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02-13-2003, 04:18 PM
#2
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Livonia Mi USA
Posts: 551
RE: FEEDING FOR SIZE/RACK
Stop feeding the deer asap. Supplemental feeding of deer in Michigan has greatly enhanced the Bovine T.B. problem and you don' t want to go near that. Use nurtient supplements during the different seasons and do the food plots. An adult deer will eat 2-5 lb. a day depending on the season and so on. So supplemental feeding is quite expensive especially when compared to the agricultural methods.
Corn is one of the worse things you can feed a deer especiall during the harsh winter we are experiencing this winter. Feed enough corn and you' ll kill the deer. They will get bloat. When feeding corn you need some sort of buffering agent to neutralize the starch in the corn or the deer will pass the rumin needed to digest the food products and will be emptied of the ability to digest. They will die with belly' s full of corn. On the other hand the carbohydrates in the corn will give then the energy to stay warm. Just be careful. It' s best to have them in good shape by the end of fall and let nature do it' s thing with the week and sick.
Corn is one of the worse things you can feed a deer especiall during the harsh winter we are experiencing this winter. Feed enough corn and you' ll kill the deer. They will get bloat. When feeding corn you need some sort of buffering agent to neutralize the starch in the corn or the deer will pass the rumin needed to digest the food products and will be emptied of the ability to digest. They will die with belly' s full of corn. On the other hand the carbohydrates in the corn will give then the energy to stay warm. Just be careful. It' s best to have them in good shape by the end of fall and let nature do it' s thing with the week and sick.
02-13-2003, 04:42 PM
#3
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SE Wisconsin
Posts: 448
RE: FEEDING FOR SIZE/RACK
Lunchbucket is partially right, feeding strait corn is NOT that good for the deer, even though they love it. The excessive starch from corn can ferment and kill bacterial in the deer' s stomach needed for digestion.
Krisken, your 4 to 1 ratio of oats to corn is very excellent. Usually deer will pick through the oats to get the corn, but if they have learned to eat the oats that' s great. The Oats provide a better ratio of starch and protein to fiber.
Deer antlers are made up of dried protiens followed by calcium and phosphorus and a bunch of other trace minerals like magnesium and salt. The best way to get deer to ingest these antler building elements is via legumes ... clovers, alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, soybeans.
You can start by spreading powdered lime on your property as a calcium/magnesium source, along with fertilizers that are low in nitrogen and high in phosphorus and potassium. Most plants will up take these minerals but legumes are especially good at it.
Krisken, your 4 to 1 ratio of oats to corn is very excellent. Usually deer will pick through the oats to get the corn, but if they have learned to eat the oats that' s great. The Oats provide a better ratio of starch and protein to fiber.
Deer antlers are made up of dried protiens followed by calcium and phosphorus and a bunch of other trace minerals like magnesium and salt. The best way to get deer to ingest these antler building elements is via legumes ... clovers, alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, soybeans.
You can start by spreading powdered lime on your property as a calcium/magnesium source, along with fertilizers that are low in nitrogen and high in phosphorus and potassium. Most plants will up take these minerals but legumes are especially good at it.
