Deer Food

[Blacktail Sniper]

Too much corn will kill a deer. They're not smart enough to stop eating it.

Don't seem to hurt the deer in the mid-west.. So that statement is nul and void..

Any good mix of grain, and oats with sweets in it will work well.. Hopefully you've been feeding them all year..

Hunterman(Tony)

No. Actually there's quite a bit of validity to his statement. Scientifically speaking anyways.

This is interesting. Curious to know how an excess of corn would kill a deer. Whats the reasoning here? Lack of nutrition, or gaseous bloating like cows with too much alfalfa??? Would like to hear some evidence or conclusions one way or the other.

If you get a good set of corn starting in Aug and religiously keep it baited with no rest into Oct, that deer will eventually die of lead poisoning

 

[KopperBuck]

Here are a copule links about deer & corn, interesting reading anyway:

http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/feeding-corn-to-deer-could-be-death-sentence/14324.html

http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/Timberwood_Park/topics/179314

Whoa.... someone had to bring facts and data into this? I was just being a smartass.

I think a straight diet of any food source would cause a problem. Just like I can't eat bacon alone everyday, as much as I would like to. Deer eat corn all over, and do well off of it. But it's not their only food source.

[Blacktail Sniper]

Here are a copule links about deer & corn, interesting reading anyway:

http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/feeding-corn-to-deer-could-be-death-sentence/14324.html

http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/Timberwood_Park/topics/179314

Whoa.... someone had to bring facts and data into this? I was just being a smartass.

I think a straight diet of any food source would cause a problem. Just like I can't eat bacon alone everyday, as much as I would like to. Deer eat corn all over, and do well off of it. But it's not their only food source.

  ...MY BAD!   

[jackmaster]

i built a elk / deer feeder in my back yard and i put down mollasses cobb, a bale of alfalfa a salt block an apple block and a corn block and i have soaked a few dirt patches with deer cane and also grew a small area with biologic lets just say they like the mollasses and cobb alfalfa and the apple block more than any of the other stuff

[fair-chase]

Too much corn will kill a deer. They're not smart enough to stop eating it.

Don't seem to hurt the deer in the mid-west.. So that statement is nul and void..

Any good mix of grain, and oats with sweets in it will work well.. Hopefully you've been feeding them all year..

Hunterman(Tony)

No. Actually there's quite a bit of validity to his statement. Scientifically speaking anyways.

This is interesting. Curious to know how an excess of corn would kill a deer. Whats the reasoning here? Lack of nutrition, or gaseous bloating like cows with too much alfalfa??? Would like to hear some evidence or conclusions one way or the other.

If you get a good set of corn starting in Aug and religiously keep it baited with no rest into Oct, that deer will eventually die of lead poisoning

 

[KopperBuck]

I couldn't help myself..

[Hoythunter]

Holy crap Kopper, I found that extremely hilarious...I got some weird looks by co-workers passing by as a busted out laughing.  Must be Fri afternoon

[mkcj]

I have been feeding the deer at my cabin in Winthrop now for 5 years I'm up to about 800lb's a month and then in Nov. for the winter I start feeding with Bales of alfalfa on top of the food. That being said I have learned a lot in 5 years! They like Purina deer chow all year very high in protein but at $15 a bag it might be pricey for some. In the spring they like ground corn (I don't feed whole corn) towards the middle of summer fall they really get into eating wheat they will eat all the deer chow and wheat and then will eat the corn. Deer blocks are good all year Wet COB is great also they really like that but I only feed that while I'm there as the bears like it also and I don't want them to get to accustomed to eating it and end up sleeping under my deck.  I also Have a 50x50 food plot planted with Whitetail Extreme very high in protein and mule deer like it also. If your feeding apples they will eat everything you put. Now what does all this feed? I have 15-20 deer in the yard  all the time. They also feed all day long I have noticed even when it's a 100 degree's out they will eat then go lay in the shade and a couple hour's later come back eat a little go nibble on brush then find different shady spot as the sun moves by. Sorry if I got a little off track! I'm going to try and buy wheat and feed corn from a co-op if anyone is interested let me know I should be able to get a good price that way. I have mule deer and whitetail at the cabin.

[Kioti]

Alfalfa works for me...I just grab a bail from the barn and put it out.  Elk love it!

[turkeyfeather]

I have been using "sweet cob" from Big R for years and the deer absolutely plow through it and then lick the dirt where it was. One caution though if you have bears in the area. I had to stop using it in one of my areas cause the bears discovered it and tore my feeders apart, ate all the cob and the deer don't seem to come through as much now.

[nwwanderer]

For you big users, you can substitute grains, corn, barley, wheat, triticale, oats, millet, milo are all similar nutritionally speaking.  Canola, soy, peas, cottonseed, camelina, DDG, lentils are more protein type feeds. Both are high in phosporous and low in calcium.  Calcium needs to be higher than phosporous in all diets.  Go for what is local and normally used by your critters.  Put in a little storage and buy from local growers right off the combine and make your own blends according to your situation.  Try to limit yourself to good viewing with small amounts, this can really get out of hand if you try to feed everything every day.  Six turkeys can turn into 600.  Deer become dependant.  Bears do not hibernate if a constant food source is available.  I visited a Mississippi deer camp that had recently put out 600 bushels of wheat, all gone in a few weeks.  Have you looked at wheat price lately?  The protein feeds are even more pricey.  We have great habitats capable of supporting 'wild' populations.

[lokidog]

Del's Allstock seems to work well, it is high in protein and not just carbs like corn is.  Also, there are craploads of apples laying in people's yards right now and yes, they love pears as well.

[oldleclercrd]

I use sweet cob and mineral blocks. In the winter I set out a few bales of alfalfa. Just curious though, do you think its bad for the deer in the middle of winter with not alot of other food around to be eating 100% alfalfa bales? Do you think alfala/grass would be better or does it matter? I feed them 100% alfalfa and they seem fine.

[jackmaster]

heres a question, ok i grow biologic and the blacktail dont seem to really care about it and neither do the elk, so what can i grow that will come back every year that both blacktail and elk will chow on?

[runamuk]

heres a question, ok i grow biologic and the blacktail dont seem to really care about it and neither do the elk, so what can i grow that will come back every year that both blacktail and elk will chow on?

roses seem popular with the towny deer and elk  sorry had to ......

clover although most are annuals it often reseeds itself once established, shoot for forbs and grains because deer aren't really grazers like elk so they dont tend to eat grasses.    I found trefoil growing in the forest one year which sort of surprised me its usually relegated to cow pastures.