Supplementing your hunting property herd?
 

Those that live in states that allow you to supplement feed your deer(MO and IA I think allow this), what do you supplement with as far as feed/protien and what % of crude protein??? Mineral Blocks/protein%??? Corn?? Soybeans?? Home mix of anything??

Thanks

RE: Supplementing your hunting property herd?
 

Chili and Beer

RE: Supplementing your hunting property herd?
 

I plant food plots etc. But I also have protein blocks out for most of the off season. If money was no issue I like Antler King's Big block as it has a like 20 percent protein. BUt for the money, there is a generic block at Tractor Supply that has 18 percent I believe and it's like half the price.

RE: Supplementing your hunting property herd?
 

No kind of pellet food? I've seen in the TV shows and Videos of Mark Drury putting out some kind fo pellet food....Biologic doesn't offer anything that I could find...Anybody know of something like that?? Does it help/work...??

RE: Supplementing your hunting property herd?
 

Whitetail Institute offers several supplements that are exceptional. The deer will literally paw at and eat the dirt to get this stuff:

http://www.whitetailinstitute.com/products/3006/

http://www.whitetailinstitute.com/products/edge/



The picture here shows a bachelor group of a supplemental feeding area. Also, if you look closely around the stump you can see where it has been dug out by deer trying to get the minerals.

RE: Supplementing your hunting property herd?
 

Food Plots like turnips, clover, sorghum, milo, wheat, greens, alfalfa, corn, apple trees. And minerals.

RE: Supplementing your hunting property herd?
 

I love supplemental feeding. Here in WV, it is very effective. We have no agricultural fields. We really don't have any fields of any kind in my area, unless you count backyards. With the acorns mostly gone, there really isn't much for the deer to eat. In situations like this, supplemental feeding can be very advantageous.

It is not without its disadvantages however. It can be quite expensive to feed deer. I feed Heartland Deer Feed (a 16% protein mix containing pelleted food, corn, soybean, mollasses, as well as some other stuff), corn, and Purina Mills Deer Chow. I mix the three in roughly equal portions. The deer seem to love it. It costs me roughly $300-$400 to fill my feeder (holds one ton) and it takes them approximately 3-4 weeks to eat it all. So it is fairly expensive and not for everyone. In my opinion, if you are going to supplemental feed, let them eat what they want. If you try to ration the feed to save money, you really are only providing minimal benefit (if any at all). Waste of time IMO.

It is also a potential health risk. If CWD is prevalent in your area, I would recommend NOT to supplemental feed. It just isn't worth the risk.

If you have never provided supplemental feed before, I would start with entirely corn and slowly add in whatever you are going to feed. It is also important to note that if you are going to feed a pelleted food, it must remain dry. So you will have to have some type of protein feeder or trough.
Here's my setup:

RE: Supplementing your hunting property herd?
 

Anybody try or use Purina Deer chow?? If so how does it work and do the deer really like it as much as they do straight corn??

RE: Supplementing your hunting property herd?
 

You will get more for your money if you get a few sacks of fertilizer, walk the hunting area, and fertilize the native habitat. Honeysuckle, briars, oaks and other forage have as much or more nutritional value to a deer than the trough feed.

RE: Supplementing your hunting property herd?
 

my brother and i have a hunting property in indiana, we use lots of whitetale institute suppliments (as in, 30-06 mineral suppliment, which works well)
we also plant lots of food plots and we have a moultrie corn feeder which also works well. but if your looking for good suppliments i would look toward any whitetale institute they have amazing suppliments. we have also used Deer-cane which the deer go CRAZY for they love that stuff.