# Cheapest way to supplement deer?



## GeorgiaBowHunter (Jan 14, 2008)

I have a small tract of land that i have access to hunt and i am looking into the cheapest way to do some supplemental feeding this off season.  I do the usual corn feeding most of the off season but i want to start giving them something that will help promote healthier deer and most of all better antler development and mass on my bukcs.  I am pretty much limited to feeder/trough/mineral supplements as for i dont really have agricultural capabilities.  What should i do to get the most for my money?


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## BOWHUNTER! (Jan 14, 2008)

Not sure of the price but goat chow is high in protein. Most of the supplemental feeds are only about a dollar more than corn right now.. I've heard that feed grade soybeans are pretty good but don't know the prices.


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## LittleBigDoe12 (Jan 14, 2008)

Purina deer chow isnt bad and its not expensive, also as BOWHUNTER! said goat feed or soybeans arent too expensive.


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## doe shooter (Jan 14, 2008)

Fertilize any oak trees, briars or honeysuckle. If you have some briars, mow'em in the spring and then fertilize. Cheap and the deer will eat'em up.


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## GeorgiaBowHunter (Jan 14, 2008)

Never heard that before with the briars but i will give it a try.

thanks for the responses and keep them coming guys.


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## Todd E (Jan 14, 2008)

One of these from walmart.com filled with 50/50 corn/soybeans.

Honestly, it is not the cheapest way. That has already been mentioned.......fertilize any and all natural browse and fruit/oak trees. 
I just like this supp feed method.


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## 4wheeling4life (Jan 14, 2008)

Fertilizeing natural browse will help alot. And it is a cheap way to help your deer herd.....


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## rip18 (Jan 14, 2008)

Yep, I would do some sort of understory disturbance (prescribed burning, drum chopping, woods mowing/mulching, herbicide application, etc.) followed by a fertilization.

In many cases you will generate more quality browse per dollar spent than if you had spent the money on a commercial deer feed, soybeans, or other high quality feed supplement.

You will also be improving the habitat for many other wildlife species as well (and improving visibility - i.e., shooting chances).

Best of luck!


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## gadeerwoman (Jan 15, 2008)

Invest in a chain saw! Even small areas thinned or clear cut will create a ton of browse. A little lime and fertilizer on native vegetation is the cheapest option out there. Do not begin a supplemental feeding unless you can keep it going Jan-August. But the best way to add mass to your bucks is let em live long enough to mature. A buck's first goal is to find as much high quality food as possible to build up it's body. Once that goal is reached what's left will go into antler growth but the number 1 ingredient for good antlers in Georgia is age since most places in the state have adequate browse for nutrition. Get sunlight on the ground where browse can grow, toss on some 19-19-19 a couple times during the peak growing periods and let those young bucks walk until they are 3 1/2 at least.


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## Twenty five ought six (Jan 15, 2008)

According to the good people at the U of  GA,fertilizing and liming native browse will produce 90% of the nutrient value of an improved food plot.


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## Dean (Jan 15, 2008)

*do some burning*

to promote tender natural browse, then fertlize the natural browse. 

It is my understanding that corn has very little if any nutitional benifit for the deer now. Corn is low in protein, high in carbs. Maybe okay when the deer need to build up energy to rut, but really very little benifit for promoting antler growth (summer) and health this time of year. Deer need high protein, not high carbs.


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## Ace1313 (Jan 15, 2008)

Dean they do not need the higher protein until the new antler growth starts.  Right now deer need the higher carbs of corn to replace fat and energy= (body heat) from the rut and lack of high carb vegetation in the wood.  I personally switch to protein when the spring green up occurs.  I mix 50/50 corn soybean in two feeder and the other two I run Godfrey's (coons love it).  If you cannot run feed year round native vegeatation management is the way to go.


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## Dean (Jan 15, 2008)

*Corn*

Thanks Ace1313. Okay, but based on my reading corn is okay in the fall. To rebuild the muscle mass lost during the rut bucks need higher protein, and of course to promote strong antler growth starting in the spring. The winters in this part of the south are generally mild enough that the carbs in corn are not required to generate body heat. High protein feed also starts the does on the fast track as the fawns they are carrying get the protein and they drop healtheir fawns. 

Corn's low protein level (7-10%) is not sufficient to develop bone and muscle. So if you are feeding corn to your deer in the spring, they are getting full on the food with the least amount of protein; even lower than native vegetation. Corn is a good choice in the fall however. It is high in carbohydrates and gives deer energy when they need it during the fall and winter months. 

Either way I think promoting natural browse, food plots etc is the way to go. Deer as browsers will only utilize supp. feed about 25% of the time anyway.


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## tracker (Jan 15, 2008)

*cheapest*

The cheapest is to fertilize honeysuckle patches, from what I have read the best times are Feb and Aug.

Danny


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## GeorgiaBowHunter (Jan 15, 2008)

Todd E, dont you have a problem with the corn lasting in that gravity fed feeder though, it just seems like it wont last as long.  Not with my deer anyway.  What about them are better than the timed feeders?


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## Sylvan (Jan 15, 2008)

I'd try and set up a mineral site also, you can do that fairly cheap.


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## LittleBigDoe12 (Jan 16, 2008)

In my opinion the trough or gravity feders work best. Timed ones just havent done good for me, koons and other critters get the corn or feed more than deer do. With trough's the koons and critters still get it but not as much.

but by far the cheapest way is fertilize native browse.


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## gadeerwoman (Jan 16, 2008)

If you are only feeding to hold deer in the area, timed feeders will work well. If you are talking feeding to improve weights and condition, use trough feeders or free choice barrel feeders. In that situation you want them to eat freely, as much as they want, not just several pounds fed a couple times a day with a timed feeder.


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## GeorgiaBowHunter (Jan 16, 2008)

Okay im goin to do the fertilizing things but what should i fertilize it with?  Will just any plant fertilizer do the trick?


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## Todd E (Jan 16, 2008)

My feed lasts longer with the gravity fed free choice. I've been the slinger route and will not use one again(except for baiting hogs). 

I use these feeders to be able to feed soybeans with the corn.


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## gadeerwoman (Jan 16, 2008)

Any balanced fertilizer that is easy to obtain will work fine, whether it's 10-10-10, 13-13-13, or even 19-19-19. Just adjust the amount lower for the higher percentages. The fertilization will work best if the areas are cut or mowed first and then fertilized to produce new growth. I'd wait until late winter/early spring to do that so you take advantage of budding and spring regrowth.


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## gobbler (Jan 16, 2008)

We use supplemental feeding on our property with deer pellets 20% protein from southern states, broadcast with american hunter spin feeders. Used these feeders for years and no problems. Mix the pellets with corn in the beginning to allow the deer to become accustomed to eating the pellets, once they do you will see an increase in the size of your deer heard. Do need to feed as mentioned earlier from January right up to bow season. If you have a trail cam you can get some pretty good pictures from your feeder to see whats out there. Give it time, the deer may take a few weeks to locate the feed, but once they do they will bring others. We like to control the amount of feed the deer consume because they still need to incorpoate natural vegetation into their diets, hence the term supplemental feeding. By the way, checked on soybeans yesterday, going for about $5-$6 more per bag than the pellets we currently use at just under $10 per 50# bag. Good luck.


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## BornToHuntAndFish (Jan 28, 2008)

I know you mentioned you "don't really have agricultural capabilities", but this cheap, low labor idea may be of interest.    Several years ago in the GON magazine, an article was written on low cost, no till food plots using 2 bales of wheat straw.  It mentioned spreading the wheat straw over a small, sunny 400 sq. ft. or 20x20 ft. bare ground area sprinkled with 10-10-10 or any all purpose fertilizer.  Most non-agriculture lands can use some lime to sweeten up the soil for growth.  A few of these around a small tract may help with minimal efforts.  The Gadeerwoman can probably shed some light on how well these really work.  

I've seen oats, rye, and wheat come up in the winter w/o tilling/breaking up the ground & it's some of the cheapest, easiest to grow.  I hear from experts over & over it's usually not until up to 6 months later before you see significant liming benefits, but it can provide major impacts to help maximize vegetation production, especially if it has been a while since the soil saw any lime, and that this is usually the most overlooked step that many forget to do that can help.  

Ditto, as others said, and what I've heard for over 30 years of deer hunting, that fertilizing honey suckle thickets and other natural growing browse along with trimming/opening up the areas so more sunlight exposure occurs is some of the cheapest ways to easily improve feeding local deer herds.  Good luck in whatever you decide to do.


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## kickers (Jan 30, 2008)

i use deer feed instead of corn. racoons eat up the corn but won't touch the pellets i use & the deer love it. if your interested pm me and i'll get you a #         see pics...


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## kentuckychuck (Jan 31, 2008)

Protein feed feeding will help out the health of your deer, and mineral licks will help also.


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## seabear2 (Jan 31, 2008)

2nd pic looks like he has been shot.


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## Perry Hayes (Jan 31, 2008)

seabear2 said:


> 2nd pic looks like he has been shot.


Something took a chunk out of his back and look at the color of the hair.


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