I'm pretty sure one of my little girls was eaten by deer a few weeks ago? I found deer droppings a few yards form the plant and there was a definate beaten down trampled path right to the plant. The stalk was still in the ground and the branches where the buds were (eaten?) off of had very precise diagonal " cuts" were the bud was missing. I've examined other plants in the woods that I've seen deer eating and all that stuff had the same diagonal cut/bite patteren. I suppose a deer could pull and strip branches like you have , but I've never had that happen to me? That actually makes me think about when/if I have to clear some braches at a spot , I usually snap the branch and strip the rest off the stalk..ya know? As I side above the only definate deer eating I've seen has been very precise, almost like if you had scissors and clipped every bud right off, Ive found buds on the ground that were covered in deer saliva!!!!!!
At another spot the very lowest branches (in bloom) that stick out of my chicken wire cages are all eaten back to the chicken wire. These cut/bite patterns are mostly flush straight up and down with some nibbling and force, like the branches were pulled down and bent and torn up. I'm pretty sure at this spot I'm dealing with rabbits or beavers/groundhogs, something thats too big to fit through the 1 inch chicken wire netting. I know its not deer because all the damage is at the very bottom 1/4 of the plant , and chipmunks or other little rodents would have crawled right into the cage and chomped away at the stalk till they timbered it, like they did to me earlier this year ....little fuckers!
Alright, thats what I've gathered over the years about animals eating outdoor plants. My theory is that the natural vegetation/food starts getting depleated around this time as everything has either been eaten or is starting to die off, and the animals are all tryin to fill up before the winter so they will start eating things the normally wouldn't.... including our buds! I should add that I'm in the NE US in a well populated suburb so theres not much for all the animals to eat around my area.
MOUSE TRAPS FOR SURE NEXT YEAR!
peace!