Can bison forage for their food, even in winter?
Bison are able to “plow” their head into the snow to get at grass. However, if there is no grass, the bison will starve. It is important that the “standing” hay (grass left standing in the fields going into winter) be able to hold its nutritional value in the winter, many grasses do not. The short prairie grasses are more likely to retain their nutrition. Another important consideration is while standing hay MAY retain its protein content while covered with snow, this is not true where it rains in the winter! Rain will leach protein out of standing hay; snow doesn’t do this. In Texas, standing hay is considered useless after January 1 because of this fact.
