In my experiences as a hunter/farmer, you may be right on target. I don't know anything for sure about rye, but have considerable experince with winter wheat. Wherever I clean out my grain drills or drop some seed while augering, etc the deer most certainly come and eat it and don't wait long before they arrive. This isn't something I've read, I watch it all the time. As a matter of fact, I watched a doe come across 47 acres of newly planted wheat (hasn't come up yet) just this past Saturday to eat the seed wheat on the ground. It happens all the time around here in S.W. Okla.although I'm not sure most people know it. Occasionally, I'll just pour 5 gallons or so of seed on the ground just to watch how long it takes the deer to find it and begin eating it. Believe me, it isn't long. Most of the time it's the same evening. I wouldn't think it would be that balanced of a diet, but they sure like it and will continue coming to it until they can't get any more. Also, the smell of pesticide on it doesn't seem to stop them either. In fact, I sometimes believe it helps them find it. We generally spray the seed with malathion to keep the bugs out. I wouldn't recommend spraying the seed because I couldn't think it would be good for the deer, but it sure doesn't stop them from finding it and eating it. Of course, the turkeys, hogs, raccoons, birds, etc take their share too. You might just be able to use this to help you some especially if you have access to a farmer somewhere with extra (maybe older) seed or seed screenings from cleaning or maybe what was left in his grain bins. Good luck.