Hedge Fruit / Hedge Apples from the Osage Orange Trees

[SunnyCox]

From what I have been told, the wild sqs love hedge fruit. They tear up the fruit to get to the little seeds inside. Anyone know anything about these? I have a neighbor with a tree full of them, and I am wanting to feed them to my babies as a treat.

[mdyoung216]

http://hedgeapple.com/qanda.html

Am interested in white tail deer and horse apple . Do whitetail deer eat them?

I can only speculate and that they do not. I have not heard of any reports other than squirrels, cattle and horses eating hedgeapples. A deer's mouth would seem to be to small for hedgeapples and they can't rip them apart like squirrels. However once they freeze and thaw, the offensive taste disappears and they become soft enough for a deer's mouth. In this condition, a squirrel will pass up a nut tree for hedgeapples.

[CrazySquirrelLady]

hedge apples are osage orange trees? :eek

[SunnyCox]

Just for the record. I cut them in half and put it in with my five babies. They went crazy. They tear the entire fruit apart to get the little seeds out. It takes them a long time, so it is great entertainment!