Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Quality Deer Management feeding soybeans or other type of protein?

Do any of you feed soybeans during the summer. If so do you use raw beans or roasted beans. Where do you get them and what do they cost. If not what do you feed in during the summer. Was thinking corn and soybeans mixed 2-1 or so would be the cheapest way to go to supply decent amount of protein during the summer if you could get the beans at a decent price.

Co op sells deer protein pellets for about $9 a bag. Roasted anything we have priced has been high. The only way we found for it to be cost efficient would be buying in large quantities.

Best money is to fertilize the natural browse, briars, honeysuckle, etc.

A few bags of slow release fert will go way further then the bag of pellets.

Really just trying to see what folks was using in there feeders and if anyone was using soy beans.

General rule of thumb is to start off at 50/50 corn & soy beans to get the deer use to it. However, I have found that not to be true. I do 9-1 soy beans/corn in my feeders personally, the deer eat it up. I live on 80 acres in Shelby county between Inverness & Chelsea, I have 8 500lb Boss feeders I keep year around. Nov-Feb I go back to 50/50 soy beans/corn because of the cold, deer need the carbs from corn. Corn really has no benefits to deer besides carbs which helps keep them warm. Come middle of February I go back to 9-1, deer need the protein after the rut & does need it for fawn production. I buy it from the Co-op buy the pallet & cheapest way to do it. Yes, it is more expensive than corn but you will see a massive result feeding mostly soy beans than corn in a year. Corn alone will not grow “Big” healthy deer. It is mainly an attractent & treat to them. Start feeding mostly protein and you’ll be amazed the outcome in just 1 year.

How much more per bag down there? we were quoted like $12-14 per bag of soybeans

I've been feeding them blackeyed peas for 1 1/2 years now. . biologist told me if they eat to many soy bean they will get stomach problems but they can eat peas every day without an issue. also most pelletized protein pellets are only 65 percent digestable the blackeyed peas are 85 percent digestable they cost about the same so you better bang for buck with the peas. I do the same with mixing with corn in winter and straight peas in summer . the deer tear em up...

Any place to plant some alfalfa if it will even grow down there?

If you use soybeans, DO NOT LET THEM GET WET! They will smell like rotten meat and maggots will get on them just like meat.

Whats the cost on the peas?

Cheapest I can find roasted soybeans is $16.50 a bag. Where do you get peas and how much are they a bag. Most all of the pellets you can buy are 20% protein or less. If you mix 2 parts corn and 1 part beans that would get you about 20% protein.

Yep! Don’t feed soybeans unless they are roasted, if not, they’ll soak up moisture from inside the feeder. I never could keep beans good in a feeder very long. I went to a corn/pellet mix. 25% corn and 75% pellet.

50 lbs blackeyed peas 15.75 a bag .20 plus percent protein and 85 percent digestable…. they are not roasted . you can get whole peas or splits deer don't care they eat both very well . and trust me deer know what a peas is.....

I buy them from K&S feed they are just outside ft gaines ga. mans name is walt.

Seems like most of the corn/soybean mixes you can buy are 70% corn 30% soybeans. Almost everything you read says that feeding anything that averages over 20%-25% protein is a waste of money because a deers body can not process more protein than that. So seems like you could feed a 50/50 soybean corn mix that would average out to 20% - 25% protein from about Apr-Sep and then switch to a mix of about 80/20 corn soybean mix in the winter months.

I remember a biologist once told me that deer can process up to 18 percent protein . corn has almost no protein but is full of carbs which we all know turns to sugar and that's what deer crave in winter for the energy to help keep warm . but natural food in winter is very poor and not very nutrient rich .so by mixing corn with the peas they are getting best of both . so if I can help deer out over the lean times then they will be that much more healthy when they get to the spring green up and they can realy pack on the body mass and in turn grow the best set of antlers there genes will allow and moms can have healthier babies. I've had the land for 10 yrs . started with food plots for hunting and planting fruit and nut trees 10'yrs ago but then got into food plots for nutrition 8 yrs ago then added 10 mineral sites around the property about 5 yrs ago . now for the almost 2 yrs been supplemental feeding high protein summer and mix some corn in it in winter . I have noticed a big difference in body size , health and even antler size has increased . even the neighbors have noticed better deer on their properties .