cottonseed ???? Deer food ????

[mastercraftka]

You sure that deer is not eating DD?

That is some funny crap right there!!! I got into the other day with a guy that swore DD was the only thing that could grow big antlers. I just didn't even know what to say. Just ignorance.

[bowsticker]

Probably a good idea. If you tried it the last two years during the spring and early summer ours sat for awhile too even though they mowed it down in the winter months. The outside turned yellow like regular hay sitting in that same feeder. Hell I had birds burrowing holes and building nests in it. Then the next trip a month later it was gone...yellow alfalfa and all. .....and they mowed it down the rest of the summer. I can only assume it was because it was so green and they had plenty of natural forage. Worst case I would break a bale up during late summer or during season to see if they take to it.

Jeremy and Brandon in that Mertzon area have great success with it too.

I might give it one more shot by breaking up a bale to see what they do

[txwhitetail]

Probably a good idea. If you tried it the last two years during the spring and early summer ours sat for awhile too even though they mowed it down in the winter months. The outside turned yellow like regular hay sitting in that same feeder. Hell I had birds burrowing holes and building nests in it. Then the next trip a month later it was gone...yellow alfalfa and all. .....and they mowed it down the rest of the summer. I can only assume it was because it was so green and they had plenty of natural forage. Worst case I would break a bale up during late summer or during season to see if they take to it.

Jeremy and Brandon in that Mertzon area have great success with it too.

Irion Co deer love it. 3 string bale wont last till the next weekend if put out on the ground.

[Smart]

Irion Co deer love it. 3 string bale wont last till the next weekend if put out on the ground.

Yup yup. They will absolutely mow it down when they need it.

[RascalArms]

I've been feeding cottonseed for about 4 years now. I can't say that it is the cottonseed that is growing the bigger horns but I can say that it is the cottonseed that is helping the body weight and body condition of my deer. I don't have run down depleted deer post rut thus the deer don't finish the winter run down. Since they go into spring with good body condition more of their nutrient intake will go toward antler development instead of body recovery. If a deer is in poor condition nature will take care of the body and survival before all of those minerals are spent on antler development. This is the same reason why a mature deer normally has larger antlers than a younger deer. So much of the vitamins and minerals are used for body development. After about 4 or 5, their bodies are mature and more goes to the head gear. Common sense tells me that the healthier a buck's body is going into the antler growing months, the better his antlers will be than if he was in poor body condition during antler growing months. If this isn't true, there are a lot of folks feeding protein with the belief that all of that protein is going straight to the head gear.

Bingo. This man has it figured out. I’ve been feeding cottonseed for years and when your deer come out of the rut fat and healthy it helps them survive winter and head into spring in good health.

Hahaha....sounds like you are in good company Mark!

[AntlerCollector]

Hahaha....sounds like you are in good company Mark!

[macoop]

That guy is a smart sucker!

[RascalArms]

That guy is a smart sucker!

Not sure how smart he is but I know he builds a helluva deer stand! [emoji106]

[sako]

Whitetail only have live sperm when they are in hard horn. Stop feeding cs in August and no problems. I learned that from a respected biologist. This biologist has seen 0% fawn crops before from ranches that fed it year round. Said it was no problem at all as long as you stop feeding it in time.

[Smart]

Whitetail only have live sperm when they are in hard horn. Stop feeding cs in August and no problems. I learned that from a respected biologist. This biologist has seen 0% fawn crops before from ranches that fed it year round. Said it was no problem at all as long as you stop feeding it in time.

The video above says that exact thing..

[myway]

For you alfalfa guys.. In my neck of the woods childress area the alfafa I have purchased is green but looks **** near like hay. I purchased 6 of the all season feeders and they didn’t touch it at all and I had to clean them all out. That was early on in our protein start up. They are now religious on the protein bothMule deer and WT so I will probably try again but are you able to find it in the summer as suggested? Or should I purchase in the spring and store it in the barn? Also with feeders would you still start it on the ground?
If anyone has a good source in that area I am all ears and would buy in bulk.

[Smart]

For you alfalfa guys.. In my neck of the woods childress area the alfafa I have purchased is green but looks **** near like hay. I purchased 6 of the all season feeders and they didn’t touch it at all and I had to clean them all out. That was early on in our protein start up. They are now religious on the protein bothMule deer and WT so I will probably try again but are you able to find it in the summer as suggested? Or should I purchase in the spring and store it in the barn? Also with feeders would you still start it on the ground?
If anyone has a good source in that area I am all ears and would buy in bulk.

I buy alfalfa all year long.....never had any issue getting it. In my dealing with it, I have stuff that is super green all over, and some that looks like regular hay like the good stuff on the outside blew off in transit. But ....when I open it up, its fine. I also have run into long stringy "hay-like" alfalfa and stuff that looks chopped and pressed. The chopped ane pressed always looks great but it sure is loose and a PIT to load in the feeders.

[myway]

I buy alfalfa all year long.....never had any issue getting it. In my dealing with it, I have stuff that is super green all over, and some that looks like regular hay like the good stuff on the outside blew off in transit. But ....when I open it up, its fine. I also have run into long stringy "hay-like" alfalfa and stuff that looks chopped and pressed. The chopped ane pressed always looks great but it sure is loose and a PIT to load in the feeders.

Yeah the chopped up crap is all I seem to get but I was ordering from my feed store that delivers so I need to find a new source and get a trailer load I guess. I just hate doing it if they are not going to touch it. I may try in February but it will probably be hard to find in my neck of the woods that time of year.