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Cottonseed Studied as Deer Food

By Craig Nyhus, Lone Star Outdoor News

Whole cottonseed, with its protein and fiber content, is thought by some to be the next big food source for white-tailed deer. Two years of study by the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute indicates it is a viable supplemental feed, but it does have its limitations.

The good news is pigs and coons won’t eat it except as a last resort. Then they might get sick and even die. Most landowners don’t mind that. But white-tailed deer can and do eat whole cottonseed (WCS) without ill effects, according to the studies.

The researchers have been looking to evaluate the health and production of captive white-tailed deer on a diet of up to 50 percent WCS, as well as digestibility and utilization of WCS and gossypol concentrations.

“We’ve done a series of independent projects,” said David Hewitt, the institute’s Stuart W. Stedman Chair for White-tailed Deer research. “We had five bucks on a 40-percent WCS diet and five bucks on pellets and chopped alfalfa from June through September. We looked at body weight, semen samples and blood.” The concerns stem from gossypol, a toxic pigment contained within the cottonseed. The pigment can reduce reproductive ability and induce toxicosis when consumed at high doses.

“We didn’t see any negative effects the first year,” Hewitt said. “The bucks on 40-percent WCS did lose some weight while the other bucks (on pellets and alfalfa) didn’t.” Hewitt said there were no toxic effects on the buck’s semen or blood from the WCS.

“Last year, graduate student Sarah Bullock had five does and five bucks on 50-percent WCS and another five does and five bucks on a control diet,” Hewitt said. “Again, there were no toxic effects on the sperm or red blood cells. The bucks maintained their weight while the control group bucks gained weight. The doe weights didn’t change.”

Two years worth of data suggest overall health and production of white-tailed deer is not compromised by diets up to 30 percent WCS, but deer appeared to limit intake with diets containing 50 percent WCS. “It’s interesting,” Hewitt said. “If the deer are feeding on less than 25 percent WCS, the deer eat the cottonseed first. When we try more than 25 percent WCS, the deer want the alfalfa. They monitor their intake on their own, so we really don’t have to worry about them poisoning themselves.”

Hewitt and Bullock continued to monitor each deer’s blood for gossypol after they stopped feeding WCS. “After three or four weeks, the amount leveled off to very low amounts,” Hewitt said. “They clear it pretty quick.”

Feeding WCS has multiple benefits, especially since the deer limit their own intake. While the expense of feeding WCS is less, its popularity has limited supplies and the price has gone up. Hewitt said there are a few downsides. “You have to shovel it into the feeder,” he said. “The lint keeps you from being able to auger it. And you have to be careful with it. A dog got into some goat feed containing cottonseed and got real sick.”