feeding deer

saw on ch 12 news that feeding deer corn during the winter will kill them,do you belive this or not?ive feed deer corn for years & never found a dead deer near methat was killed by eating corn!

Just got the new WON , apparently they found a dead elk in Rusk county. It's stomach was stuffed with shelled corn that it couldn't digest. It supposedly went from browsing on woody material to corn. Article states it's called acidosis. 

Yes it is called acidosis.. they need more in their diet than just corn and can basically starve to death with a full belly of corn... especially when introduced to corn suddenly and abruptly. 

Unfortunately I watched a similar news piece and was disgusted by the lack of education that shouldve/could’ve been provided for people that don’t know about acidosis. Instead of using that elk that died as a way to teach the general public, I believe it was basically brought right back around to the baiting bans and cwd. Absolutely disgusting.

Corn is not what causes the death, a sudden change of diet is what causes issues be it corn, hay, etc.  As diets change over time with food availability the digestive system of deer changes as well.  If you feed corn continually from the fall on, won't be any risk of killing deer.  I leave about 15 acres of standing corn and soybeans on my property every year and the deer are fine, as healthy as can be.  If the deer have been weaned off of agriculture by mid winter, it is harmful to reintroduce it. 

I would suggest to stop feeding deer completely but for sure after deer season.  They need different "flora" in their guts to process the natural woody vegetation that gets them through the winter.  

...moreso happens when a deer's diet changes to eating more winter food.  Suddenly giving them corn mid winter adds to the risk.

https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/Wildlife-RelatedDiseases/Pages/RumenAcidosis.aspx

True...deer that eat just corn can die. Deer need a mix of things in their diet to be able to digest properly.