Goats and Deer?

[Captrix]

Hello everyone! I'm new here, I've been hunting about 5 years and got my first bow a few weeks ago. I was wondering if anyone has had any problems with their goats scaring away the deer. For a few years now I've been trying to hunt at my mom's property. She has 50 acres with about 25 goats. Unfortunatly there is no cross fencing other than a 5 acre pasture so the goats and horses have all 50 acres. There are deer all around them but I can't get them to come over the fence to my feeder (I've seen them on the front corner of the property a few times). I swear I've tried everything. I have a 4 ft high 40 ft pen around my feeder so the goats and horses don't get the corn. I havent seen not one deer at my feeder in 3 years. Do deer have a problem with the goats? If so I don't blame them, they can smell pretty nasty . I was just wondering if anyone has any ideas.

Genevieve

[Huntindad]

first... WELCOME to the fire.

is the corn piling up or do you think the deer are hitting it at night.

May take them a little while to get used to the set up.

Goats don't go well with deer hunting...

[Tommy_V]

Welcome to the fire!

I have never had any luck while hunting with goats present. I hunted a place in Junction that had some feral goats that would move on and off of the place. When they were on the place, we knew it because the deer movement was slim to none.

[Cajun Blake]

place a game cam at your feeder to monitor activity

pics will confirm what is feeding , and at what times

with 25 goats on 50 acres, the goats can move around the land quickly

[Captrix]

I've had this set up for 3 years and I've had a camera out there but no pics, except me so I know its working. I don't have one out there now since my boyfriend needed an extra one at his house and I know there are deer at his feeder. The corn at my feeder at my moms piles up so I know no deer have been there. I guess after 3 years its time to give up. stupid goats

[passing thru]

I would try protein pellets instead of corn, but would wait until the acorns are gone first.

[Bodey]

If you hunt at Liberty Hill, you have been in a terrible drought for tow of the three years you talk about. If there were deer on your place, they would have been hammering the corn. Goats compete directly for the same natural feed that deer eat. I'm not saying you can't have deer and goats on the same place but when things are tough,the deer will go elsewhere. I used to have some ranches in the hill country and they had good deer on them. I got in to the goat business and the deer did not leave, but the numbers and quality of the deer diminished.

[mnsherick]

I've hunted the same small plot of 65 acres for the past 5 years, three of those years my grandpa had goats on the property, but he had it fenced in approx. 20 acre sections, when the goats had access to my 'hunting area' the corn was robbed, and the deer wouldn't show, but pen the goats 5 acres away in another pasture and the deer would come in all the time, we got 5 deer last season from that property.

One thing to consider is, do the deer have sufficient 'cover' if they have to get into an open field and jump your pen to get to the corn, they may not like it. Also this has been a very 'green fall' and there has been a lot of natural food for the animals, so they haven't had the same drive to get the corn as years past.