We are looking at feeding cottonseed (or cottonseed hulls) to reduce some of the cost for feeding all the protein pellets our deer go through ($400 a month). What do you guys pay for cottonseed typically? How do you feed it? Do you containerize it and put it in protein feeders?
-
-
Give Perlitz ranch a call. They hook yous up -
It won't work in typical protein feeders. I'll post a picture of one if I can find it. You will pay about half for cotton seed vs. pellets.Comment
-
Last price I got was a while back and it was $160/ton delivered for dairy quality...but, I'll be getting an updated cost when I order some in a month.
Just remember...watch the aflatoxin level, esp. with most of Texas in a drought....
Secondly, you should not feed it Sept. thru Feb.Comment
-
Another tip, Pour molasses over it to get deer to start eating it and just dump on the ground.Comment
-
There is a picture of a cottonseed feeder in this picture.........if you can find it!
Comment
-
I have asked our biologist about feeding cotton seed and he is telling me that the bad thing about feeding cotton seed is you can only feed it for 6 months then it is recommended to stop it due to having the chance of the deer becoming sterile.....? anyone with any input?Comment
-
yes it can make them sterile. feed from march to august or september no later. We feed it the same way aggiebowman. Take a piece of triangle wire fencing and cut it in 4 foot strips and make it into a cone. Then drive a post in the ground where you want it and place the cone over the panel with the post in the center and fill. then watch as bucks horns grow before your eyesComment
-
How do you know for sure that is causes them to go sterile?Originally posted by mesquitecountry View PostComment
-
what size cottonseed are you using?? Cake, cubes, or pellets??
I used range cubes last year......I thought they were way too big for deer to eat (designed for cows).Comment
-
okay, I am dumb!! Can someone draw a pic of this cotton seed feeder that is shaped like a cone on a t-post?
Is this cottonseed cake?Comment
-
Sterile - How does that happen?Comment
-
Think of a Witch's hat up side down held on to a T postComment
-
Kdenhead,
It's neither (cake, cubes or pellets) it's the lint covered seed and is a byproduct of the cotton ginning process.
Reports from field biologists indicate that a growing number of deer managers are feeding cottonseed to deer. Cottonseed is cheaper per ton than protein pellets, and hogs and raccoons will not eat it. Cottonseed, while nutritious, contains a chemical called gossypol, which may have detrimental
effects on deer. Research at Texas A&M University has shown that male domestic ruminants fed high concentrations
of cottonseed for extended periods have decreased reproductive ability. Also, fallow deer fed cottonseed for an extended period had reduced antler growth. There have been no similar feeding trials in white-tailed deer.
When feeding cottonseed to deer, managers buy the raw seed, usually delivered by an end-dump or belly-dump truck. Ideally, the seed is stored in bulk under a shed or roof of some kind. However, some have just dumped cottonseed on the ground and covered it with tarps. Managers advise buying “dairy quality†cottonseed.
Although feed delivery to deer is varied, the simplest design is a small circle of “V mesh†wire with a t-post in the middle. The mesh does not need to be fastened to the post or to the ground. Several post and mesh feeders can be placed at one site if desired. Handling the cottonseed can be cumbersome.
Most load it on a trailer with a front-end loader. The cottonseed is subsequently placed in the feeders with a large scoop shovel. If cattle are present, the cottonseed feeders
need to be protected with a fence of barbed wire. This should ideally be 50–60 feet in diameter.
In an attempt to avoid the effects of gossypol and to fit into the annual nutritional cycle of deer, managers do not feed cottonseed continuously. A common pattern is to feed from January 1st until spring green-up. Deer will usually quit eating the feed anyway in the early spring. Cottonseed is fed again once the weather turns hot, and kept available to deer until the end of September or October. Some managers are offering cottonseed adjacent to protein feeders. Others just feed cottonseed. Like with all new feeds, it takes a while for deer to become used to eating cottonseed. However, once they are “on it,†cottonseed is consumed avidly. Do not try to mix corn with cottonseed to get deer started. Raccoons will make a huge mess trying to get to the corn, even though they do not eat the cottonseed! Like with protein feed, spacing
of feeder sites for cottonseed is important. The more feeder sites, the larger the proportion of the deer herd that benefits from the feed. As a rule, at least 1 site per 500 acres is a minimal amount and 1 per 200 acres is great.
It is not known if feeding cottonseed on the above program
avoids the potential effects of gossypol. Managers using this schedule have reported good results in deer body and antler growth. However, they are all using other management
practices such as limiting deer density, reduced cattle grazing, etc., and the true effects of cottonseed could be obscured. The only way to be sure is to undertake a research trial where effects of other management practices are filtered out, and only effects of cottonseed are measured. The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI) is exploring penned trials on effects of feeding cottonseed to deer under the leadership of David Hewitt. If funding for this work is secured, look for results of feeding cottonseed to deer in future CKWRI reports.Comment
-
What Jamie said to the tComment
Comment