Curious about off-season supplemental feeding, how many people continue to feed this time of year during the hardest time for the deer to find food? I've noticed on my property an increased volume of supplemental feeding, corn and soybean and protein pellets being hit extremely hard. Just wondering how many people have the same interest as I do to try to supplement year-round, food plots are being hammered right now also, what is left of them.
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Offseason feeding
- Thread starter Bud Man
- Start date
I filled 4 feeders up today . 2 spin feeders with corn and 2 troughs with protein pellets . And my food plots look like you mowed them with the mower down low .
Blackston
Senior Member
I dumped some corn yesterday to get a few pics but but won’t stick with it ….. I wish I knew someone with 2 corn silos 
bilgerat
Senior
I wish I could afford to feed them year round but I like to eat too and a choice had to be Made.
transfixer
Senior Member
Back before baiting became legal, we would only feed after the season was over, we knew by then most of the forage was gone, and we wanted to help the herd stay healthy, we usually put out corn and sometimes the pellet feeds until greenup around the end of March
My boy and I were on our property yesterday. Loads of acorns still around, plenty of browse as well. Neighbors who bait to kill deer during the season have pulled their bait stations. But with the mast and browse all around deer are looking healthy. Have you walked your land to see what natural food is available? Might find some sheds now if you have not. My boy and I did a walk about and found some indicators that were exciting.
Gator89
Senior Member
Now is certainly the best time to introduce a new feed to deer. The fewer natural options deer have, the easier it is to get them started on manufactured feeds.
drenalin08
Senior Member
Yep im still putiing out 18% protein pellets.
buckpasser
Senior Member
I feed them all they can eat year round at work. Believe it or not, they are much less needy right now than two months ago. They have shifted to the clover patches and winter grasses where I’m at. I guess in a pine mono-system or a continuous hardwood forest they would rely more heavily on supplemental feeding? In ag country they’re fine.
bfriendly
Bigfoot friendly
I got a barrel in Taylorsville that needs filling tooI dumped some corn yesterday to get a few pics but but won’t stick with it ….. I wish I knew someone with 2 corn silos
If I had land I’d be putting out pellets Of some kind, probably.
My dad said his deer grocery bill is higher than his , I just fill the feeders for him
Deernut3
Senior Member
I keep 2 spin feeders full year round, both on properties without hogs.
My clover looks like it just sprouted for the first time. They have gnawed it all down to the dirt.
A 20 acre peanut field will feed a bunch of deer for a long time after the peanuts have been harvested.
Long Cut
Senior Member
If you’re on timber land with limited food plots and high deer numbers, you’re going to need to supplemental feed.
You can also shoot more deer (during deer season) to reduce the amount of browse pressure and deer density. Trail Camera surveys will allow you to determine the “how many” deer to remove.
Prescribed burns (if allowed) are a phenomenal and budget friendly way to increase native forage and browse.
Food plots are another great way to provide year-round food. Maximizing the acreage you plant food plots (5-10% of the property should be in food plots)
You can also shoot more deer (during deer season) to reduce the amount of browse pressure and deer density. Trail Camera surveys will allow you to determine the “how many” deer to remove.
Prescribed burns (if allowed) are a phenomenal and budget friendly way to increase native forage and browse.
Food plots are another great way to provide year-round food. Maximizing the acreage you plant food plots (5-10% of the property should be in food plots)
bigchiefchoctaw
BANNED
Good advice ^^ the down side to that is it’s exhausting to count pictures everyday and keep the bait sites with corn.. having to do a bait site every 100 acres is a lot of money in corn to do do a survey. It takes a good bit of time to do it all..
Long Cut
Senior Member
It’s typically a 14 day trail camera survey, with the cameras set to a 4-5 minute picture interval. 1 camera per 100 acres and this should be done 1x per year, in August-September timeframe.
One could “rule of thumb” it and shoot 1 mature doe per 100 acres per year to maintain herd numbers, and increase to 2-3 does per 100 acres for a more aggressive population reduction.
Regardless, bullets are cheaper than planting food plots and filling feeders. Reducing the number of mouths your habitat and feeders have to feed will drastically increase antler & animal body size comparative to supplemental feeding and planting food plots.
*My long-winded response to it may seem like a big investment money & time-wise to conduct trail camera surveys, but it’s cheaper than the alternative on the back-end. The return on investment will also be much greater than blindly feeding deer and spending $500+ a month on feed, when you can shoot more and get better results.*
bigchiefchoctaw
BANNED
Yeah I have done all the surveys I am gonna do. Way too much time involved in that to me just to get an average of your deer per square mile buck to doe ratio etc. I’m sure it’s a valuable tool to properly do it on quality places etc… I don’t have time to do all that stuff anymore..I can get a general idea of how many I am seeing at one time in sits and camera locations over the property to get a ruff idea
bigchiefchoctaw
BANNED
Oh yeah I don’t disagree with you for sure ! It’s very tuff to control or know what the people around you are doing you can over harvest based on what your seeing and the neighbors could be killing 2 or 3 times that amount.. add in predators, vehicles and normal cause of death and your only getting a general idea of what’s there year to year. just to many variables. For me and what I am looking for in my outdoor time and hunting. It just starts to get to busy and feel like i have another job and takes the fun enjoyment out of what hunting is in my eyes
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