Do you care what varieties they are? Is it just the acutal wood that the deer eat from the trees, or if the fruit important?

Hi, Elmont,

Deer are famous for eating almost anything and browsing it down to the nub, but be sure that they will eat fig leaves, because the ficin (white rubber-like sap) in fig leaves and twigs make the tree unattractive fodder to many animals. Two varieties that are cold hardy and relatively easy to obtain in quantity in your area are Celeste and Brown Turkey. Since your trees will not be dooryard trees, hardiness is a real issue in Zone 7 Atlanta. If you plan to share the figs with your deer, Celeste tastes better to many people than Brown Turkey. However, the Celeste tree grows slower than Eastern Brown Turkey, on the average. Look around your area, particularly out in the country. Sometimes you can find large sprawling fig bushes whose owners are happy for you to prune to your heart's content. With the quantities that you require, that, in my opinion, is your most practical option. Good luck with your project!

I was also wondering how much research has gone into the choice of plant material. What made you choose figs? Though not from the south, up here, what grows back naturally after timbering provides fantastic deer habitat for many years after the harvest. Replanting mast trees would yield trees that are beginning to yield fruit about the time the timbered area is moving beyond peak stage for deer support. With that much acreage in play, I would think that state biologists would be happy to offer guidance or suggestions. Perhaps a state university would have interest in helping you develop a long term strategy for herd management.

Al

Al said it well. Harvesting mature timber creates a gold mine of browse for deer, as the process of vegetative succession progresses over the years, from annual grasses & forbs back to mature forest.
From the deers' standpoint, timber harvest is one of the very best things that can happen!
Figs would not be on the list of things I'd be purposely planting to enhance food supplies for deer.