$263 Per Deer to Feed

[treadwell]

"I will turn off the feeder 2 days before turkey season, and restart the last day I hunt turkeys, on my way out of the gate." I just read in the regulations....UNLAWFUL TO:

• Hunt any area for a period of 10 days following complete removal of all bait. Seems like there is a slight problem with someone not following the rules.
• HMMMMM

 

[elfiii]

"I will turn off the feeder 2 days before turkey season, and restart the last day I hunt turkeys, on my way out of the gate." I just read in the regulations....UNLAWFUL TO:

• Hunt any area for a period of 10 days following complete removal of all bait. Seems like there is a slight problem with someone not following the rules.
• HMMMMM

 

[Major Wader]

Thank you for the info. I'll turn it off sooner.

But it will still come back on the last day I turkey hunt.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Is this the brown block that was mentioned earlier in this thread? I assume it's ok for deer to consume? TSC carries these...

 

[sea trout]

Great for deer and an important time of year for it.
I like to bust a bunch off with a hammer or machette. When the rain trickles the salt in the ground the deer will go in the dirt for it. Otherwise they might roll it around to lick the ground underneath of it.
I haven't seen deer just lick the block like cows and horses do.

 

[GottaGetOutdoors]

Your neighbors that do feed will be glad you are not

The notion that you gotta out feed your neighbor is not true. Fact is, mature bucks gravitate to dense safe cover. Some of the biggest bucks in the record books were killed on unpressured land where no feeding occurs.

 

[shdw633]

Some of the biggest bucks in the record books were killed on unpressured land where no feeding occurs.

Those same bucks were primarily killed in the mid-west where agriculture rules and dense cover is a premium. In Georgia; however, the doe rules and those that have the does have the bucks that follow. so I stand by my statement. Your neighbors that feed will have the does and though your buck may be in dense cover now, he will come out to look for her......on your neighbors property.

 

[spurrs and racks]

Those same bucks were primarily killed in the mid-west where agriculture rules and dense cover is a premium. In Georgia; however, the doe rules and those that have the does have the bucks that follow. so I stand by my statement. Your neighbors that feed will have the does and though your buck may be in dense cover now, he will come out to look for her......on your neighbors property.

Cannot argue with this. But, let me tell you a little something, take it for what it's worth, and to you it might not be worth much.

All it takes is a corn feeder correctly placed where a family group of does and yearlings live, and they ain't going anywhere. Corn produces fat, which is exactly what whitetail deer want for the wintertime. It's an instinctive thing. if you keep your does and yearlings on a couple feeders the bucks will come by there.

As for big bucks, the need for survival as he grows older will out weight that desire to chase every doe there is in the county. I live with deer, and i can tell you without recall. The really big bucks don't walk around in the daylight. And I have thousands of pictures to prove it.

 

[shdw633]

Cannot argue with this. But, let me tell you a little something, take it for what it's worth, and to you it might not be worth much.

All it takes is a corn feeder correctly placed where a family group of does and yearlings live, and they ain't going anywhere. Corn produces fat, which is exactly what whitetail deer want for the wintertime. It's an instinctive thing. if you keep your does and yearlings on a couple feeders the bucks will come by there.

As for big bucks, the need for survival as he grows older will out weight that desire to chase every doe there is in the county. I live with deer, and i can tell you without recall. The really big bucks don't walk around in the daylight. And I have thousands of pictures to prove it.

Not disagreeing with that; however, if a buck is 100% nocturnal you aren't going to be getting him anyway unless you happen to bump him from his hiding place. For those bucks that are chasing though, the rule stands that those with the does, see the bucks.

 

[spurrs and racks]

The thread was about pellets or corn. I pick corn, every time.

 

[GottaGetOutdoors]

Those same bucks were primarily killed in the mid-west where agriculture rules and dense cover is a premium. In Georgia; however, the doe rules and those that have the does have the bucks that follow. so I stand by my statement. Your neighbors that feed will have the does and though your buck may be in dense cover now, he will come out to look for her......on your neighbors property.

This is one area of deer management that is long on opinions and short on research.

 

[spurrs and racks]

"This is one area of deer management that is long on opinions and short on research. "

explain please, I am never too old to learn.........

 

[shdw633]

This is one area of deer management that is long on opinions and short on research.

How do you figure?? They only have an entire organization called QDMA that is nothing but research about the subject of deer management.

 

[C.Killmaster]

This is one area of deer management that is long on opinions and short on research.

We actually have some pretty good data showing pretty distinct seasonal shifts of bucks to an adjacent area with the highest density of does. We are in the process of developing a new method for camera surveys and this ended up being a cool side observation. The data isn't published yet, but it's in the process.

 

[GottaGetOutdoors]

Charlie, are you referencing a new UGA study or is this a GDNR study? Sounds very interesting. Some of the more recent studies at Penn State, Auburn, and LSU looked at home range and excursion activity. As you know, there are still gaps in our understanding of how food affects buck and doe spatial patterns during the rut. Some studies focus on excursions. Some focus on buck movement as affected by human pressure. Some focus on seasonal patterns relative to food sources. We need to better understand effects of feeding on buck and doe spatial patterns.

Jeffrey Sullivan's study (Auburn Univ, 2016) looked at spatial patterns of does relative to date of conception. Does made excursions outside home range near peak estrous. Quality or quantity of foods was not studied in this case, but appears food was not a major factor in holding does in home range. Regardless, it is a fascinating topic that needs more research.

 

[Mark K]

We actually have some pretty good data showing pretty distinct seasonal shifts of bucks to an adjacent area with the highest density of does. We are in the process of developing a new method for camera surveys and this ended up being a cool side observation. The data isn't published yet, but it's in the process.

That’s interesting. Sorta goes against too many does mean your bucks don’t have to roam to find one.
We had decided after the last couple of years of seeing 20+ does for every buck, that we are going to try and do some serious thinning this year.

 

[C.Killmaster]

Charlie, are you referencing a new UGA study or is this a GDNR study? Sounds very interesting. Some of the more recent studies at Penn State, Auburn, and LSU looked at home range and excursion activity. As you know, there are still gaps in our understanding of how food affects buck and doe spatial patterns during the rut. Some studies focus on excursions. Some focus on buck movement as affected by human pressure. Some focus on seasonal patterns relative to food sources. We need to better understand effects of feeding on buck and doe spatial patterns.

Jeffrey Sullivan's study (Auburn Univ, 2016) looked at spatial patterns of does relative to date of conception. Does made excursions outside home range near peak estrous. Quality or quantity of foods was not studied in this case, but appears food was not a major factor in holding does in home range. Regardless, it is a fascinating topic that needs more research.

This is a new study that's wrapping up conducted by UGA and funded by GADNR. This wasn't really related to feed, I was just pointing out how the bucks completely shifted their core areas to where all the does were hanging out. We funded an earlier study looking at harvest susceptibility relative to bait sites and social and spatial interactions with bait sites. The following link is a super-brief overview from our student's dissertation, we're working on developing summaries of all the research projects we've funded/collaborated on and links to any subsequent peer-reviewed publications.

https://athenaeum.libs.uga.edu/handle/10724/37183

 

[C.Killmaster]

That’s interesting. Sorta goes against too many does mean your bucks don’t have to roam to find one.
We had decided after the last couple of years of seeing 20+ does for every buck, that we are going to try and do some serious thinning this year.

I wouldn't take it to mean that does shouldn't be managed appropriately, but rather creating the habitat conditions that suit their needs. You will run into other issues if you let the does get out of hand. For instance, while they may shift over to where most of the does are they may not be very susceptible to hunters if there are so many does that they aren't rutting hard.

 

[spurrs and racks]

"I wouldn't take it to mean that does shouldn't be managed appropriately, but rather creating the habitat conditions that suit their needs. You will run into other issues if you let the does get out of hand. For instance, while they may shift over to where most of the does are they may not be very susceptible to hunters if there are so many does that they aren't rutting hard."


Does out of hand? I really don't know what that means. This is why the limits are what they are in this state to keep the overall deer population in check.

If you are talking about over population, this is the single most negative effect in any deer herd.

You show me a club that limits the doe kill, and keeps them fed year around to help them out. I'll show you a club with plenty of bucks. That being said, only so many bucks can live in peace, on any part of land in November.

Any deer herd has a pecking order. Just as your family groups of does and yearlings can live around each other, there is a doe and her babies that are first. The rest come to the feed after she and her babies have moved on. Not any different in bucks. rather than fight to the death, they will draw a line in the sand and you stay over there and I'll stay over here.

You show me the un-hunt able and I will show you the un-killable.....doe or buck.
You need thick cover for deer to hide in. These places are WAY more important than food plots. Now, you don't need 800 acres of it, but you need adequate thick cover for deer to hide in and fell safe in.

Sure, without question bucks want to live where the does live. But, and old buck, needs a hiding place where he is not disturbed. He will find himself a doe, they (does) can run but they cannot hide from him. He will catch up with them in no time after dark.

 

[spurrs and racks]

I guess what I am saying, habitat is paramount. NOTHING else is a close 2nd.