Questions about protein feed....

[rockyraider]

The place we hunt is 850ish acres, low fence, in West Texas. Surrounded by places that are 1200+ acres. We are seeing some good deer this year, big improvement over what we have seen the past 5 years. In that time, basically only cull bucks and does have been killed with the exception of a couple nice mature bucks. With the improvement in buck quality, my buddy and I have been throwing around the idea of feeding some protein or something else to help with horn growth.

There is one large protein feeder out there currently that isn't being used.

How many more protein feeders would we need to not be wasting our time? Also, how much would it cost to feed three (or however many necessary) protein feeders in a manner so that it would actually be effective?

I don't really know anything about supplemental feed for deer, what would work best, what type of results would we get for the extra cost, etc.....?

I'm all ears so please fill me in. If you guys say it won't help, we probably won't waste our money. If we could feed something that would help boost antler growth for a reasonable price, we would probably consider doing it and just split the costs between lease members.

What say ya'll?

[8pointer]

I would have 3 or 4 protein feeders. I would also feed cottonseed as well... Cost would depend on if you feed year around and how many deer you have.

Roughly I would guesstimate you spending $1500-$3000 extra on feed per year for the whole property.

I think any additional feeding is great for deer no matter the acreage. If anything, you will draw in and hold more deer.

[Kdog]

Feed as much as you can it it will help your hunting. The deer will take a little while to warm up to it. So you can build up as well along the way. One of the big things I have noticed is the more you feed, the more deer you have. (I am talking over an 8 year time frame.) (Feeding protein really helps fawn recruitment, and attracts more deer.) I would figure 1 thousand lb feeder for every 250 acres.

If you are looking for a magic bullet to produce big deer, supplemental feeding probably isn't it, but it can't hurt. You are still hunting a low fence place dependent on what your neighbors do. I will say that once you get the deer hooked on it they won't leave until the feeder is empty. When I keep my protein feeders filled up I have deer around 24/7. That being said the biggest deer I ever killed on our ranch (the one in my avatar) was in the 2nd year of us feeding protein. I looked up my credit card recipients last year and I spent about $4,500 on corn and protein. (This is filling 2 feeders that hold 1200lbs of feed year round.) I have spent a lot of money feeding deer with not too much to show for it honestly. (lots of doe, management and cull bucks.) I would say it improved my deer numbers and body weights, but not necessarily put a bunch of big trophy bucks on the wall.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do. I have no regrets about our program.

[demtx]

protein feeding

Agree with replies about drawing in and keeping deer on your place, and it will keep them in good shape when natural forage is scarce. How much will it cost?
That all depends on how many deer in the area and how hard they hit the feed.
I have been feeding protein for years now and sometimes they can't get enough,
other times they just nibble a bit. And not necessarily when you think. You would probably want to be able to hold at least 2000# worth on a place that size, with 2 feeding areas. Maybe get a month on a fill when they're feeding on it hard. Really hard to say for sure. It's time, work and money. Worth it? In my experience= DEFINITELY. Good luck. D

[tanto]

https://www.qdma.com/articles/33-fas...-deer-research
Food for thought, interesting info, protein info towards bottom of list

[ranchdog]

And count on June, July, and August the dry months they will pound it so you will be filling it like crazy. The drier it is the more they will eat. Make sure they have fresh water access after eating. Meaning if on all 850 acres you only have one pond then you may need more water sources.

Good Luck

[gingib]

I would have 3 or 4 protein feeders. I would also feed cottonseed as well... Cost would depend on if you feed year around and how many deer you have.

Roughly I would guesstimate you spending $1500-$3000 extra on feed per year for the whole property.

I think any additional feeding is great for deer no matter the acreage. If anything, you will draw in and hold more deer.

And count on June, July, and August the dry months they will pound it so you will be filling it like crazy. The drier it is the more they will eat. Make sure they have fresh water access after eating. Meaning if on all 850 acres you only have one pond then you may need more water sources.

Good Luck

x2

[MQ32Shooter]

I didn't read Ranchdogs link, but I can tell you my experience. We have 120 acres in Cisco. The largest place around ours is 300 acres, all low fenced and hunted. We started feeding protein several years ago, not necessarily for horn growth, but to keep as many deer on our place as possible. They love the taste of the protein and keep my two 1,000 lb. feeders busy. We are in a AR county and it's hard to ever grow a buck past 13", much less keep them on your place. This year, we have at least 5 good legal bucks that are showing up on 120 acres. Remember, I'm not in the Hill Country or the Golden Triangle. Now, these deer don't stay on our place, but the taste of the protein draws them in. They come visit me to eat at night, then sneak back home before sunup. Now, when the rut kicks in, we get to see these same neighboring bucks in the day time because the does are hitting the protein too. After the rut, we have even more activity with bucks coming to the protein because they are worn down from the rut and needing to eat the protein. I'm sure someone will chime in and say no way this can happen. And maybe it can't. Just don't tell the bucks that are showing up on our little place that it shouldn't happen.

[Codie]

When I was feeding protein free choice previously we had three 350lb feeders on 620 acres and during the dry months they were emptying the things every 5-7 days. That is 1,050lbs of feed every week or 2 tons per month for easy numbers. At $300-$400/ton that means the feed bill was $600-$800/month just for protein. I was not paying for it (ranch owner was) otherwise it would not have been being fed. There isn't a deer herd in the world that I am leasing the rights to hunt from someone that is worth that kind of $ to me. We feed corn year round to keep them in the area but that is about it. Creating year round food plot system would be much more economical I believe