Spring
New green forbs, emerging shrubs, fresh leaves
Protein-rich new growth after a hard winter. Does build condition for fawning; bucks start antler growth.
Mule deer reference · Diet
What mule deer eat.
Not a grass-eater. The mule deer is a browser and a picky one — a 'concentrate selector' that takes the best bite of bitterbrush, sagebrush, and forb it can find. The seasonal diet, and why the winter browse on a south-facing slope decides how many fawns see spring.
The picky browser
Best bite first.
Where an elk grazes grass in bulk, a mule deer picks. Biologists call it a “concentrate selector” — an animal that seeks out the single most nutritious bites of shrub and forb rather than filling up on whatever’s underfoot. It eats the leaves and twigs of woody browse — bitterbrush, sagebrush, mountain mahogany, oak — and a wide range of broad-leaved forbs, with grass a minor part of the diet.
That selectivity is why winter range quality matters so much: when the good browse is buried or grazed out, a picky eater suffers fast.
Diet by season
Through the year.
Summer
Forbs, shrub leaves, some grass, flowers
Peak forage on higher range. Selective feeding on the most nutritious bites — mule deer are picky 'concentrate selectors.'
Fall
Cured forbs, acorns and mast, browse, late shrubs
Packing on fat for winter and the November rut. Mast crops (acorns) are a high-value bonus where oak brush grows.
Winter
Woody browse — bitterbrush, sagebrush, mountain mahogany, oak
The make-or-break season. Mule deer survive on shrub browse on lower, south-facing range; winter browse quality decides how many make spring.
Frequently asked
Mule deer diet questions.
What do mule deer eat?
Mule deer are browsers — they eat shrubs, forbs (broad-leaved plants), and the leaves and twigs of woody plants more than grass. Key foods include bitterbrush, sagebrush, mountain mahogany, oak brush, and a wide range of forbs, plus acorns and other mast where available. Grass makes up a much smaller part of their diet than it does for elk or cattle.
Are mule deer browsers or grazers?
Mule deer are primarily browsers, and specifically 'concentrate selectors' — they pick the most nutritious individual bites of shrubs and forbs rather than grazing grass in bulk like elk or cattle. This selective feeding suits the broken, shrubby western country they live in and makes the quality of the browse, especially in winter, critical to their survival.
What do mule deer eat in winter?
In winter, mule deer survive mostly on woody browse — bitterbrush, sagebrush, mountain mahogany, and oak — on lower, south-facing winter range where the shrubs stand above the snow. Winter is the limiting season: when deep snow buries the browse or the winter range is degraded, mule deer lose condition and fawn survival drops. Healthy winter browse is the heart of a healthy herd.
Do mule deer eat sagebrush?
Yes — sagebrush is an important mule deer food, especially in winter when little else is available. Along with bitterbrush and mountain mahogany, it's a staple of winter browse across the sagebrush country mule deer favor. This dependence is one reason the health of western sagebrush rangelands matters so much to mule deer numbers.
From the page to the field
Hunt mule deer on the south slope of Pikes Peak.
Elk Glade guides mule deer on GMU 59 limited entry — combined with elk on the shared seasons, or on their own. Low pressure, mature bucks, an hour from Colorado Springs.
