I planted about an acre of oats. They came up well but have not had anything eating them. After the last cold spell (7 degrees here) they turned a lighter shade of green, almost like they were playing out. I've never grown them before so don't know what to expect. I was thinking I might hit the patch with a little fertilizer. Will that help or have they run their life span? So far, it's been a waste of time and money. I'm not overrun with deer but did expect to see one or two enjoying them.

I've always had really good luck with oats (and a few other seed types) ... but this year has been totally different than any in my past ~60 years of hunting ... we have corn piling up under our feeders, only an occasional deer will stop for a quick bite before moving on, minimal foraging around the edges of our food plots ... an acorn crop of biblical proportions is my only thought. Don't give up on one season, especially based on this year. last week, I watched 10 deer for 30-45 minutes wedged under a clump of oaks, then passed by the feeder without even stopping. crazy this year!

Oats can tolerate light frosts but 5 degrees generally kills them. You were very close so it's hard to tell you if they
are dying or not. Don't give up on oats. Many times deer walk past my corn feeders to feed on the oats. But, it
is more likely to happen after a frost kills everything else that is green.

There's always risks with any planting. Welcome to farm life! Last year we hardly got any rain late fall into winter (se Cooke Co) and everything I planted just shriveled away.
This year an early very-hard freeze, 7deg, zapped even the rye I planted - open-air field surface temps would be a bit lower than measured thermometer temps (radiative sky cooling).
Wheat may have been a little more cold-tolerant - but around here deer don't hit the wheat as good as oats.
Diversify, and try again . . .

They just need some moisture and they will bounce back.

What kind of oats did you plant?

Same story at our place in terms of loads of acorns, corn piling up under feeders, deer sightings were down HOWEVER, I planted Buck Forage Oats and even after the 10 degree temps, they look very good. My plots looks just as good now as before the Christmas COLD spell.

As said above, a little rain will usually bring them around. If they are still yellowing then it might not hurt to hit them with some triple 13 ahead of a decent rain. Our plot survived the big freeze a couple of years ago and it seemed to be a big help to the deer afterward. This year is certainly different with the acorn crop. Ours are barely being utilized so far, but I have a feeling the deer will be hitting them harder and harder as we get deeper into winter.

I planted oats and wheat. The cold spell killed about 40% of the oats. I have had quite a few deer grazing my grain. Also cleaning up the corn under the feeders. Almost completely quit the protein pellets.

I planted bob oats. I didn’t plant them to hunt, just to try to get them to come in my front pasture by the house. I’m wondering if they’ll get some growth and color back.

Hard to say. I am waiting to see myself. My food plots (containing oats) have large areas of wilted, yellow oats. I have my doubts any of that will come back.

We didn't have snow to cover and insulate the oats (like last years freeze event), so the 10 degree weather had direct impact on the plants.

I’ve done oats and wheat. No difference in deer eating them. And also, no difference in hogs rooting up everything.

Fertilizer draws a lot more deer.

Switched to triticale couple years ago and havent looked back, but they still need water!