

Sleepy!

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[cdeam]

I've always heard that half the buckeye is toxic and the other half is fine and that the squirrels know which half half to eat. Don't know about deer though

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[checkerfred]

From everything I've read, it appears deer won't eat them. I went back to the area and found several more trees....deer hasn't touched them. I'm not 100% certain they are buckeyes, but from the looks of the nut and tree leaves they are. I'm going to have some other people look at them and see. From what I can tell, an actual chestnut tree around here is somewhat rare.

[purebowhunting]

I have some Chinese chestnuts on order and plan to plant in the spring. I tried some Americans a few years ago but they couldn't handle the central Wisconsin winter.

[DEERSLAYER]

American chestnuts are more cold hardy than the Chinese, but the Chinese produce nuts far sooner.

[Lockdown]

I'm interested in hearing about the Dunstan chestnuts if anyone has any experience with them. I read about them years ago... they're suppose to be blight resistant and of course the company claims deer devour them. They're pretty spendy but they produce annually and much younger than either white or red oaks. I want to say 6-8 years and they are producing mast. If the deer do indeed like them they sound like the real deal. But then again, most things that sound too good to be true, are just that.

[DEERSLAYER]

Dunstans are good, but not as good or as cold hardy as they claim. There is also very little of the American chestnut left after all the breeding that has been done.