Tips and Tricks for setting up feeders????
 

A friend told me hanging and using feeders is one of those things that you can' t get too much help/advice on. I have never owned a feeder but will be buying one this weekend. I would appreciate all of the tips you can offer so I don' t have to learn the hard way. I expect to hang my feeder from a large tree and it will hold appx 100-150 lbs of corn. I also intend to hang it high to keep it out of sight of fellow camp members. I am in certral florida, so the climate is wet and humid but we don' t have large game like bears or others that might damage unit. Plenty of squirels, hogs and racoons though.

I really don' t know much about hanging them so any and all tips are appreciated.

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RE: Tips and Tricks for setting up feeders????
 

i got me a 5 gal feeder and even hanging that one in a tree is a major work out! when filled up. i guess you will have a pully system. mine as has steel varmint guard that protects the spinner. if your worried about varmints getting in to it maybe you could grease the cable or rope with crisco or something so the coons cant climb down into it.

RE: Tips and Tricks for setting up feeders????
 

You already mentioned hanging it high. This is important because " smart" hogs here in Hawaii will nose up to knock corn out of the feeder. Another thing is make sure the space between the cone where the corn drops and the spinner of your feeder is the correct distance. If there' s too much space then the corn may run out, if too little then the corn may log jam on you and nothing will come out until you show up to bump the bucket to get it flowing again. A little trial and error and you' ll figue the right distance. Starting early is a good idea.
Good luck.

RE: Tips and Tricks for setting up feeders????
 

Hey tealboy, I hunt using that same type of broadcast feeder in Flagler County.

Here' s some things I' ve learned:
1) Beware of hogs, raccoons, and squirrels, but primarily hogs and raccoons

a) Hogs: will try to uproot the tree you have the feeder on. Make sure it' s a big, sturdy tree. They will also get as high as they possibly can (I swear sometimes they stand on each other' s backs) to put their nose up at the distributor. Finally, good luck with trying to get this corn to deer, because the hogs I know will literally hear that feeder go off and come running like a freight train through the swamp for it. They will absolutely clean the ground around that thing. Honestly, it' s difficult to use a corn feeder in FL as a deer attractant - you' d almost be better off not using it at all.

b) Raccoons: Will climb the tree and try to i) pry the top off the feeder or ii) get to the distributor at the bottom. Use large piece of metal (like a slab of tin or something) above the feeder that they will slide off of so that they can' t get to it. Also, protect the winch from their attacks if you' re using one. They' re smart little bastards.

c) Squirrels: If you' re already protecting yourself from raccoons, I think you' ll be okay, because they' re basically just smaller versions of them, with less smarts.

2) Florida state law says you have to have your feeder established for either six or nine months before you can hunt near it. Seriously. That' s a lot of sweat, believe you me.

3) I might think about buying a smaller feeder. Seriously. Think about trying to get 150 lbs into the air, then think about trying to keep it there. A 50 lb feeder is easy to deal with, 100 lb is doable. My dad uses a 100 lb feeder, and he has a winch and pulley system to help him out. Simply set the distributor to put out less corn - in the long run, it' ll be much better. It' ll serve as less of an attractant to hogs (because there will be less), the corn will last longer, and you won' t have to carry as much into the woods. Light feeder, low output is the way to go until you' re cycling up to hunt over it. Than increase the output and you' ll see an increase in interest.

Other assorted advice: make sure the ground you' re thowing onto is high and dry. Otherwise you' ll end up with a stand of corn before long. Don' t scrimp on materials now, you' ll just have a bigger headache when the feeder has fallen out of the tree, onto the ground, and then the hogs have smashed it into tiny pieces. Finally, I' ll remind you - look up the Florida laws on feeders. You don' t want to get in trouble with this thing.

Hope that helps!

RE: Tips and Tricks for setting up feeders????
 

FL/GA is correct your feader needs to be in place 6 months before you hunt it . a hand winch and pully up top help with getting it up and down where you can fill it easyly .

RE: Tips and Tricks for setting up feeders????
 

I was talking to the president of G.B.A and he was told by some boilogyst studing C.W.D that the organism lives in the soil.So a broad cast feeder is the wrost kind to use,but a off the ground feeder is best. Like a cattle troth.U dont whant the food touching the ground.The D.N.R agree with this statement.Plant a food plot and u wont need to feed them.If hope your not hunting over the feeder wheather its legal or not u might as wll put them in a pen and then shoot them.Lets not help the spead of C.w.D before it speads all over yhe country.Remeber nature has its own way of dealing with over population.and its noy picky or pretty.

RE: Tips and Tricks for setting up feeders????
 

Just wanted to take a moment to respond to bullsi....

1) Yes, there is a concern for CWD. However, think about it this way: there' s always food that will come off the ground. Now, if there' s a community trough, there' s a more likely opportunity for the CWD microorganism to be transferred to the trough and then to other animals feeding from the same trough. By comparison, a distribution feeder scatters corn for a great distance, reducing the chance that two deer will be feeding from the same spot. Just to argue with your contention that troughs were safer. ;)

2) I really don' t know where you' re from, but let me tell you about Florida deer and feeders: it doesn' t work. I' ve used feeders for years, and I have yet to actually see a deer visit a feeder. The hogs in the area tear the place apart, not leaving a kernel of corn for any other animal. In some areas, I' m sure corn feeders are much more useful and much less sporting, but it just doesn' t work here.

RE: Tips and Tricks for setting up feeders????
 

Im no biologist or a D.N.R person.But I bet they know more about the way It speads than we do.It does not spead by saliva it grows on the ground not on the corn.Try a food plot.

RE: Tips and Tricks for setting up feeders????
 

Thanks for the comments. I live in Fl and you all have pretty much talked me out of the feeder. We have food plots, but they have only moderately successful.

thanks agia