Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum Need advice on what to feed in new feeder

Hey guys I’m gonna put out a few new feeders this weekend and I’m curious what y’all would think is best for getting the deer drawn to the feeder??

The feeders are boss buck gravity feeders.

I use 20% dairy pellets in mine. Usually cheaper than the protien with the fancy bags.

Ive used wild birdseed mix sunflower seeds wheat mixed with pellets if turkeys are around. Or strait wild birdseed will work for all.

corn....

Every year we start with corn and soybeans mixed together 50/50. By the 3rd feed it’s straight soybeans. And if we start to run low by September we will buy protein pellets to mix with the beans to last till bowseason. We run 13 feeders and feed every other week. Our deer density is high, the feeders are empty each time we feed. And we have all trough style feeders.

Yep.

Corn should be just fine. You could mix some sweet feed in for aroma attraction

Don't use anything that is sticky or powder like rice bran or it will clog up.

I know deer love corn but how much benefit do they get from it in the summer when they need protein? I think,I'm going to feed this year instead of the normal planting since its already dry here

Seems.like a waste of money to feed nothing but corn in the summer....There's typically plenty of food and deer aren't gonna come miles away to use the feeder or anything.....

The QUESTION was "what to feed to GET DEER USING the feeder".....not is corn good for the deer? Pay attention boys......

BTW, the answer is CORN.

I feed a mix of corn/sweet feed in a ratio of 3:1. Mammals have the ability to convert carbs to protein and protein to fat. So while it does require a little more energy to do that they can still get the protein from corn.

Troy is correct....the answer to the question being asked is corn....


With that being said.....this topic is a lot more complex though than I think many folks realize.....not saying that you are one of them. I believe a chit ton of money is wasted each year though feeding deer for no results.....Only the belief that it must help. There's a lot of things to consider. I tracked for a high fence owner a couple a years ago and while we were tracking he started telling me the story about why they enclosed the 1000 acres a couple years prior. He said that about 10 years ago they started a hardcore feeding program supplying the deer with all they wanted of this high protein feed. he said they spend thousands of dollars each year on feed. After about five years he said they started seeing an improvement and what they considered a noticeable change from it...Not anything crazy like booners behind every tree but just overall better racks. He then goes on to say that finally after 7-9 years of doing this they grew a buck on their place that was legitimate 180 inch deer......All the thousands of dollars spent and time filling up the feeders had paid off. Opening weekend of gun season the deer was killed by the neighboring hunting club.....And that's the reality of it.

What's your reason for feeding the deer? Is to improve the bucks on your property? Is it to improve the maternal health of the does and increase the doe numbers? Is it to draw deer?

There is actual scientific data on supplemental feeding. The results are very underwhelming. As in, maybe a few B&C points in a very high intensity feeding program, costing thousands of dollars. It's not worth it for me. But for some it may be.

From what I’ve read and heard at “seminars” is that a lot of the potential for a buck to respond to such a feeding program has to do with the health of their mother while they were in the womb. Maternal health plays a large role in a buck potential to express his genetics. The real benefits of a feeding program and the most substantial gains are not see until the third generation of offspring. So your current does start eating and give birth to offspring that had top end ‘maternal care” during pregnancy…..then those does stay on the feeding program and their offspring are the ones who show the true benefits of it…..Here’s the thing about that though……The current bucks that are on your proepty that are already 3,4, 5 years old will likely show very minimal gains from proving them with the feed…..Things like summer rainfall amounts will play a much larger role and make those gains not even relevant. Even if lets say hypothetically you added 10 inches on to every one of these bucks from feeding …..which is probably pushing it….10 inches is really not that noticeable when its spread out over a whole rack……You probably won’t even see an impact from it other than someone killing a good and claiming “it had to be the feed!!!!”

Here’s something to really take into consideration…..buck dispersal. So lets just say you do have your doe groups eating the high quality feed for years and producing buck fawns with great potential as a result…..Guess where they are likely gonna end up???....On someone else’s property down the road a few miles away. If the buck doesn’t continue to get quality food throughout his life then he still may not even do the neighbors any favors. One thing that would be impactful though is if you wanted to increase the doe population on your property and you were doing it to produce healthy doe groups that you held on your place….Now there you could probably see some real results over time…..But you know what a lot folks do? Feed and then blast the chit out of them because “they need shooting”……or better yet….they spend money to trap coyotes to increase fawn production but still shoot the chit out of does…..That doesn’t make much sense either really….Its a lack of having and understanding of the whole shebang…..There’s a lot more to it than just what gets passed around the campfire and how things seem on the surface.

Corn for abut the first half ton run thru each feeder, then you can mix in some protein, then go to all protein if you like. Worked for us Better question to ask is what do I want to accomplish with my feeders.....
The guys I have hunted with out in KS and Texas tell me without a doubt you will not change the size of your deer ( body or antler mass ) by feeding deer protein, especially if it contains a larger percentage of protein than their body can synthesize. They have to get to be 5 or 6. And you will not make a 2 or 3 or 4 year old buck B&C deer by feeding protein- their skeleton has to max out size before that protein makes a significant change in Antlers. I don't wait until they are 5 or older necessarily if I want to shoot one in Alabama, and have no illusion we have a B&C deer on our property. Save your money and let them get old and feed em corn if you want to take pictures of a few of your deer. We feed a lot of protein because that is what the club wants, but has not made a measurable difference in Antler development or doe health in the last 10+ years.

https://extension.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/publications/publications/p3013.pdf

This study attempted to answer the nature vs nurture debate. A good feeding program can/will impact body and antler size. However, it appears those effects may take several years to manifest.

Its more whats most attractive vs what would be best for the deer. Ive got a new piece of property thats been shot up pretty good. So, I’m just trying to start building a herd if possible. I understand corn is a great option but I was just seeing if there are better options.