Yellow fat on deer?

[huntresss]

I was wondering if anybody else here has ever noticed this. I grew up hunting whitetail in the midwest and in 20 some years of hunting have never seen a deer with yellow fat. The whole animal was not jaundiced, just the fat appeared to be a yellowish-orange color. The first time I saw it was last year on a deer my stepdaughter shot off a place where they were being fed protein. Last year, I saw it on one of my husband's deer, and this year on mine. Our lease is adjacent to a former deer research facility where the deer now move through what used to be a hot fence. I presume they're still feeding protein there as the current owner is managing for trophy bucks, so I'm speculating that these deer may have had access to some protein due to the close proximity and the lack of adequate fencing. Since I've never seen this outside of areas where deer have access to high protein foods I'm wondering if there is some connection. It doesn't appear to have any effect on the flavor of the meat, but it is definately noticeable. Inquiring minds want to know...
-Cheryl

[tuthdoc]

Only yellow I've seen on deer is in areas where they have gotten injured and have infection. I don't think the deer we kill could eat more protein than they do and we've never seen yellow fat. They add vitamins and stuff to the pellets but the plant content is usually cotton or soybean for the protein and corn to cut it to its percentage level. I doubt it's the protein. Maybe something else in the pellets or something else they are feeding the deer.

[Hoghuntinfool]

I work at a processing plant here in Austin and from what i can figure out is that the yellow fat means that they have been on a high protein diet. Just my 2 cents

[TXJon]

I killed a doe last winter on a draw hunt that the biologist aged at 7 1/2. She didn't have an ounce of fat on her, anywhere, but the tendons were all yellow. Age, maybe?

[lovemylegacy]

SE Texas (Newton Cty) deer will have yellow tallow or fat, caused by acorn (white oaks) consumption maybe.

[Cropduster]

I always thought that yellow fat was a sign that the deer were on the decline as far as fat reserves were concerned. I have seen lots of bucks in the latter part of the rut with yellow fat. I don't think that it has any bad results as far as the meat is concerned.

[tuthdoc]

I killed a lot of orange fat squirrels in Sonora around my corn feeders. They were some of the best eating squirrels I've ever had. sort of like Iowa corn fed beef. LOL

[treed]

Might of been caused from having a fever recently, any older wounds, or did they seem warmer than usual when you field dressed them? Shot a hog one time that had a yellow orange color to the fat, was excessively warm inside, when we started skinning it out, there was a **** pocket under the skin on the shoulder. Prob. from fighting, we did not eat this pig.

[Reckless Cheri]

We've skinned some really fat deer this year and none of the internal fat was orange, it was white. You'd think it would have to be diet related wouldn't you?

[THellURider]

I've always been told that yellow/orange fat means that the buck has started rut and thus stopped eating and is now living off its fat reserves. White fat means that they have not.

[keep]

I shot one this year that had yellow fat. It tasted fine. I feel like it was from a high corn diet.

[Darren]

Just shot a big doe yesterday that had the yellowish fat. She appeared in fine health and the woods are full of white oak acorns this year. Probably the most acorns that I have ever witnessed in the woods this season.
I checked her stomach contents and she was full of corn and acorns. She also was without a yearling and was travelling alone and her udders were completely empty and drawn up tight to her body.

I would have to say she was in perfect health and not on the downhill side of life. Just a perfect adult doe specimen.

[faycotrophyhunter]

I have heard the same thing that Darren and lovemylegacy said. High amounts of acorn consumption will turn the fat color on the deer and hogs a yellowish color and will also cause the meat to spoil quicker.

[THellURider]

I've seen deer taken within 24 hours within a high fence area. So they are eating the same things. One more mature deer was well into rut and had yellowish fat, and a younger cull buck that wasn't as dominant had white fat.

It's a pretty long established rule that yellowish fat indicates that the animal is fasting and not building fat stores.

[Deer Tracks]

Huntress, I've seen yellow colored fat on some of the sika deer we've killed off our lease. Sika deer meat is very red in appearance, much like beef. I've never noticed yellowish fat on a whitetail. I have read that in beef, yellow fat is usually an indication that the meat is from an older animal. I wonder if the same is true for deer.