anyone that hunts small properties,

[Wilderjack]

is it worth feeding supplemental feed (protein, cotton seed, ect.) or is it a waste of money? I hunt 220 acres, not much hunting around me, just a little, and I have no livestock on the property.
Is it better to manage through culling rather than spending all that money on feed?

[geauxgruene]

We feed just corn and cull. I think it depends on how well the deer hold to your property and how generous you feel.

[leebtattoos]

its not a horrible thing to do but you have to realize that you are feeding deer that come season, you might not see again. we hunt a small acreage place too (150) but we feed corn year round and do several seasonal food plots. it makes for great trail cam pics in the off season but when the season comes, we see a third of the nicer bucks if we are lucky. we will continue to do this and this year i think i am going to put out either cotton seed or alfalfa bales in the spring to help antler growth and general protein. i figure its a cheaper way to try and supplement since we might not even reap the rewards.

[Stan R]

There is alot of good info on thus thread..

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115330

[Aggiebush]

We have a place in Harrison Co. that is 125 acres and heavily hunted around us. We feed corn and protein year round and plant around 10-12 acres in fall food plots. We pull deer in from all over the country, and have noticed a great difference in the quality of bucks seen. We shoot as many does as TPWD will let us and cull bucks, and try to let the nice ones get mature. It sucks when the neighbors shoot a nice, young buck that has great potential, but that is the risk of having small acreage. I personally think that is is very much worth it, but you have to weigh all the good and bad to see if it is worth it for you.

Last year I had pictures of 19 different bucks on our little piece of heaven, and have more than that this year (haven't counted them yet). That's not bad for 125 acres!

[BuckySWT]

Same situation as aggie bush, except we're just getting ready to start doing that. The guys around us manage pretty well, as do we, so we're hoping it will improve the quality of the stuff that is staying on our property. Food plots are still a ways off, but they're gonna happen.

[tkuehn5410]

I would feed protein/cotton seed if I had the extra money for feed and if the area was lightly hunted. Being that you have 200 acres to hunt, you are limited in the amount of mature deer you may or may not see.

[grassmaster]

I hunt a 100 acre tract that has two protien feeder and 3 acres of food plots. It's been semi managed for the last 4 years while the neighbors on all four sides shoot whatever they see. This year I took a 139" 5.5yr old buck so I would say it's worth it

[stickman]

I believe it will help without a doubt. If people can afford it they should. I hunt(invite only) on a small place(about 190 acres) near mathis lake. The lease boss fed protien for three years and stopped because he was unsure if he would be able to lease the property again this year. As luck would have it he was able to continue leasing and we have noticed a serious decline in both antler and body size. There are also fewer mature deer on the lease. Whether its small food plots,protien feeders,or some other type of feed program its imperative to provide as much for the deer as you can so that you can reap the benefits year round,i.e, better herd health,larger carrying capacity,bigger bucks,and happy land owners.

[systemnt]

spent about $600 on protein, food plots in a box, acorn-thisandthat, cmere deer.. best investment was corn.

[MQ32Shooter]

Man, you hunt twice as much as we have. Congrats!!

[1 big skeeter]

Hunted about 1/2 dozen times on 44 acres in Kerrville this year. Started putting out alfalfa flakes the last 3-4 times and noticed more whitetail and axis activity on the property. Fed corn 1 month before and all during the season. It was always gone as was the alfalfa.

[canny]

For small acerages I feel the best way to hold deer is basically not give them a reason to leave, if they have the cover and water then the only thing next is food. If your area has good soils and can support year round food plots (2-5% of your entire acerage)that would be the path I'd take. However, if I was going to rely on just protein feeders to increase the food source I'd do 1 per every 80 acres, and use a textured feed.

[Bonesplitter]

It never hurts!

[cosmiccowboy]

I just can't convince myself it's worth it on small acreage. There are a couple of guys leasing my neighbors place next door that shoot anything brave/foolish enough to walk out in that oat field during daylight. I am doing habitat improvement and food plots for the deer (currently have some random patches of turnips planted and about 5 acres of Australian peas planted) but I'm just not ready to start spending money on bagged protein.