Can rye lose palatability in the fall?

[4wanderingeyes]

When I first got into plotting, I actually found Pauls site first, and unknowingly asked a few questions to Paul, then his wife replied that he passed away the night before. I felt horrible! I apologized and never posted on it again. That is when I found and signed onto the other site that is closed now, and shortly after that I was refereed to this site.

For me its oats, winter wheat, and then winter rye for what draws the deer in. I use winter rye for a few reasons, the deep roots, the above ground growth that helps the soil, the fact it comes on strong and early in the spring, it grows 5-6 feet tall in early summer, for fawn cover, and allos enough sun for the clover to still grow. It stays standing until late July, and keeps the weeds at bey until I am ready to plant something else, either mid summer, or early fall. Typically I plant brassicas in mid July, or my fall mis Labor day weekend.

 

[bueller]

Guys there is a section here on the forum dedicated to Lickcreek and some of his famed advice and experience is preserved.

http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?forums/lickcreek.11/

 

[Bassattackr]

I still get them digging in the snow for it in January. What Bill said, once it gets stemmy they find something better.

Agree, my deer eat it into the snow and dirt thru February. You're fine now but they'll lose interest in the spring when it starts growing stems/heads.

 

[g squared 23]

Rye is not at the top of the list when other foods are available but when it's the only thing still green and growing the deer decide they really like it.

I live in KS (like the original poster) and have found deer on my place do not like rye well, they much prefer wheat. We have mild winters and there is quite a bit of food around. Or like you said, given the choice they like wheat better.

Mirrors my experience exactly, I think I’ve agreed with you on this before. I’ll go 75/25 wheat to rye, but would never do a straight rye plot again. I did overseed some thin spots recently, and that was with rye as I believe it’ll grow better during lower temperatures.

The wheat, rye and clover are always an afterthought to the standing beans immediately adjacent. BUT I also never hunt my property early season when beans are less attractive.


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[BobinCt]

I will be switching to WW or Triticale next year as I planted the Rye this year at my friends place and it’s getting very little use. Even the oats and Winter Peas are getting very little use. I’m absolutely amazed.

 

[Catscratch]

Mirrors my experience exactly, I think I’ve agreed with you on this before. I’ll go 75/25 wheat to rye, but would never do a straight rye plot again. I did overseed some thin spots recently, and that was with rye as I believe it’ll grow better during lower temperatures.

The wheat, rye and clover are always an afterthought to the standing beans immediately adjacent. BUT I also never hunt my property early season when beans are less attractive.

Yes, I think we've communicated on this before. I don't want to sound like there is no use for WR, there is and I use it often. There is however a common trend in thinking that wheat has no soil building properties and that it is hard on the ground. Fact is that it has basically the same soil building properties as rye does and in my experience is more attractive. I think the perception of wheat being hard on ground may have stemmed from a farmer point of view where bushels of grain are the goal and great deals of nutrients are removed year after year during harvest. A grazing situation is much different than that.

 

[Iowa_Dave]

I will be switching to WW or Triticale next year as I planted the Rye this year at my friends place and it’s getting very little use. Even the oats and Winter Peas are getting very little use. I’m absolutely amazed.

If deer are avoiding a plot with oats and peas then you might have something else going on, because those are two highly preferred food sources in my experience. Rye? Yes, that is down the list a little ways in terms of preference in the early fall, although still a good choice for other reasons IMO. About the only thing that I can think of food wise that will out compete oats and peas is fresh acorns in the woods. Is that a possibility for you?

Otherwise, I would try to determine if dogs/predators/trespassers, etc, are foiling your plans?? Because it shouldn't be the choice of the food IMO.

 

[SD51555]

I will be switching to WW or Triticale next year as I planted the Rye this year at my friends place and it’s getting very little use. Even the oats and Winter Peas are getting very little use. I’m absolutely amazed.

Too early for oats yet. I'm aboot as far north as you can get without being in Canada, and I'd bet oat consumption won't start for another 2-3 weeks. The clover was still standing last weekend.

 

[BobinCt]

There is very little use in the plot. They are hitting the brassica plot next to the mix (mostly the tops of the radish). They have been in the LC Mix, but not much use. The oats and Rye are getting way too long. Yes, there are lots of oak trees surrounding this property , but even with that I’m still surprised at the lack of use. The property has high deer numbers too. Nobody in the area plants food plots. Maybe because it’s the first year they are exposed to the food. I don’t know.

 

[jsasker007]

Probably acorns being a better option and preferred more but after the acorns get eaten up the plots should get hit hard. I see the same here when acorns are plentiful it seems ike the deer moved somewhere else. Also depends if the plot is out in the open or if they have cover nearby. They don't feel safe out in the open until after dark here.

 

[BobinCt]

I hope it’s the acorns, too. Good cover around the field too. There’s lots of white oaks around and it’s hard to top those for a food source. I don’t know if you can top the white oaks at all. Only thing close is probably soybeans .

 

[Charles Clear]

I hunted acorns last night, deer everywhere. Way less in my plot than usual.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I hunted acorns last night, deer everywhere. Way less in my plot than usual.

I sat for the first time Monday afternoon. My stand is a good distance off of the ag fields (50+ acres of soybeans) in a good stand of oaks. I ended up getting out of stand 1 1/2 hours after dark and spooking the deer off because the deer feeding on the acorns just wouldn't leave.

 

[jsasker007]

We're getting an early start to the "october lull" this year.

 

[yoderjac]

I will be switching to WW or Triticale next year as I planted the Rye this year at my friends place and it’s getting very little use. Even the oats and Winter Peas are getting very little use. I’m absolutely amazed.

Attraction is always relative. Just a few miles away, deer could hammer cereal and ignore it. It depends on the time of year and what other food sources are available to them. During the season, the difference between cereal grains for attraction is probably a 4th order factor. As the season approaches and guys start scouting and checking stands, deer begin to feel the pressure. That pressure and their perceived security of the field is probably the first order factor.

You note that oats and peas are getting little use as well. In my area, deer are driven by acorns. When they hit the ground, deer all but disappear from our fields. We often and a late summer drop of acorns that are still green when storms move through. As soon as the deer clean up that early drop, they are back in our fields. In years with bountiful mast crops, our fields get little daytime use after acorns ripen and fall. It takes an very small amount of pressure for deer to react. In mast crop failure years, deer use our fields even during daytime in spite of significant pressure.

I find that it rarely matters what we plant for fall attraction. If deer have a bounty of acorns, they will bed in them, stand up, walk 20 yards vacuuming them up, and lay back down. They become quite difficult to hunt. When acorns are not plentiful, they bed in heavy cover and move through the oak flats on their way to our feeding plots. They will often stop at a small secluded harvest plot (clover) during daylight hours. No matter what I plant, deer react the same way. So, I don't worry about attraction. I focus on QDM aspects filling the quality food voids during times when nature is stingy.

Thanks,

Jack