# Deer and Morels?



## native son (Mar 11, 2011)

Do whitetail deer eat morel mushrooms? My brother says his lack of mushrooms are due to deer eating them.


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## Dormin (Sep 7, 2004)

http://www.morelfarms.com/cultivation.html

This website says yes.


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## Boardman Brookies (Dec 20, 2007)

I heard that the turkey eat them.


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## skulldugary (Apr 12, 2003)

I'm sure squirrels will eat the,have watched them munch on several varieties of mushrooms.


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## bassburner (Jan 6, 2011)

I would have to say any wild animal has potential on eating them.


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## Sprytle (Jan 8, 2005)

Ive been round and round on this....YES ....deer eat morels!


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## ZingKing (Sep 28, 2009)

Thats why vension tastes so fricking good


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## Michigan Mike (May 21, 2004)

That explains why everyone goes up North for morels!
Too many dang deer down here!


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## Sprytle (Jan 8, 2005)

Michigan Mike said:


> That explains why everyone goes up North for morels!
> Too many dang deer down here!





!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:lol:


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## bassdisaster (Jun 21, 2007)

Lots of woods critters eat shrooms, but to blame not finding on the critters well that just an excuse for lack of proper timing! My 2 cents!

BD


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## CoWalSki (May 31, 2003)

Could this be why we find most of our 'rooms on or nearby deer runs or turkey scratchings?  I know now we follow those paths first before spreading out the search to other parts of the woods. Some kind of disturbance in the cover seems to result in morels.

Cowalski


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## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

I am sure that any creature in the woods will chew on them on occasion, But I do not believe that any of them seek out morels for a source of food or the picking would be poor. Turkeys I am positive peck at em for the bugs on them more than anything else. Just my 2 cents worth...


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## outdoor junkie (Sep 16, 2003)

I think the number one competition for our beloved shrooms is the darn slugs and snails. Them pesky things find them as fast as they pop up.


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## knockoff64 (Oct 14, 2001)

CoWalSki said:


> Could this be why we find most of our 'rooms on or nearby deer runs or turkey scratchings?  I know now we follow those paths first before spreading out the search to other parts of the woods. Some kind of disturbance in the cover seems to result in morels.
> 
> Cowalski


Ding! 

Disturbance in the soil, I think the colony is trying to jump the path.



Oldgrandman said:


> I am sure that any creature in the woods will chew on them on occasion, But I do not believe that any of them seek out morels for a source of food or the picking would be poor. Turkeys I am positive peck at em for the bugs on them more than anything else. Just my 2 cents worth...


Ding!

Could you imagine if deer sniffed out every morel in the woods. Hell, I can smell em' from 100yds away! LOL



outdoor junkie said:


> I think the number one competition for our beloved shrooms is the darn slugs and snails. Them pesky things find them as fast as they pop up.


Ding, ding, ding!

Especially the big late season yellows!:rant:


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## knockoff64 (Oct 14, 2001)

bassdisaster said:


> Lots of woods critters eat shrooms, but to blame not finding on the critters well that just an excuse for lack of proper timing! My 2 cents!
> 
> BD


Oh yea, ding, ding, ding! Too!


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## All TIME ANGLER (Mar 14, 2008)

We have a Winner! 

Tell them what they've won Johnny


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## knockoff64 (Oct 14, 2001)

All TIME ANGLER said:


> We have a Winner!
> 
> Tell them what they've won Johnny


LOL!


YOU'VE WON A LIFETIME SUPPLY OF DELICIOUS MOREL MUSHROOMS, COURTESY OF "MOTHER NATURE"........._restrictions apply, subject to lack of rain, sun or both. quantities limited!_


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## aimus1 (Feb 28, 2011)

CoWalSki said:


> Could this be why we find most of our 'rooms on or nearby deer runs or turkey scratchings?  I know now we follow those paths first before spreading out the search to other parts of the woods. Some kind of disturbance in the cover seems to result in morels.
> 
> Cowalski


Disturbance and stress can produce some superpatches. The morel mushroom is the attempt of the underlying mycelium to spread. When an area of this underlying mycelium is disturbed or stressed, it can punch up a bunch of shrooms in effort to spread itself. This is why burns and areas that have been recently logged can be soo good. The sporing out of these morels does exactly that, it spreads the fungus. I often find morels near dear trails and turkey scratchings but I think it's more coincidental than anything. You can certainly look around these areas but you'd be better served to seek out the tree species that they like to grow around.


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## knockoff64 (Oct 14, 2001)

aimus1 said:


> Disturbance and stress can produce some superpatches. The morel mushroom is the attempt of the underlying mycelium to spread. When an area of this underlying mycelium is disturbed or stressed, it can punch up a bunch of shrooms in effort to spread itself. This is why burns and areas that have been recently logged can be soo good. The sporing out of these morels does exactly that, it spreads the fungus. I often find morels near dear trails and turkey scratchings but I think it's more coincidental than anything. You can certainly look around these areas but you'd be better served to seek out the tree species that they like to grow around.


Yes and no. I agree with all but the last sentence (very good stuff btw).

It really depends on where you are looking, none of the "classic disturbed ground" scenarios apply in the areas I hunt, deer and human paths are prevalent.

Keeping in mind that some (most/all?) colonys send out single strand "feelers" of cells connected end to end, presumably seeking out more suitable host flora. I believe, when these "feelers" reach a point where they can no longer travel through the ground easily or are blocked by a change in habitat (ie a path,change in elevation,PH, soil type, no suitable host plants), the colony sends sugars down the line to fruit and and tries to "jump" the obstacle.

More than once, I have followed a "single Morel next to a path" to a line of mushrooms leading to the main colony.


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## aimus1 (Feb 28, 2011)

knockoff64 said:


> Yes and no. I agree with all but the last sentence (very good stuff btw).
> 
> It really depends on where you are looking, none of the "classic disturbed ground" scenarios apply in the areas I hunt, deer and human paths are prevalent.
> 
> ...


I agree with your theory 100% with regard to obstacles preventing the migration of feeleers. However, would you say that "most" times, when you arrive to the location of the main colony, that the main colony is located within a fairly close proximity to one of the typical host tree species?
I can't stop thinking about the current destruction of our most typical host tree species in the north. Can't help but wonder if we'll experience the same type effect as we did following Dutch Elm Disease. Will the mycelium, in such shock of losing the host, send out great numbers of feelers resulting in epic superpatches? And what new host will provide necessary conditions for the mycelium to survive? Very exciting and very scary at the same time.


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