Winter deer feed.

[red44]

My dad has several hanging around the house in his subdivision. No hunting there. He wants to give them a little something to help get them through to spring. Don't want to give them something that is detrimental to their overall health. No cedars to cut for them, but what to feed them? The local feed store has deer food in spades, just want to hear from you guys what's best for they're heath this time of year. We got about 2' of snow and ice covering the ground since last month, the reason he's seeing them now I'm sure.

[P'duck]

You might try alfalfa pellets, the federal government agencies drop them at times in Yellowstone. Corn is pure protein and they will eat it but how much will convert to food is hard to tell.

[J.C.]

whatever's cheap. gotta be better than a snowball.

[red44]

We decided to go with just corn, and a little at a time too. We had a good acorn crop this fall so they should be in good shape anyway going into this. More snow coming tues/wed, should bring our total this winter to about 60-70 inches. Our normal average for the whole winter is around 40". As long as they can still move around they should be fine. My buddy went out on his land and droped a couple of maples for them. They make short work of the buds.

[red44]

Originally Posted by J.C.

whatever's cheap. gotta be better than a snowball.

My late father in law used to say that about some of the crappy hay/brush I used to bale for his cows.

[Supermag]

corn works and/or bales of alfalfa would be great (as would pellets but they're more expensive).

Something else you could do is get one of those protein tubs that they sell for cattle and put that out. Just make sure it's under 20% protein or you might have a problem with them getting sick or worse from it.

[red44]

From what I've read, corn is fairly low in protein but high in carbs. The last thing we want to do is hurt them.

[Supermag]

Don't worry about hurting them with natural type feeds, it's just the tubs and blocks that use urea to get their protein content up that can cause the problems.

[Litemup]

Corn is very low in protein and high in carbohydrates.

[elkslayer4x5]

They do fine on corn and alfalfa as well as the occasional rose they come upon. Moisture won't harm the whole corn, and they don't care if the alfalfa is wet. It will get a bit messy, cause they'll leave the straw part behind. Its kinda funny, if you leave a bale of alfalfa tied tight, the deer will nibble cones into the bale, as deep as as their noses are long.

[archeryassasin]

we use corn and feederfire pellets but i think during winter the deer are just looking for any source of food.

[elkslayer4x5]

Yeah, I think they hit the corn so heavily for the carbs, keeps them warmer.

[MossyD12]

RIGHHHT! i agree

[IROLDFOX]

Where I live, N.Y. State it's not legal to feed deer, a few months back a lady was fined for feeding corn to deer. Some hunting articles I have read, have stated that feeding corn to deer in the winter is bad for their health. The deer metabolism slows down in the winter to enable them to survive on bark and low carb food. If you feed them, you should keep giving them the high carbs don't stop, if you stop that's when it hurts their health.

[black_dog]

I feed them goat chow and alfalfa. Goat chow is about the same protein as deer feed. Make a bunch of small piles so big deer can't hog it all. My fawns are all fat and sassy since I started putting out a little feed.

[red44]

As it turns out, they only put out hand-fulls of feed for about a month. They learned they had to put it out after dusk or the squirrels would get it all. The ground got bare of snow and the deer are caring for themselves now, as it should be.

[mtbowhunter]

Big N J Deer feed is the best supplement I have seen.
22% Protein, full of calcium, salt, and corn for energy! It retails for around $30.00 per 40lb bag and you only need about 7-10lbs a week. Then if you really wanted to give them an additional cheap treat, untie an alph alpha bail and let them tend to it as they wish. The problem there is, make sure its somewhat older alph alpha that has lost all of its moisture, thus loosing some of its protein level. Good fresh alph alpha is 22-24% protein{which is to high for wintering deer}. Corn is almost void of protein {High in sugars} and will make them sick in winter due to metabolism slow downs, but its ok to cut your feeding with corn. That’s what Big N J does well. Its fermented corn with all the rest cut in. Fermented corn has lost most of its sugars, thus not hurting, but helping wintering deer herds. The added calcium will get them on the road to growing good bone next spring!!!!!!!!!!

[archeryassasin]

i usually dont put out corn until gun season because our deer have a 10 acre field of fod plot surrounded by treestands so i git r done early in the season

[Ga Knifemaker]

I dont know how good it is for them but, they love corn.