Tplay103

Man, I did not realize this issue had such "opinions" on it. I simply want to know if I could help the herd. Let me give a few extra details that may help.

Yes, I do hunt in Texas and even though we may be known for deer, I personally do NOT have large herds on my place. The biggest group I've seen on my place was a group of 3. The most deer seen this last year for example was 6 in one day. 3 on one side of the lease and 3 on the opposite side (Seen at same time, so not the same 3).

I am pretty well educated on this subject and I'm well aware that corn alone does not provide nutrional value...Some carbs and energy that are needed at times... Not a lot more. That's why I was asking... Maybe mixes of Soybeans, Protein pellets, etc. If it really does not make much of a difference, I'll gladly keep my money.

I have put food plots in for years. Firm believer in them and their value year round; however, I no longer own that land and I am strictly leasing a place ONE year at a time. He also keeps cattle on the place Jan through September, so without spending all the money to fence off my plots, not sure with the cattle and it not being my place.....

So, to feed or not to feed??

BrutalAttack

The concerns for migration certainly may not apply but of course the other factors do such as disease, parasites and predation and possibly some other negatives we don't know about.

farm hunter

T-Play103 - You should feed - but do it responsibly - That was the point I was trying to make to you, and the others. Feeding fits your situation fairly well.

I do feel that feeding does not fit for most of the rest of us.

FH

TXhighrack

Tplay:

Feed a mix of corn and soybean hulls and/or cotton seed. Soybean hulls and cotton seed are very high in protein and are very pallatable. This stuff isint as expensive as the name brand protein feed, but it is still very good for the deer. Alot of ranches in this area feed cotton seed and soybean hulls.

BrutalAttack:

Naaa, I've never really bought into the "corn spreads disease" hype. I mean just about every ranch in Texas has some sort of feeder up and running, and for some reason we have one of the biggest and healthiest deer herds. I might not feed in CWD zones in Wis. but where talking about Texas here. And there have been many studies done in the area about "predation", they found that the risk dosent increase when/if somebody puts out feed on a regular basis. Alot of people will throw corn and grain on the ranch roads during quail season to bring the birds out. There was a study done by a gentleman at the local college, trying to find out if quail numbers are decreased by predation because large numbers of birds are congregated together. The study found that the numbers where not negetivly affected at all. So if quail can survive predation around man made food sources, theres no doubt in my mind that deer can to. And about the "parasites", you only normally find that in areas with poor range conditions or extremely high deer numbers. Around here most years we have a very good habitat and for the most part the deer numbers are below the max. carrying capacity of the land.

jeg3455

TXhighrack-
I am glad you mentioned cotton seed, I was just curious as to where you purchase this. Do you buy it straight from a cotton gin, from the feed store, or what. Very curious please let me know I am wanting to try it this year.

Brad W Wi

Before the DNR outlawed feeding of deer in Wisc. I made a gravity type feeder for my property. It held 750 lbs. of corn. Depending on the time of year it would go for several weeks with out needing to be refilled. If cattle are a problem you could fence it off to them and that would take care of that problem. I'm sure you could modify the plans to hold more corn if that is not enough. If interested E-mail me at [email protected] and well figure how to get you some planson it. It's simple and free.

BrutalAttack

I'm not talking about the food spreading disease necessarily there are many kinds of diseases and parasites and they don't all use food vectors for infection. It's seems pretty obvious to me that when more animals are in contact with each other the risk is higher. Same could be said for predation, predictability and grouping lends itself to predation. One example I can think of is a water hole in Africa. While not exactly the same thing I can see the parrellel. Seems like pretty simple logic to me. Also, an important thing to remember, just because we don't see something (i.e. increased risk) doesn't mean it does not exist. Quail and deer are two very different species with different feeding strategies, predators, predator aviodance strategies and behavior. I know alot of you guys dislike what biologists say, but they don't say it for no reason. The majority of them want hunters and the herd to succeed or they wouldn't be in the field. And I'm not saying that you should never engage in supplemental feeding, I'm just trying in my own small way to make some of the risks known.

TXhighrack

Jeg3455:

Go to your local feed store, they might have some there. Another spot would be your local farm Co-op store. Anywhere that farmers go to by there seed for the year. But buy a "low grade" of cotton seed, the stuff the farmers use is very expensive because its treated and coated with all kinds of stuff.

BrutalAttack:

I have my degree in range and wildlife management, part of what I do for a living is manage large private landholdings in south Texas.

I've sat by many ponds, rivers, and lakes in south Texas and you know, I've yet to ever see a lion, cheetah, leopard, alligator, hyena, or jackal stop by. Our deer are quite safe compared to plains game in Africa.......

Yes they are, but quail have far more enemies then the whitetail deer does. If a quail lives past 2 years then he has really beat the odds. So if quail numbers dont experience much if any rise in predation rates because of baiting, then its very clear that deer wont either. But either way, like I stated in my previous post, there have been studies done down here about baiting, whitetail deer, and predation, and those studies have shown theres not much/if any negative affect.

It might seem that way, but its not always the case. Baiting and using corn has been huge down here for atleast 50 years, yet our deer herd is one of the largest and healthiest in the country. And most places down here have many feeders set up around the ranch. The deer numbers are pretty evenly dispersed between one feeder and the other. Just because you set out 200 pounds worth of feed, does not mean every deer in the county is going to come running to eat it. Some areas in wis. where you have CWD cases, and 100 deer feeding on the same pile of corn during a harsh winter, you might run the risk of spreading some kinda disease. But like I said earlier, thats an extreme case, and besides where talking about Texas here.