What Feeder?

[Tap]

Hey, I used to really like having feeders. And I really didn't like hearing the opposite side of the discussion on that old forum...I now realize those guys were right.

SW Pa

 

[bueller]

Biologists say that the distance down the twig (how far up the twig) the deer browses is indicator of how much demand there is on the browse. Deer typically nip the very tip, best nutrient rich part of a twig. But as that prime browse gets exhausted, they start to eat farther up the stem.

SW Pa

I'm pretty sure they use pencil size as a standard. If they are browsing up to or past that, especially on a non desirable species, food is lacking in the area.

 

[yoderjac]

I hinge cut,plant trees and shrubs and food plots by the hours

And that is great! These are some of the best practices one can take depending on the habitat you start with. Keep in mind that there are also limits to what we can do on an individual basis. Deer populations were relatively low in our eastern forests when the settlers arrived. They started changing the habitat and had a major impact on wildlife populations. The cut down trees and opened up the canopy. They conducted an all out war on large predators but also use market hunting. About 100 years or so ago, sport hunters recognized the impact market hunting was having on game and the first game departments were created and hunting regulations were established. For quite a while, predators were still a major target for farmers. From that low point whitetail population have been on a fairly steady rise. Habitat for whitetail has been improving and predators were all but absent except for hunters and vehicles.

Trends are changing. Predators are returning as hunter numbers are declining. Coyotes are now in abundance and the coywolf has come into existence. We have gone from an ethic of it being unmanly to shoot a doe and any buck was a good buck to shoot to an ethic of letting young bucks walk and shooting does. We have concentrated deer behind high fence operations. With generally high populations, disease became a limiting factor in some areas.

So, while the individual habitat projects we all work on are important, they are done in this much larger context which can swamp out results. One can do all the right things individually and see deer decline or all the wrong things individually and see deer improve depending on these larger trends.

Personally I don't see supplemental feeding or commercial type mineral supplements as creating more benefit to deer than the risk they create. At least, not in my area. That doesn't mean that men of good conscience can have a different judgment.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[chucker66]

This is such a great thread. On other forums you would have been flamed out beyond belief because you are feeding the deer. Here, some guys are making recommendations for feeders, but most others are giving free advice on how you can improve your habitat. Nobody is really saying "don't do it" and putting you down for your choice, but giving reasons that you might want to look at other ways to help out. This is a big reason why I frequent this forum. I am now a habitat junkie and am looking forward to getting some apple trees going, doing some hinge cutting, developing trails, and getting more food plots going. Good luck in whatever you end up doing. My brother in Florida uses the Moutree feeders and likes them.

Chuck

 

[H20fwler]

I feed year round. I am in a very agricultural area and feed shelled corn/corn soybean mix and corn pellet mix along with food plots.
This time of year the deer in my woods normally go through 150 pounds of corn a week, along with other wildlife that come to eat.
Between feeding/food plots/soft&hard mast trees/mineral sites/water and good bedding I think deer hold on my property year round fairly good.

I use 8" PVC pipe with a tray made on the bottom and a Lucky Buck bucket on the top to keep the rain and coons out, one will hold #50 pounds of corn, I also just dump right on the ground in winter.
Some of the guys I work with build troughs or use electric feeders, plain old gravity feeder works for me.




Snow in this pic is two days old, not one kernel of corn left after four days.

 

[Someday isle]

With CWD becoming so prevalent it is illegal in my county to have feeders, bait sites or even mineral sites. In my case habitat improvements and food plots are the only options. I'm guessing that will be the law of the land for most areas as time progresses.

 

[Tap]

With CWD becoming so prevalent it is illegal in my county to have feeders, bait sites or even mineral sites. In my case habitat improvements and food plots are the only options. I'm guessing that will be the law of the land for most areas as time progresses.

You bet. It's just a matter of time.

SW Pa

 

[yoderjac]

With CWD becoming so prevalent it is illegal in my county to have feeders, bait sites or even mineral sites. In my case habitat improvements and food plots are the only options. I'm guessing that will be the law of the land for most areas as time progresses.

Habitat improvement and food plots may be the only options for you, but the are the best options by far. There are things I can do legally here that I won't.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Someday isle]

I'm okay with that. Those options for me have proven to be both fun and rewarding. Although my dad wasn't a hunter and while I didn't always agree with his methods he did make sure his kids all knew how to work - and it's the work that I enjoy the most in most things. Please Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying feeding is bad or a short cut by any means, and it's probably necessary in many cases, but I don't mind working.

And we're getting off topic. I'm not helping since I don't have any good feeder recommendations.

 

[Fall's Legend]

Lots of great advice here, thanks.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

We used to have feeders, but we burned them. Now it's all winter food plots and browse cutting. Our current plots are a WW / WR mix, a 5-component brassica plot, 3 fields of standing corn, and dropping crabapples. Browse has been improved by logging and subsequent re-growth, plus shrub planting.

 

[yoderjac]

We used to have feeders, but we burned them. Now it's all winter food plots and browse cutting. Our current plots are a WW / WR mix, a 5-component brassica plot, 3 fields of standing corn, and dropping crabapples. Browse has been improved by logging and subsequent re-growth, plus shrub planting.

Similarly, I used to use a salt/mineral lick to inventory bucks. The risk was not worth the reward so we changed approaches and stop using licks. We now have wireless silent black flash cameras running 24/7/365 on small food plots. Still get the inventory without the disease risk.

For folks considering feeders:
Just a side note, someone pointed out on the CWD thread that foot rot is showing up in Kansas: http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/mn-cwd-hunt.6674/page-6#post-130901

Thanks,

Jack